Tips to Avoid Millennial Burnout

From the foods you con­sume to how you process every­day stress, the choic­es you make impact your phys­i­cal and emo­tion­al health. Incor­po­rat­ing healthy habits and mak­ing small adjust­ments to your dai­ly rou­tine can go a long way in pro­mot­ing sus­tained health.

Fuel your life with a healthy diet
Our on-the-go lifestyle can make main­tain­ing a bal­anced, healthy diet seem impos­si­ble. Eat­ing nutri­ent-rich foods and stay­ing prop­er­ly hydrat­ed are essen­tial to main­tain­ing good health. Includ­ing a few extra steps over the week­end can save your some time dur­ing the week. Try incor­po­rat­ing these prep-steps into your week­end routine: 

• Pre-por­tion your break­fasts, lunch­es and snacks to grab and go in the morning
• Plan your meals and prep ingre­di­ents over the week­end to make week­night meals in a snap
• Stock your desk draw­er with healthy fats, such as nuts or nut but­ters, to fuel after­noon brain power

Cre­ative ways to exer­cise
Back-to-back meet­ings, pend­ing dead­lines and late nights out with friends can make it dif­fi­cult to find the time and ener­gy to exer­cise. While we all know that reg­u­lar exer­cise ben­e­fits your health, some days are hard­er than oth­ers to fit it in. Get cre­ative with how and where you work out. 

• Chal­lenge your­self with coun­ter­top push-ups while you brew your morn­ing coffee
• Prac­tice back­ward leg kicks as you brush your teeth
• Take ten min­utes and walk the stairs dur­ing your lunch break
• Give your leg mus­cles a good stretch at your desk by rais­ing your legs to meet the tips of your fingers
• Relieve ten­sion in your shoul­ders by extend­ing your arm across your chest while apply­ing gen­tle pres­sure near your elbow

The impor­tance of qual­i­ty sleep
Get­ting a good night of sleep can do won­ders for your over­all health and out­look on life. Incor­po­rat­ing even a few healthy sleep habits can help you feel well-rest­ed and ready to take on the day. 

• Go to bed at the same time every night and cre­ate a bed­time rit­u­al. Over time, your body will begin to asso­ciate these activ­i­ties with turn­ing off for the day and resting.
• Low­er the tem­per­a­ture and dim the lights. Cool­er temps and dark­ness sup­port a bet­ter night of rest.
• Avoid a late-after­noon caf­feinat­ed pick-me-up. Caf­feine stays in your sys­tem for hours and can inter­fere with your abil­i­ty to fall asleep.

Bal­ance the stress and anx­i­ety
We all expe­ri­ence moments of stress in our lives. Sus­tained peri­ods of anx­i­ety can impact the way your body func­tions and your over­all health. Learn­ing to man­age stress and anx­i­ety can have a last­ing impact on your men­tal well-being and your phys­i­cal health. 

• Prac­tice relax­ation tech­niques, such as deep breath­ing, med­i­ta­tion or yoga
• Eat a bal­anced diet includ­ing com­plex car­bo­hy­drates, healthy fats, pro­teins, fruits and vegetables
• Aim to get sev­en to eight hours of sleep each night

Estab­lish a rela­tion­ship with a pri­ma­ry care physi­cian
As you enter adult­hood, it is impor­tant to take own­er­ship of your health care. Estab­lish­ing a rela­tion­ship with a fam­i­ly or inter­nal med­i­cine physi­cian as a young adult is essen­tial to main­tain­ing your health for years to come.

The demands of life are inevitable. Pri­or­i­tiz­ing your health by tak­ing care of your body, mak­ing a few key diet and lifestyle changes and incor­po­rat­ing more healthy habits, can help you sus­tain a healthy life.