18 Expert-Backed Health Hacks You Can Try Right Now to Live Longer and Better

7 min read

You know what a happy, healthy lifestyle looks like: get good-quality sleep, move your body, eat nourishing meals, and keep a handle on stress. You’re probably living it! But even if we do all the good-for-you things, many of us still have moments where we wish we could be just a little healthier, or follow a few extra strategies to support our healthy aging journey.

Here’s encouraging news: You don’t have to overhaul all of the habits that are already on your radar. There are small, less-obvious “health hacks” that you can add to your routine. They can make a difference in your physical and mental well-being, helping you sleep better, stress less, and feel stronger and more energized as you go about your days.

There’s no need to try every health hack at once. Think of these as easy, doable additions you can work into your life at a pace that works for you or as you need them. Do just one of these expert-backed health hacks today, then try more each day and add your favorites to your regular routine.

Play Supermarket Swap

Here’s a fun and fresh way to lean into healthful eating: Make at least one better-for-you trade each time you hit the grocery store. Replace sugary cereal with oats or low-sugar granola, swap bread or crackers made from refined white flour for healthy whole grains with more fiber, and upgrade from canned produce (which may have sugary syrups or excess sodium) to simple frozen fruit and veggies (they contain only the whole food).

Get Into Gardening

Anyone can garden at home, even urbanites. It’s a meditative way to spend time and it encourages healthy cooking. Order a countertop garden (Back to the Roots makes compact, affordable ones that are easy to set up) or try giving food scraps a second life. For instance, you can plop the white ends of scallions into a cup of water, where they will grow new roots you can then plant in a pot.

Clean Up Your Beauty Routine

Next time you’re struggling to decide which night serum is best, skip the label-reading or online search session and open the app Yuka, which houses info for millions of beauty (and food!) products. You scan a product’s barcode, then see a pop-up with a health rating from one to 100 (the lower the number, the lower the rating); if your pick is low-rated, you’ll see alternatives. You can even browse the healthiest items by category.

Make Hydrating Fun

We’re all on a mission to drink more water and hit our personal hydration goals, so find ways to make guzzling it more exciting. Try this formula for infused ice cubes: fruit (berries, citrus, or melon chunks) + fresh herbs (mint or basil) + water. Freeze in ice trays, then drop the jazzed-up cubes into your glass of regular or sparkling H2O.

Need help remembering to sip? Download an app like HydroCoach that will send you “Drink up!” alerts. And snag a pretty or colorful reusable water bottle (with a straw, if that’s your jam) that will make hydrating even more fun.

Maximize Your Morning

A morning movement ritual can help you feel energized and ready to take on the day, says Jen Bruno, a board-certified health coach and personal trainer in Chicago. You could take your morning coffee on a walk, try sunrise yoga, or hop on your bike for a quick ride—the action doesn’t matter as long as you’re moving.

If you’re counting it as your workout for the day, aim for about 30 minutes. Another plus: Exercising in the morning jump-starts your metabolism and makes you likelier to be more active through the rest of your day.

Go Barefoot

Spending time in nature can boost mood and tame stress, studies show, but you may get even more of a benefit if you stroll around your backyard barefoot. One older study in the journal Explore found that making skin-to-earth contact for at least 10 minutes may reduce inflammation and pain and increase blood flow, and other research suggests going barefoot outdoors may support good sleep and cardiovascular health.

Walk Weirdly

Make getting your steps in more fun by changing the way you move a few times a week. “Try what I call ‘weird walking,’ ” says fitness expert Jen Sinkler. “Tiptoe, do calf raises, circle your hips, leap and catch yourself in a squat. Make a game of it and spend time getting to know your body and how it works.” You’ll get cardio exercise and work different muscles than when you simply put one foot in front of the other.

Doodle or Color

Coloring isn’t just for kids! Scribbling between the lines is its own form of zen and relieves stress by allowing the brain to rest and relax, and it’s a mindful experience because it takes the focus off stressors and puts it on the task at hand, according to Mayo Clinic. There are also studies that suggest that art therapy can help people cope with anxiety and depression.

