34 Essential Health Rules to Live By

1. If you're sleep deprived, change your bedtime—not your wake-up time. We fall into our deepest sleep two hours before our natural waking time, making adjusting your a.m. alarm much harder.

2. The bedrock rules: Get seven to nine hours per night, aim to go to bed and get up at the same time every day and don't hit the snooze button. (You know this, right?)

3. Night owls: Use bright morning light to help sync your internal clock to the environment. Blue light from your gadgets can have similar effects. Just be sure to put the tech toys down at least 30 minutes before bed.

4. Cut off caffeine by late afternoon and alcohol by mid-evening, so they don't interfere with your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

5. Make your bed every morning—people who do so are more likely to report a better night's rest. (It's also a so-called "keystone habit" that can help you follow through on other healthy habits too.

6. Do high intensity interval training (HIIT) for this reason: It increases adrenaline, which tells your fat cells to release fat so you can use it for energy.

7. Get up and take a one-minute break during every hour of sitting, and stretch your hip flexors at the end of the day. Sitting shortens them and can lead to back pain.

8. Split workouts into 10- or 15-minute chunks throughout the day if necessary. It's just as effective as one longer session.

9. Rev your metabolism with strength training. The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn at rest.

10. Vary your routine. You'll do more reps, gain more muscle, lose more weight and lower your risk of injury.

11. Strengthen your bones with weight-bearing exercises and explosive moves like jumping.

12. If forced to choose between sleep and exercise for one day, choose sleep. Missing one workout doesn't have the same negative effects as a night of too little snoozing.

13. Use a foam roller to stretch out the body part most of us forget: fascia, the connective tissue throughout your body that, when tight, can make you achy and sore.

14. If you're sick and the discomfort is happening below the neck (body aches, chest congestion, fever or diarrhea), take the day off from exercise.

15. Track your non-workout steps too. When you're on your game at the gym, your body's natural instinct is to move less outside of it to conserve energy.

16. It goes without saying, but you need to see your doctor regularly. Yearly isn't always necessary if you're in good health. Ask your doc just how often—or not—you should be seeing them.

17. Hypertension, breast cancer and diabetes: When investigating your family health history, these are three biggies to watch for. And (obviously) share what you discover with your doc.

18. Ask your questions at the beginning instead of the end of a visit to set an agenda that's specific to you and your concerns.

19. Snack like a five-year-old with a health-but mom: nut-filled trail mix, string cheese, yogurt, granola bars—all with little or no added sugar.

20. Enjoy alcohol in a straight glass—people chug 60% faster out of curved ones. It'll help you stick to the one-drink-per-day guideline for women.

21. Toss foods in your home with sugar listed among the first three ingredients, including those ending in "-ose" (added sugars) or "-ol" (sugar alcohols). Leave yourself a favorite treat or two so you don't feel deprived.

22. Choose whole grains over refined carbs to keep energy levels on an even keel. So long, blood-sugar rush followed by the inevitable crash!

23. Stay regular with 25 grams of fiber per day, but make sure you're drinking enough water to keep your pee light yellow. Tons of fiber plus little water is a recipe for constipation.

24. Keep your fridge tidy: Put the healthiest items on eye-level shelves, stash not-so-great foods in opaque containers and keep bags of pre-cut fruits and veggies at the ready.

25. Savor that morning cup of coffee. Research shows it can lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and more.

26. Get a hobby (or several). The more intellectual, physical or social leisure activities you have, the lower your risk of dementia. Same for your job: The more mentally challenging, the better.

27. Avoid artificial trans fats, added sugar, excessive sodium and super-high-fat fare, and load up on fish, leafy greens, berries and moderate amounts of vino.

28. Prioritize your friendships, especially during those moments when you just want to Netflix alone. Social relationships can lower stress, improve cognition and immunity—and help you sleep better.

29. Find out your ABSI (A Body Shape Index Score), a better measure of your health than BMI because it takes into account height, weight and waist circumference.

30. Don't be among the one in five women who can't name a single warning sign of a stroke. The three tell-tale signals: face dropping, arm weakness and speech difficulty.

31. Maintain a healthy weight—it's the number one thing oncologists agree can lower your risk of cancer. (Aside from not smoking, of course.)

32. Change your toothbrush whenever you switch our your closet, file expense reports or go through quarterly receipts—about every three months.

33. When it comes to sex, just do it. Desire often kicks in after the action starts. More motivation: Research shows a wealth of oh, my! sexual memories may help you live longer.

34. Add socks to your sex life. Wearing them helps warm other areas of the body and increases your chances of orgasm.

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