7 Easy Ways to Stay Healthy While Living in Manhattan

#1 Exercise in the Park

You don’t have to be a jogger to take advantage of all the benefits of the park. Now you can even find free summer yoga and dance classes to sweat it up without burning a hole in your wallet.

Popular parks with free fitness programs include:

• Prospect Park
• The High Line
• Central Park
• Brooklyn Bridge Park

#2 Walk This Way

While not practical for all, walking is the most accessible form of exercise available to your everyday New Yorker. Simple substitutions could be enacted by taking the stairs over the elevator or opting to walk the 30 minutes home after a late night out instead of taking Uber. It may be more time consuming, but it’s also better for your body. In my opinion it’s a fair trade through and through.

#3 Supplement Your Health

Everyone in NYC has the internet. These days you can buy anything online. Food, diapers, and dog food not excluded. So you’re strapped for time and want to improve your health? Buying supplements online could be your ticket. As a denizen of one of the most densely populated cities on earth you’ll need to make the most of your precious time. Plopping some pills in your mouth couldn’t be easier than with the help of rapid delivery. Some online retailers servicing NYC include Best New Supplements and Invite Health of NYC.

#4 Change Your Diet

Easier said than done. I know, I’ve been there too. Implementing a healthy diet typically requires spending more money on healthy food that you must then prepare and cook. However, if you’re looking to make the most substantial changes in your personal well-being this is where it’s going to happen. Many diet fads come and go. Here are a few that you can jump on the bandwagon of if you’re so inclined:

• Keto Diet
• Whole 30 Diet
• Paleo Diet

I’m a fan of the paleo diet because it brings us mere humans back to our roots. Cut out the grains and most dairy and enjoy an existence like the cave men. It also suggests you cut out alcohol. Feel free to do so, otherwise check out our post on the best bars in the Lower East Side. Users report seeing lower cholesterol, elevated energy, and increased weight loss. Not every diet will fit your needs. That’s why it’s important to research common side effects and benefits before taking the plunge. Any way you slice it though, dieting is the best way to affect your health needs for good.

#5 Rent a Bike

We’ve got plenty of those Citi Bikes laying around the city and they aren’t going away. Imagine (if you will) a sunny Sunday afternoon. What better way to embrace the end of a week with a stroll through Brooklyn or the Lower East Side. It’s cheaper than two double lattes from Starbucks and will get your blood flowing in a more productive way than the former.

#6 Get More (and/or better) Sleep

Health and sleep are inexorably intertwined. Harvard says so. Even the Archive of Internal Medicine thinks so. Whether or not you’re getting enough sleep, there’s always measures you can take to improve the quality of your sleep. Here are 4 ways to achieve optimal sleep:

1 ) Find Your Routine

This means going to bed at the same time every night and establishing consistency. You’re body will adjust and sleep should find you more quickly than if you vary your schedule.

2 ) Limit Screen Time

Turn off your computer and tablets an hour before bed. These screens emulate daylight and will provoke your senses into thinking it’s still daytime. By easing into bed you’re affording your body valuable time to ready itself for peaceful slumber.

3 ) Exercise More Often

A tired body is more susceptible to sleep. Exercising tires the body out. Just work your ass off and see the benefits in the form of more Zzzs…

4 ) Keep Work Away From the Bedroom

If you’ve created a work environment in your bedroom you may want to reconsider. Studies show that your mind creates associations with whatever you do in the bedroom. Better keep those work thoughts away and replace them with sex and sleep thoughts…

#7 Join a League or Meetup Group

Often overlooked in the scope of one’s well-being is the status of mental health. One considerable factor to mental health is the need to be social. When we feel like we’re part of a community that need is met. “Loneliness leads to death” as the great Todd Ruggs said. Joining a board game group or a sports league can do more for your well-being than you’d like to think.