Just 5%.......little is BIG! My New Years Resolution

little changes with BIG effects....

What if people would just change 5% of their daily habits, routines, sleep, stress, etc.?  I can tell you, it would have a significant impact on just about everything.   I'm going to show you in this BLOG. 

Goal setting is important and we all do it this time of the year. Everyone is expecting you to share your 'New Years Resolution', right?  I'm just hoping it won't end in the middle of January for you as is common to most.  Here's mine and I've been thinking about this.  I figure we can all reasonably control 5% of flux from the main line of what is ideal in our life.  Yep, just 5% is more than doable.

I'm a numbers person so I began to put this thought and principle to the test and it's HUGE. Here goes....If you do a dedicated exercise routine of 30 minutes a day, a 5% addition would result in 547.5 extra minutes a year. Plus, at a pace of 4mph on the treadmill resulting in 1 mile in 15 min, you could add an extra 36.5 miles a year.  Wow! Here's another one.  If you sleep about 6 hours a day, a 5% increase could add an extra 109 hours of sleep a year.  Double WOW!!  little IS.... BIG!! If you spent 5% more time with your family than watching the TV (based on a 2010 average of about 3.5 hours) then at the end of the year would would spend 60 hours more time with your family.  Incredible!

Then I started pondering the clinical significance of our health and the impact that 5% could have in our society.  What if we all moved the balance bubble just 5% toward the mark? These are some numbers from the National Institute of Health and the American Diabetes Association.  Yikes!

~Approximately 24 million Americans have diabetes. (a reduction of 5% could mean 1.2 million less)
~12.6 million women have diabetes (a reduction of 5% could mean 630,000 less women)
~79 million Americans have pre-diabetes. (a blood glucose higher than normal, but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis).  The damage to the body is already occurring, but it is silent at this point. You do the math.
~7.9 million ambulatory care visits are made to physicians offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments for major depressive disorder each year.  That could be reduced by 395,000 visits.  Imagine the impact that could have on our health care system and expenditures.

Are you considering a 5% shift yet? I hope so.

What are some target areas to implement the +/- 5% rule? 

~Exercise
~Diet (start reducing calories by 5%. If you normally eat 2500 calories a day, then at the end of the year you will save yourself 45,625 calories.)
~Sleep
~Stress and Stress Hormone (cortisol) reduction (change just 5% from the lifestyle your are leading)
~Habits and Routines (TV and computer time, workload and responsibilities, etc.)
~Social Networks (I wrote another BLOG on the impact of social networks.  You might want to check that out and make changes accordingly.  Your friends/spouse might be making you happy, but also fat.)
~Family
~Faith and Friendships
~Quiet time

My New Years Resolution is going to be to change my life by just 5%.  If I make a 5% change in all of these areas, the numbers will really be compounded.  Would you consider doing the same?  Now just imagine if everyone would do their part!?!? ---->>  We could ALL see significant change in 2012.

It's been an amazing year in business.  We have prepared over 5,000 customized formulations for all types of needs.  If we increase that by just 5%, that will be 250 more people that we help this year.  How awesome is that?!?! Assess what you do and the impact that just 5% could have on your day to day life and the people that you touch.  You will be in awe at what the numbers show.  Go for just 5%!!!

I hope you have a Happy New Year!
To your good health,
Dr. Sonja