The New Year is a time to adjust and reshape some things in your life. We all have some areas that need to be improved, whether it’s our diet or our outlook on life. There are countless aspects to our lives, and it’s impossible to assume we have nothing to improve from any kind of resolution. However, you may still need a little help coming up with some resolutions that can lead to a healthier lifestyle. Below you can find 5 New Year’s resolutions that can help you live a better life.

Agree to Quit Smoking

It’s a nasty habit that contributes to heart disease and lung diseases such as emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Of course, most smokers already know the damage it causes but are reluctant to quit in their old age. People believe that a lifetime of smoking cannot be reversed. But they’re wrong. It’s never too late to quit. Your body still has the ability to heal itself. By quitting now, you’re still giving yourself the opportunity to breath better, reduce your risk of heart disease, increase your energy, and sleep better through the night. Those are some pretty good health benefits from only cutting out one bad habit from your life.

Get More Exercise

It can be quite intimidating to start a workout routine. There are so many exercises to be done, and you’re never quite sure if you’re doing it correctly. However, don’t let that discourage you. Much like quitting smoking, it’s never too late to start working out. Do just a little bit of research, at first, to get your main exercises down and do those for a few weeks. That will help build this routine into a habit. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself saying, “I’m going to the gym,” instead of saying, “I HAVE to go to the gym,” implying that you’re going against your own will. You won’t look upon it as a chore and see it as another aspect to your day. The hardest part about doing any exercise is just convincing yourself to do it.

Don’t Forget to Exercise Your Brain

While you’re getting yourself back into shape, it’s also important to realize your brain needs exercise, too. The mind and body are pretty dependent on each other. You can’t have one without the other, so make sure each is getting a healthy balance of exercise. Of course, in order to exercise your brain, it’s a much different workout routine than trying to work out your muscles. Your brain can’t do sit-ups. However, in order to strengthen it, your means of “exercise” can be seen as more amusing than sit-ups.

Games like crossword puzzles, Sudoku, or even a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit with friends can help get the blood flowing to your grey matter. Joining a book club is another good idea, as reading is a great help in keeping your mind fresh. Just like your muscles, in order to keep your brain in shape, you have to use it.

Visit Your Doctor More

It’s not a good idea to ONLY see your doctor when you’re feeling sick. The best way to cure anything is to prevent it from ever happening. It’s like the saying, “the best defense is a good offense,” and if you stay on the offensive about your health, you’ll have many, many successful years ahead of you. That’s why you should strive to see your doctor via scheduled checkups, instead of seeing him or her only when you’re sick.

Sleep Better

There’s a strange myth floating around that states older adults need less sleep than younger people. This is, of course, totally false. We all need around 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Without it, we can never feel fully rested. And if you don’t feel fully rested, you’ll never feel like doing tips 1 through 4. That’s why getting better sleep is on this list. It really is important to our everyday lives. The best way to a productive morning is by getting 8 hours of sleep beforehand. And a productive morning leads to a productive day. And a productive day leads to good, healthy sleep. It’s an endless cycle of healthy living, because it goes without saying that it’s much easier to fall asleep at night when you’re slightly exhausted and fully satisfied with how constructive your day was.