{"id":7722,"date":"2018-08-20T09:17:24","date_gmt":"2018-08-20T13:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/?p=7722"},"modified":"2018-08-09T09:20:46","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T13:20:46","slug":"health-benefits-of-having-a-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/stress-busters\/health-benefits-of-having-a-routine\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Benefits of Having a Routine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>People are creatures of habit, and routines offer a way to promote health and wellness through structure and organization. Having a routine can greatly improve your health.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nmbreakthroughs.org\/-\/media\/Northwestern\/ContentHub\/images\/daily-health\/nm-health-benefits-of-having-a-routine-feature.jpg?h=720&amp;w=1280\" alt=\"the health benefits of having a routine\" width=\"325\" height=\"188\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Many people who don\u2019t have any type of routine suffer from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stress<\/strong>. No routine often means having the constant worry of \u201cwhen will I get it all done.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Poor sleep<\/strong>. Without a daily routine at work and\/or home, you may find yourself playing catch-up with yesterday\u2019s to-do list. If you\u2019re always behind on what should have been done the day before, you\u2019re likely also staying awake worrying about what didn\u2019t.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Poor eating<\/strong>. Unhealthy diets (like eating lots of fast food) become the norm if there isn\u2019t time scheduled for grocery shopping. Quick, unhealthy substitutes become the next best food option.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Poor physical condition<\/strong>. Working out usually requires some advance planning.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ineffective use of time<\/strong>. Often, no routine means you simply run out of time, leaving things undone and not making the most of your time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Routines can be fun and don\u2019t need to be boring. Their health benefits will make you wonder why you didn\u2019t start one earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Some ways a routine can help include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Better stress levels<\/strong>\u00a0lead to improved mental health, more time to relax and less anxiety. A lack of healthy\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmbreakthroughs.org\/emotional-health\/are-you-stressed\">stress management techniques<\/a>\u00a0can put you at greater risk for heart disease and negatively impact your overall health.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Better sleep<\/strong>\u00a0will leave you refreshed. Your daily routine influences your quality of rest. Your\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmbreakthroughs.org\/daily-health\/healthy-sleep-habits\">sleep schedule<\/a>\u00a0and bedtime habits affect your mental sharpness, performance, emotional well-being and energy level. It\u2019s best if you can maintain a consistent time for waking and going to bed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Better health<\/strong>\u00a0is a result of just a little extra planning. Set the alarm a little earlier and you\u2019ll have time to exercise and eat\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmbreakthroughs.org\/nutrition\/quick-and-healthy-breakfasts\">breakfast<\/a>, fueling your body for the day. Even a quick (and healthy) breakfast will get you energized. Whether you like to just go for a run or go to the gym for a bigger workout, it\u2019s important make time for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmbreakthroughs.org\/fitness\/find-time-to-exercise\">exercise<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Good example<\/strong>\u00a0setting will encourage others to try a routine as well. You demonstrate its importance and the positive effect it has on health, motivation and self-esteem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Everyone is unique. Not everyone requires a fully scheduled day to reap the health benefits of a routine, so make the choices that work for you, knowing they\u2019ll only make you healthier and more efficient with your time.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmbreakthroughs.org\/daily-health\/health-benefits-of-having-a-routine\">http:\/\/www.nmbreakthroughs.org\/daily-health\/health-benefits-of-having-a-routine<\/a><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People are creatures of habit, and routines offer a way to promote health and wellness through structure and organization. Having a routine can greatly improve your health. Many people who don\u2019t have any type of routine suffer from: Stress. No &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/stress-busters\/health-benefits-of-having-a-routine\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9193321,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[313094,241883],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-maintenance","category-stress-busters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paB9fc-20y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9193321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7722"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7724,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7722\/revisions\/7724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}