Being healthy involves a range of different things - eating enough of the right foods, drinking enough water, getting enough exercise, getting enough sleep, achieving enough of a stress-free state, etc, etc. 

But sometimes - enough already! 

We love advocating for a healthy lifestyle, but there are times when we simply need a health hack to get us through a hard day or a tough week. So here’s our top health hacks - keep them in your armoury for when you need them!

1. Upgrade your water bottle to make sure you stay hydrated. Often finding yourself tired, with brain fog and unable to concentrate? You could be dehydrated. Ideally, we should be drinking eight regular sized glasses of water a day, more if we’re exercising a lot or it’s particularly hot. When we’re busy, it can be easy to forget to drink water, then we cram it in during the evening and spend the night backwards and forward to the toilet. So, all you need is a very large reusable water bottle and a permanent marker. Mark out regular graduations on the bottle, say an inch apart, and label each one with a time. Drink to the line by each time graduation and finish the day fully hydrated!
2. Wake up an hour earlier - we hear you, we’re tired enough already! But hear us out - setting your alarm an hour earlier will give you some precious time to do things for you, before the chaos of the day begins for everyone else. Use this time wisely - either prepare a healthy lunch, complete your next OYG workout, enjoy a deliciously quiet coffee or add in some mindfulness meditation time. They’ll all help you to start the day on the right foot! 
3. Squeeze in more fruit and veg in a smoothie - we all know the five a day mantra (or seven or ten, depending where you’re reading) but it isn’t always easy to get enough fresh fruit and veg if we’re having one of those days. Starting the day with a nutrient packed smoothie however, can send us well on our way. Try this - whizz together one banana, a handful of grapes, an apple, a full scoop of hemp protein powder, a heaped teaspoon of peanut butter and 200ml pea protein milk. You’ll be getting three portions of fruit, plus a whole heap of belly-filling protein and it’s only breakfast time! 
4. Use your commute to your advantage - now that we’ve all gone back to the office, we’re finding ourselves commuting again. Whether that means sitting on a train, sitting in traffic or walking for any length of time, you can use this time to do something extremely useful for health - laughing! Listen to a podcast recorded by your favourite comedian or celebrity or find someone new that’s talking about things that matter to you, in a comical, lighthearted way. Laughing releases feel-good endorphins that help us relax, release tension and well, feel good! (And don’t worry about fellow commuters as you belly laugh your way to your stop - they’ll only be envious of your good start to the day!)