There’s an amusement park called Dreamland where I live and I went there over the weekend. My son was desperate to go on some rides and despite the fact that they usually make me nauseous as hell, I figured I’d be fine. It was just a few kids rides, after all.

Three pathetic kids rides later, I was in bits and begging to get out of there. It took hours for me to recover and resulted in the afternoon being a complete write-off.

But whilst I was lying on the sofa feeling the doom, I started thinking about how we often assume that it’s the big things in life that have a big effect on our health. When in actuality, it’s the little things that we largely don’t think about that have a big impact. Like how I’d mistakenly believed that I’d be fine on the kids rides because surely it’s only the big rollercoasters that leave me feeling rough.

What ‘little’ things am I talking about?

Here are the 7 most common things that I see in my clients and some easy alternatives for you to do instead:

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1. Reaching for caffeine first thing in the morning.

Always hydrate before you caffeinate; have a glass of water before doing anything else. Okay, after you wee.

2. Delaying or not eating breakfast because you don’t have enough time in the morning.

Spend more time on your insides (fuel for your body and brain) and less on your outside (how you look).

3. Rushing from one task to the next without catching a breath.

When you finish a task, either take a break or pause and take ten full belly breaths. Then consider the attitude and energy you want to take into the next one before you actually start.

4. Eating your lunch whilst still working.

Take a bloody lunch break – you’re legally entitled to them and your body needs to rest and digest.

5. That glass of wine you have as soon as you get in the door at night.

If you reach for booze to wind down after work, then something isn’t right. Whilst addressing the underlying issue, consider going for exercising or masturbating instead. Save the wine for once you’ve got dinner in front of you or skip it.

6. The extra hour you stay up watching Netflix.

Turn off your screens two hours before you go to bed and read a book instead. And if you’re in a relationship, focus on enjoying each other’s company instead of just existing alongside each other.

7. That one last scroll through Instagram before you try to sleep.

Ok, I’m totally guilty of doing this and I think the best way to change this not-so-great habit is to buy a bedside clock and leave my phone downstairs. (With a three-year-old in the house, I do not need an alarm, but when it’s bright so early in the morning, I do need to know when I should convince him to go back to sleep and when it’s actually morning.) 

Do any of these ring true for you? Or maybe there’s something else that you know isn’t working for you and that needs to change.

My tip? Make the changes in the Spring and Summer seasons of your cycle so that you’ll have the energy and motivation to get going with them and sustain them during your Autumn and Winter which is when the wheels tend to come off!