"Keeping your stress levels in check and prioritising sleep are crucial and often overlooked components of a healthy lifestyle. Sleep in particular is a keystone habit that impacts everything else in your day-to-day life," Sohee says.
Sleep affects levels of the hunger-regulating hormone leptin, which helps your body realise it's full, and ghrelin, which stimulates appetite. Stress triggers the production of cortisol, a stress hormone linked to an increased appetite and more belly fat, which is why cravings fire up when we're tired. So managing these two are essential.
Self-care is so important, and it doesn't just mean taking bubble baths, getting a massage, and sleeping seven to nine hours a night. You also want to find healthy ways to relax each day, find joy, and take some down time.
Take 10 minutes to listen to music, read your favourite book, or do this tension-melting yoga sequence. Self-care also means knowing when to say no, so you're not stretching yourself too thin. Sohee added, "let good enough be good enough."
Image Source: Getty / kupicoo