As the weather warms, spring brings a sense of rebirth and rejuvenation—both for the Earth, and for the many creatures living on it. From the animals emerging from hibernation to the flowers and trees putting out fresh growth, it’s a truly beautiful season!
For many, this season can also help to bring back some of the energy that may have been dampened by the winter months. With the sun coming out earlier in the morning, it’s likely much easier to get up and out of bed each day, and because of this, the rest of the day might just feel a little bit brighter, too. This is part of what makes spring such a transformative season—it gives you that extra little push to change. The trick is to know where to channel this newfound energy, in order to create sustainable and lasting positive change in your life. Whether that means picking up a new hobby or cleaning out some clutter, there are endless ways to put that “spring” back in your step.
The Secret to Making Lasting Habits
But what exactly makes a positive change sustainable? How can you design a habit to make it stick? To answer this, we can take a look at the science behind habit formation.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the first step in making lasting change is to keep your expectations realistic. While many goals can seem doable when your motivation is high, it’s the realistic, small goals that you’ll keep up with in your everyday life. Alongside keeping things small, it’s important to be specific about your goals; in the world of habit-building, the more specific, the better. According to a guide published by the University of Utah, one way to do this is by using SMART goals. The acronym “SMART” stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound, and is a framework for you to build your habits around. As mentioned in the guide, you can start turning goals from simple to SMART by asking yourself a series of questions—such as “how can I track my progress in this goal?” and “what capabilities and resources might I need to get before I can succeed in this goal?”—in order to hone in on the best path forward.
While SMART goals work for a variety of purposes, there are also some tips specific to habit building. One such tip is to habit stack; in other words, to add a new hobby onto an existing one. In an article by the British Journal of General Practice, the authors noted that lasting habits tended to have associated contextual triggers. One example that they gave was the action of putting on your seatbelt. In that case, the contextual cue (or trigger) is the act of getting into your car. After you’ve gotten into your car and put on your seatbelt straight away enough times, it becomes second nature—it becomes a habit. The same thinking can be applied to habits that you’re trying to build. By joining a new habit with an old one—for example, flossing your teeth after brushing them—you’ll have the context cue already established, and won’t be starting from scratch.
1. Exercise
First on our list of potential healthy habits is exercise. Getting consistent exercise is fantastic for people of all ages, but is particularly important as an older adult. With age comes an increased risk of health issues, injury, and mobility issues, making it crucial to stay in good physical health. Luckily, as per the CDC, exercise can have many positive effects on your body; from reducing the risks of heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes, to lowering blood pressure and improving sleep quality, there are plenty of rewards to be reaped. In addition, exercise can also help to improve your mental health. In one NCBI review, researchers concluded that physical activity “holds the promise of better mental health outcomes for older adults,” and is a relatively safe, inexpensive, and accessible activity with many associated benefits. Therefore, getting in the habit of exercising each day is a great way to kickstart your health this year.
How you do this will vary based on your mobility level and lifestyle. Are you an active person? Do you have any health issues that prevent you from doing certain exercises? These kinds of questions are important to consider when trying to establish a habit of exercise. For example, as someone with a high degree of mobility, you might try joining a dance class, taking a pilates lesson, or joining a local gym. On the other hand, if you struggle with chronic pain, or simply want to start out slow, you might choose to simply take a walk each morning, or do a bit of light stretching each night before bed. As always, your goal with habit building is to find something sustainable and enjoyable for you.
2. Build a Healthy Diet
Another excellent habit to get into is eating a healthy, well balanced diet. This is a bit trickier to navigate than simply picking up a new hobby, as you need to make small, intentional changes over time. Doing a complete overhaul of your diet isn’t sustainable or realistic—before too long, you’ll usually find yourself slipping back into your old ways of eating, which can then cause you to feel guilty and ashamed. So, instead of doing a complete 180 and changing all of your eating habits, start by identifying a few small, key areas that you can improve upon.
If you struggle to eat enough fruits and vegetables, try getting into the habit of eating some with at least one of your meals each day. This might look like an apple or orange with breakfast, some peas or broccoli on the side for lunch, or mixing some extra vegetables into a stew or soup for dinner. Incorporate them in as many ways as you can! Meal prepping, such as making a bulk batch of your favourite salad to store in the fridge, can make healthy snacking easier as well.
For those looking to up their protein intake instead—as protein is one of the most important nutrients for older adults—you can do a similar thing but with varied protein sources. If you’ve grown bored of eating chicken, pork, or beef, you can try to get in the habit of incorporating an alternative protein source into one meal a week. Things like beans, tofu, and fish are all great options if you’re looking for an extra protein boost.
3. Try Gardening
What better way to start eating healthier than by growing your own fruits and veggies? If a healthier diet is a goal for you, you may be surprised by how much having a garden can help. With a good harvest season, you’ll find your pantry practically overflowing with fresh produce, all from your backyard. Having this constant stream of fresh food coming into your kitchen will naturally increase their presence in your diet. And, if you have extras, you’ll be able to share this joy with friends, family, and neighbours by gifting some of your harvest to them.
