We have all made New Year's Resolutions. And chances are, we have all broken them too. In fact, only 9% of people manage to follow through on what they promised themselves. 

The most common New Year's Resolutions are to lose weight and get fit, quit a bad habit like smoking or drinking too much, and do more for others / give to charity. Unfortunately, a lack of preparation combined with dwindling motivation often leads people to fail. 

Setting Realistic Resolutions

The key to keeping a resolution is to make it realistic and achievable. You should also be able to measure it. For example, saying you're going to lose weight or quit smoking in the new year is one thing. But saying you are going to lose 2 stone by June or cut down from 20 cigarettes a day to 5 by April, is a much more specific goal. And one that can be achieved.

You can also benefit from setting smaller milestones. For example, if your overall goal is to lose 2 stone, you could break this down into 4 milestones (lose half a stone by 4 different points). 

Unrealistic goals will end up unmet, resulting in disappointment and embarrassment - especially if you made a big fuss to family and friends about your resolution. 

3 Health Boosting New Year's Resolutions

The most common resolutions are health related. So which ones can you try next year?

1. Quit Tobacco, Vape Instead

If you have tried to quit smoking before using patches, gum or prescription medication, and failed, you might be interested in trying vaping. Vaping is 95% safer than smoking but still allows you to have your nicotine hit. This means you quit without actually quitting! 

The nicotine in your cigarettes is the chemical you are addicted to. But it is not a particularly harmful one. Cigarettes contain hundreds of toxins, most of which come from the process of burning tobacco. It is these toxins responsible for the development of cancers and other smoking related diseases. When you switch to vaping, you remove your exposure to these toxins. 

The great thing about vaping is you can also control how much nicotine you take in, and if you want to wean yourself off, you can gradually reduce your intake. For example, you might begin on 20mg nicotine, then cut down to 10mg, then to 5mg. You can also buy 0mg nicotine vaping kits or try the CBD range. 

Worried about a change in the flavour? Vaping can be done in all sorts of flavours, including tobacco. Check out our vaping range. 

2. Get More Sleep

Many health problems are caused by a common, fundamental problem - sleep deprivation. The jury is still out on how many hours sleep we need - but the general agreement is that the focus should be on sleep quality, rather than quantity. 

Research suggests that almost half of older adults experience insomnia. Half of single parents sleep less than 7 hours per night and women have a lifetime risk of insomnia of about 40% more than men. 

Sleep deprivation can be caused by a number of things. Some of these are:

• Work problems
• Stress
• Parenthood 
• Pregnancy
• Medication side effects
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Physical injury
• Pain
• A sleep disturbed partner
• Night shifts 
• Jetlag

When we are sleep deprived we can feel agitated, hyper or fatigued, forgetful, foggy, physically exhausted and depressed or anxious. 

Sleep deprivation is also a correlating condition with obesity, depression, chronic pain and cardiovascular disorders / heart attack.

Some people think they are getting enough sleep, but the sleep quality simply isn't there. For example, drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco can interfere with natural sleep cycles, creating sleep deprivation even if you get more than 7 hours. 

If you want to get more sleep next year, here's how you can do it. 

1. Commit to a sleep schedule. Agree a time you'll go to bed every night and create a 'getting ready for bed' routine, where you switch off your devices, have a hot bath, read a book and have a hot drink. We are creatures of habit and before you know it, nodding off will be easy.

2. Tackle an underlying cause of sleep deprivation. What is triggering your insomnia? Create an action plan to reduce this problem. For example, if you have anxiety, book yourself in for some talking therapy or try an anti anxiety remedy such as a nootropic or CBD oil. 

3. Incorporate CBD into your routine. CBD, a compound from the hemp plant, is a safe, legal and non-psychoactive herbal remedy. It can help tackle a wide range of problems including sleep disturbance, pain, anxiety and stress. CBD can come in a range of forms, including capsules, oils, and even bath products. You can check out our wholesale CBD range here. 

3. Eat More Raw Foods

Raw, unprocessed foods are packed with antioxidants, nutrients and goodness. Having more raw foods in your diet can help you to reduce your body weight, boost metabolism, enhance your immune system, reduce inflammation and feel more energised. Raw foods can be nuts, seeds, raw veggies, berries, avocados, coconut chips, coconut water and much, much more. 

Raw foods are also cheap to buy and give you an opportunity to experiment with recipes. Of course, not everything on your plate needs to be raw. You could have, for example, roast chicken on a bed of raw veg salad and an avocado salsa!

You can also add nootropics and CBD into your diet to make it even healthier. CBD can come in the form of food powders, chocolate, drinks and dried fruit. By adding this to your plate, you create an even healthier meal that's also delicious. 

Nootropics can be taken orally alongside a balanced healthy meal, giving your brain extra energy and replenishment. 

You can see our wholesale nootropics range here. 

Need a hand? Our team are here to answer your questions and help you to meet and exceed your healthy new year's resolutions.