Sunday Self-Scaler 27
10 tiny health upgrades that cost $0, my latest (highly controversial) idol, and a superb offer you don't wanna miss out on.
Thanks to busy lifestyles and easily accessible high-calorie foods, health has taken a back seat. Over 66% of the US population is overweight or obese and millions of us suffer from depression.
Sure, eating healthy all the time, working out for hours every day, spending happy leisure hours, and making sure to sleep 8+ hours every night isn’t sustainable for most of us.
But we can spare at least a few minutes, can’t we? I want to share 11 tiny health upgrades that each takes less than a minute and very little effort to implement.
These might seem insignificant at first — but over time, compound to unbelievable health improvements.
#1 — Perform This Amazing Stretch Every Morning
It’s natural to wake up from bed groggily with stiff joints and tight muscles. But there’s a simple fix for this — the Downward Dog to Cobra Stretch.
This simple and easy stretch doesn’t require a lot of strength or flexibility and can be performed by almost anyone. It improves your posture, relaxes the shoulders, improves blood flow, strengthens your spine, relieves stress, etc.
#2 — Place a Glass of Water Beside the Bed Before Going to Sleep
Drinking a glass of water the first thing you wake up in the morning is one of the best things you can do for your health — it kickstarts your metabolism, boosts your energy, improves your complexion, etc.
But we humans are a forgetful lot and remembering to drink water every single morning is nigh impossible. Even if we don’t forget, we are more likely to check our phones than make the effort to walk to the kitchen.
By placing a glass of water beside the bed every night, you’re reminded to empty it the first thing you wake up.
#3— Use a Blue Light Filter on Your Screen
Electronic screens emit blue light which strains our eyes and reduces our ability to sleep well. The latter is caused due to a reduction in the sleep hormone Melatonin.
And as we saw earlier, sleep deprivation can be extremely dangerous. But this problem can be easily avoided using a blue light filter or night mode app.
You can set a particular time and your devices will switch to night mode at that time every single day. I have mine on night mode always.
#4— Wash Your Face Before Bed
I got this simple tip from a friend and just a few days of doing this markedly improved my facial skin. I’ve been practicing this religiously since then.
Going to bed with residue on the face such as dirt, dead skin, bacteria, and sebum can worsen skin conditions. Moreover, washing your face with warm water before bed can calm and relax you.
#5 — Track Your Steps
Did you know that it’s not exercising that burns the most calories but what you do the rest of the day?
Yes, Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) accounts for more than 80% of your total daily energy expenditure. This is exactly why tracking your steps can make such a difference.
Contrary to what most think, you don’t need a fitness band to track your steps. You can do it using your smartphone itself. Just install a pedometer app and you’re set.
Track your steps, set goals, and achieve them. Simple things like walking while on the phone, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and walking to the nearby grocery store can drastically increase your steps.
#6 — Use the 20–20–20 Rule
Electronic screens wreck our eyes. Apart from reducing screen time, there’s another way to reduce eye strain. My doctor prescribed this to me and I’ve been in love with it ever since.
The 20–20–20 rule — every 20 minutes of staring at a screen, you look away and at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Research shows that this can drastically reduce eye strain.
#7 — Track Your Screentime
In this digital era, screens have become extensions of our bodies. If we aren’t glued to our phones, we’re typing away at our laptops or munching in front of the TV.
Excessive screentime has severe health effects — impaired vision, chronic neck pain, anxiety, addiction, depression, obesity, etc.
What’s worse is that we tend to massively underestimate our screentime. When I developed a migraine and the doctor recommended tracking my screentime, I logged a surprising 12 hours instead of the 7 I expected.
So track your screentime. With a lot of free mobile and computer apps, you can do this easily.
#8 — When You Feel Hungry, Drink a Glass of Water First
We tend to confuse hunger and thirst. So when you feel hungry, there’s a good chance that you’re actually thirsty.
This is a win-win tactic — if you were thirsty, you prevented unnecessary eating. And if you were actually hungry, considering the fact that most of us are clinically dehydrated, you did yourself a favor.
Did I mention that this can also control your appetite and prevent overeating?
#9 — Turn Off All Social Notifications
Settings. Notifications. Turn off for all social apps — this simple thing has worked wonders for my mental health, especially my anxiety.
Unless you’re a celebrity, chances are that your Instagram DMs can wait. Even if you are a celebrity, they can. So do yourself a favor and turn off all social media notifications. It’ll be bliss.
#10— Don’t Use Your Phone on The Toilet
According to surveys, more than 75% of us take and use our phones in the toilet. Yes, in this hyperstimulated age, we can’t even take a shit without scrolling through the newsfeed or our Instagram feeds.
The problem is that — toilets are home to millions of different bacteria and immersed in your phone, you’ll spend much more time than you normally would.
Yes, a one-way ticket to creating a pathogen haven in your body. Another problem is the increased screen time.
So, text on the couch and take a dump in the toilet.
Don’t marry the two.
In Summary
Tiny health tweaks can compound over time to unbelievable improvements. Here are the 12 upgrades we saw:
Perform the Downward Dog to Cobra Stretch right after you wake up in the morning.
Place a glass of water beside the bed before going to sleep and empty it right after you wake up.
Wash your face before going to bed.
Track your steps and set goals using a free pedometer app.
Every 20 minutes of staring at a screen, look away and at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Track and limit your screen time using the freely available apps.
When you feel hungry, first drink a glass of water.
Turn off all social media notifications.
Don’t carry or use your phone on the toilet.
My Latest (Highly Controversial) Idol
As part of my daily dose of “Manosphere”, I was watching a podcast of the red-pill grand-daddy Rollo Tomassi with Jordan Peterson’s daughter Mikhaila Peterson.
The context is Mikhaila recently left her daughter with her now-divorced husband and while her dad was seriously ill, went to gallivant with someone in Russia. While I loved the analysis, this “someone” (Andrew Tate) proved even more interesting.
Looking him up led to the below video → And despite being a red-piller, it blew my mind.
While I don’t agree with all of what he says and believes, Andrew Tate comes the closest to embodying my version of the ideal man.
What’s even more inspiring is his amazing relationship with his brother. Watch the below one to get a taste of what I’m saying.
A Superb Offer You Don't Wanna Miss Out On
In case you aren’t aware already, I’m going to be launching an audio course on focused productivity.
If you’re interested, by pre-signing up (just giving your email ID), you stand to get a massive discount when the course goes live.
This might be the last chance since I’ll probably start working on the course very soon.
You won’t regret it! Cya there!