Set Stretch Alerts

Program your phone to notify you every 30 to 60 minutes, then limber up when you hear it. “Stretch your wrists and neck, especially if you work at a computer,” says Steph Gaudreau, NASM-CPT, a strength-training coach in San Diego. “Stand up and do gentle torso twists, shoulder rolls, and side bends.”

Beyond the fact that it feels great, stretching during long periods of sitting helps prevent muscle and joint pain and stiffness; you can also do stretches for better sleep.

Take Cold Showers

Rinsing in cold water for 15 to 30 seconds may help improve circulation and give you a burst of energy in the morning, according to Cleveland Clinic. When the cold water hits your skin, it gives a quick shock to your nervous and circulatory systems, dilating blood vessels, increasing blood flow to your extremities, and causing your heart to beat faster.

Snack on Cherries

Cherries are packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and other plant compounds that may help improve sleep, boost immunity, and reduce joint and muscle aches if you enjoy them regularly. Sipping tart cherry juice at night is also a smart move, as it may help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep, studies suggest. So go ahead, see what happens when you eat cherries every day!

Write a Thank-You

Performing a simple gesture of gratitude can give you an instant boost in happiness, found a study in Psychological Science, likely because it inspires you to feel grateful and reflect on positive people or experiences.

Get creative with your delivery—buy a pack of pretty note cards and a nice pen, or just shoot off a quick email or text (taking full advantage of some cheerful emojis!).

Try Breathwork

Deep breathing can benefit you in so many ways. It’s a great way to relieve stress and can also help strengthen your abs too. Having a strong core is key to better posture and also helps prevent you from getting hurt doing ordinary tasks like lifting a box or putting away groceries on a high shelf.

Try it: Take a full breath in and let your belly fill with air, then forcefully exhale as if you’re fogging a mirror. Focus on breathing into your rib cage while trying to keep your abs tight for at least 30 seconds. Start with three times a day and work your way up to one minute per session—if you can do this, it means your core is getting stronger!

Count Housework as Exercise

Too tired to mow the lawn and get in your daily workout? Don’t be too hard on yourself: Science says household chores are a form of exercise too. Moving and getting your heart rate up can positively affect muscle strength and overall health, from your heart to your brain.

Don’t quit your regular workouts altogether, but feel free to count vacuuming and grocery lugging toward your weekly total!

Sit on the Floor

Watching shows might sound like a lazy thing to do, but when you do it on the floor, you can realign your body, says Kelly Starrett, D.P.T., a physical therapist and cofounder of The Ready State. “Sitting on the floor is one of the ways to make the hips stay open, and the spine protects itself and resets,” he says. “Plus, it engages muscles we don’t use when sitting in a chair.”

No need to be in perfect lotus position—you can pop a squat, kneel, or sit with legs stretched out. Each targets different muscles. For extra credit, regularly getting up from the floor without leaning on anything can help improve your balance, which studies suggest may help reduce the risk of falls that rises with aging.

Start “Sheet Pan Sundays”

Throwing veggies and protein on a sheet pan with your favorite herbs and spices and then roasting them is one of the easiest ways to get supper on the table and healthful foods in your belly. Get creative based on seasonal produce.

Designating a specific day of the week for this type of dinner (it doesn’t have to be Sunday!) gives you the chance to prep ahead so you can try new healthy foods and recipes.

Pro tip: Make enough for leftovers so you have a few lunches covered for the week.

Park Your Fork Between Bites

Indigestion is uncomfortable and drags down your energy level, and one common cause is eating too much too fast, says Sydney Greene, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Colorado. “Our brains need 20 minutes to catch up with our stomachs and recognize that we’re full. Putting the fork down requires you to chew, taste, and sense the food in your mouth, which can help prevent speed eating or overeating,” she says.

Power Down

Create a set of bedtime steps to get you snooze-ready—dim the lights, listen to calming music while you brush your teeth, or do a quick meditation. And don’t forget to put away digital devices at least 30 minutes before bed to avoid melatonin-disrupting blue light. Your bedtime routine plays an important role in making sure you get the eight hours of sleep your body needs to undergo its complete reset every night.