Looking for some ways to improve your health?

The world is full of ads for supplements, pills, and programs that are supposed to help improve your health, vitality and fix every ache and ail, for a fee of course.

If all women were to take the advice of these advertisements, most of us would be further in debt before we would be healthier.

Are all these extra investments really required to improve your health, build a stronger body and better wellbeing, or can simple diet and lifestyle adjustments do the job just as well?

Ironically, the best ways to improve your health are actually free, and some could even be considered money saving tips.

Simple Ways to Improve your Health For Free

1. Drink Eight Glasses of Water Daily

First and foremost, staying optimally hydrated is always the first step to good health, as our bodies consist of about 60 to 70 percent water.

According to leading scientists and physicians, the average adult should consume at least 8 eight-ounce glasses of water per day.

Every organ and system in your body works better when you’re fully hydrated. While water itself is not really free anymore, chances are you’re already paying for it, so drinking more of it shouldn’t come at an extra cost.

To take it to the next level, try looking into home distilling and other water purification techniques.

2. Get at Least 20 Minutes of Full Sunlight Daily

Sunlight is commonly vilified for blasting out “harmful UV rays,” so there are a lot of people who won’t leave their house without a bottle of sunscreen.

However, the fact remains that the human body needs sunlight to produce Vitamin D, an essential component to good health.

Thus, be sure to get out and get short spurts of sun here and there to amount to a total of at least 20 minutes over the course of the day; for example, four 5-minute periods.

3. Walk Briskly and Often

One of the simplest ways to improve your health is to take regular walks. Jogging and running can actually be deleterious to your joints, and recent studies have shown that excessive aerobic activity can speed up aging.

Therefore, instead of jumping right into hard core aerobics in an effort to shed as many pounds as possible, try transitioning into a more active lifestyle by briskly walking places and choosing to walk to nearby destinations rather than drive.

This single tip can help you avoid an overly sedative lifestyle, which has been shown to shorten lifespans and cause or exacerbate virtually every kind of disease.

Related: 8 Simple Ways to Keep Fit On a Budget (Gym Membership Not Required!)

4. Practice Yoga and Meditation

The body’s joints, ligaments, bones, organs, and tissues are all connected in one way or another. Everything is woven into the overall anatomy, which is why activities like yoga, which involves stretching and moving your external parts, can be really helpful in cleansing and optimising your internal parts.

Meditation is a great companion to a yoga session and has been shown to improve mental function, which of course is important for all aspects of wellbeing.

5. Switch to a Mostly Raw Food Diet

Contrary to popular misconception, raw foods can actually be less expensive than a diet of processed foods and meats. Not only is this a no-cost option, it could also save you money in the long-term.

For the fastest route to a truly healthier state of being, try switching to a diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and legumes. These natural foods contain all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to perform optimally, without the additives, preservatives, and synthetic ingredients found in most processed modern foods.

You don’t necessarily have to become a vegetarian to enjoy the benefits of this tip, lean meats like chicken or fish are perfectly acceptable in a semi-vegetarian approach.

6. Practice Stress Reduction Techniques

It is a known fact that stress can aggravate, exacerbate, and lead to the development of a number of chronic diseases.

When the mind and body are stressed they’re essentially preoccupied with emotions, thought processes, and hormonal impulses that are keeping them from allocating the appropriate resources to healing and immune responses.

Look for ways to cut down on the mental clutter and take the important aspects of your life into perspective to relieve some of the pressure of your daily workday and duties. The daily grind doesn’t have to stop, and you can still strive to achieve your goal to pay-off debt if you have any and attain financial freedom.

The idea is to change the way you think about your challenges and find stress management techniques that work for you – this can be a huge step in the right direction for your health and wellbeing.

7. Be Humorous and Laugh More

Finally, in addition to managing stress to stay out of an emotional deficit, try jump starting your mood into the positive by strengthening your sense of humour and partaking in more comical or fun activities.

Studies have shown that laughing releases hormones that are conducive to healing and relaxation, and patients who laugh more have better outcomes than their relatively depressed counterparts.

Accomplishing this can be as easy as turning on your favourite sitcom every evening, watching more stand-up comedy, spend some time doing some more pleasurable or better investing your time through positive interaction with friends and family.

Above All Else, Commitment

While all of these tips are guaranteed to work for everybody to some extent, the most critical component to a successful lifestyle change is commitment.

If you don’t have the commitment and persistence it takes to stick with these changes consistently overtime, then none of these tips will do much for you outside of their short-term temporary benefits. If you do, however, you will feel a lot better and may even be able to save money as well.

Your Turn…

What changes will you make to improve your lifestyle? Can you think of any other no cost ways to improve your health? You can leave your comments below! We’d love to hear from you!