Have you heard the fable about the rich merchant who asks his young son to choose between the total amount of one penny doubled every day for a month and a million dollars in cash immediately? Like the son, most people assume $1 million is the financially savvy choice.
But believe it or not, doubling a penny every day for 30 days will leave you with more than a million dollars — in fact, you’ll end up with over $5 million. The lesson? Small things — the pennies of our lives — don’t mean much, but an accumulation of them leads to a lifetime of riches.
In terms of health and fitness, however, that’s not entirely true. Sure, eating one healthy meal or going for one morning run won’t impact your long-term health very much — especially if that meal is flanked by fast food visits or the run is sandwiched between days of sedentary behavior. But small, isolated events really do matter right now. Have you noticed that eliminating a single can of soda with lunch changes how you feel that afternoon? Or how getting 30 minutes of extra sleep one night can make you more alert all day? You don’t have to wait weeks or months for an accumulation; the small stuff has immediate benefits too.
[See: 8 Morning and Nighttime Rituals Health Pros Swear By.]
Don’t buy it? Try making any or all of these changes today, and then see how you feel — today:
1. Drink water.
Unlike its sugary alternatives, water cleanses the body, aids digestion and can improve kidney health, joint health and overall mood. But can one drink of water yield any benefits? Actually, yes: Researchers have found that after drinking only 300 milliliters of water — just over a single cup — grade school-aged children display better memory recall and are able to sustain attention for longer periods of time.
2. Meditate.
Months or years of mindfulness meditation can actually change the structure and function of your brain and lead to rewards like better sleep and diminished anxiety. But just a few sessions can yield benefits, too. New research suggests that brief mindfulness meditation practice — defined as 25 minutes for just three consecutive days — can alleviate peoples’ stress perceptions to difficult tasks.
3. Exercise.
You already know that integrating regular physical activity into your life has overwhelming advantages. But completing just one workout can bring blood to the brain, which mitigates stress and improves concentration. A single sweat session also releases endorphins, which improves mood. I’m not talking about a full-day workout, either; just a few measly minutes of training at a high intensity — that is, exercising with near-maximum effort — produces molecular changes in muscles similar to those of several hours of running or biking. The exercise doesn’t even have to be all that vigorous: An analysis of 10 existing studies in the U.K. reveals that five minutes of exercise in a park, a backyard garden, on a nature trail or in some other green space will, at the very least, benefit mental health.
[See: 10 Ways to Break a Bad Mood.]
4. Be grateful.
If you think gratitude is an abstract concept, a non-tangible quality adopted by Zen masters or your irritatingly positive coworkers, think again. Gratitude is a mental and emotional exercise that, if you practice deliberately, can result in some real physical and mental health improvements right away. Consider the results of one study, for example. In it, researchers asked heart failure patients to write down three things for which they were thankful most days of the week for eight weeks, while continuing to receive regular clinical care. Compared to patients who didn’t keep a gratitude journal, the participants showed improvements in biological markers of heart health while writing.
[See: 9 Things That Are Surprisingly Good for Your Health.]
People tend to delay making healthy changes because they’re unwilling to invest the time. But that reasoning is based on an inaccurate assumption that you have to dedicate large chunks of time to your lifestyle change before reaping even the smallest benefits. In reality, gentle introductions to these activities can produce real changes in the body and mind right away that will likely make you want to continue them long-term. So the next time you have a few minutes to drink a glass of water, meditate, work up a sweat or say thank you, seize them. Oh, and if you see a penny on the street, bend down and pick it up.
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4 Healthy Habits That Yield Immediate Results originally appeared on usnews.com