Gardening has many other benefits too! For example, the simple movements that come with tending to your garden—such as raking, lifting pots, and transplanting delicate seedlings—provide an opportunity to exercise not just your large muscles, but also the small muscles used in fine motor control. As these motor skills naturally degrade with age, it’s important to find hobbies and habits that help to maintain them.
To get in the habit of gardening, you might start out with a small planter box by a kitchen windowsill to grow some common herbs, like parsley, chives, and thyme. From there, you can transition to growing larger plants like cherry tomatoes, peppers, and salad greens, which can all be planted in pots if you’re tight on space. With a little bit of time, luck, and effort, you’ll have a flourishing pantry right in your backyard!
4. Learn New Things
When was the last time you sat down and decided to learn something out of your comfort zone? If your answer is something along the lines of “it’s been a while…” then you’re not alone! A common misconception is that older adults “can’t learn new skills” but this is wholly untrue; in fact, learning new things is one of the best things you can do in your golden years.
In 2023, researchers at Scientific American performed an experiment to see whether the cognitive decline seen in older adults could be prevented or improved by learning new things. They created a structured program which mimicked a college student’s schedule, with three weekly classes of 2 hours each. They found that their participants, who ranged from ages 58 to 86, saw marked improvements in their memory and attention scores. After 3 months, their scores rivaled those of people 30 years younger—after a year of learning, their scores were similar to those of people 50 years younger! The article’s conclusion was that, while further research is required, these results show promising signs that cognitive decline can be combated with continued learning in older adults.
While this study focused on a fairly rigid, structured learning environment, the article clearly notes that “(the researchers) do not think that formal education is the only or most important way to support learning,” but rather that it is one of many ways that you can boost your cognitive health. Taking a language course, practicing new techniques on an instrument, or trying out a new hobby are all excellent habits to get into. The goal is to learn, and to enjoy learning, so go for something that interests you!
5. Get Social
Humans are social creatures, and have been since the time of our very first ancestors—we are practically hardwired for social interaction. In a recent article on human evolution, several pieces of evidence were compiled to support this claim. Among this evidence was research done on brain structure, which has shown that there are two distinct neural networks for social and non-social tasks, with social tasks being dealt with through the social brain network, and non-social tasks with the other. The interesting thing is that once a non-social task is completed, our brains will naturally turn our social network back on. In other words, we naturally (almost reflexively) revert back to social thinking.
Because of how attuned we are to socializing, it comes as no surprise that a certain degree of socializing is crucial for a good quality of life. Unfortunately, as we age, opportunities to socialize become fewer; friends move away, life gets busier, and sadly, some loved ones pass away. Because of this, older adults are especially vulnerable to loneliness, social isolation, and related mental health conditions like depression. To combat this, you should do your best to get in the habit of seeing friends and family on a regular basis. This may take the form of attending exercise classes together, scheduling weekly coffee sessions, taking walks together, or volunteering at the same organization. Whatever it may be, do your best to keep things regular and repetitive—instead of hanging out once for a special occasion, try to make recurring plans to see each other every month. Consistency is key for habit building, after all.
6. Meditate
When talking about healthy habits, one that pops up all over the place is meditation. This is for good reason too; meditating is one of the easiest, most accessible, and most impactful habits that you can cultivate. From physical effects—like lowered blood pressure, improved cholesterol levels, and reduced inflammation—to benefits for many mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, consistent meditation is wonderful for your health.
There are also many different ways to meditate, so you can find a method that works well for you. These include breath-focused meditation, body scans, and even active forms of mindfulness like mindful walks, yoga, and tai chi. It’s a common misconception that meditation has to be done with the eyes closed, sitting cross legged, and without any guide apart from your breath; this method may work for some, but it can also be discouraging if you aren’t able to sit for long periods of time, or find yourself easily distracted when sitting in silence. Just as with any other habit, it’s important to find something that fits your needs—if you enjoy it, you’re far more likely to stick with it.
7. Organize and Declutter
Nothing says “spring” like a bit of spring cleaning! While it’s often tempting to try and get everything cleaned in one go, breaking your cleaning up into small, habitual chunks will give you better results that last longer.
While a deep clean takes a lot of effort (to the point where you may lose motivation before you’ve cleaned everything you planned to) taking 10 minutes out of every day to clean an area of your house can help to keep things organized and clutter-free in a more practical way. As you continue this habit, you may start to see patterns in which areas grow cluttered quickly—for example, your dining table may be the place where your day-to-day items accumulate—which can then help you to create strategies to manage this clutter. If your bathroom always ends up untidy, you might consider buying a shower caddy to store items. Similarly, if you have a drawer that constantly fills up with junk, you could invest in a drawer organizer. By staying consistent and noticing areas for improvement, you’ll be able to start decluttering like a pro in no time.
Final Remarks
As we close out this article, take some time now to think of what habits you would like to implement into your life. From there, refine them with the SMART method, and think about what existing habits you can link them to. Perhaps you’ll start meditating Each night after showering, or start each day with a walk around the block. Whatever this may look like for you, remember: the goal is consistency, not perfection. Take things at your own pace, don’t be afraid of setbacks, and have fun! The world of habit building is your oyster.
