Raising a young family is not easy, and being health conscious is hard, especially with the convenience, affordability, and widespread availability of processed food. The key to adopting a healthy lifestyle comes from the formation of good habits, which will set you up to make smart choices. Setting a good example for members of your family is so important, especially since young kids will often grow to imitate their parents!

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Exercise

Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for yourself – mentally,  it can help keep your judgment and thinking sharp as you age, reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and also helps with the production of your brain’s feel good chemicals, called endorphins. Exercise is extremely important for kids as it builds strong and healthy bones, and athletic activities can serve as great places for social connections. Exercise is good for weight management and weight loss, and significantly lowers your risk of getting cardiovascular diseases, and types of cancer including breast cancer and kidney cancer.

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Quality sleep

Quality sleep is so important to keep your body healthy and sleep needs range based on age with adults needing 7 or more hours per night  but preschoolers needing 10 to 13. Getting adequate sleep helps you get sick less often, manage your weight, reduce your risk of serious health problems, perform better at school, and get along better with people. Making sleep a priority in your life is so important because it really affects so many aspects of it, like your mental health, work performance, social life, and physical wellbeing.

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Exploring new things

Exploring new things is great for your emotional health and trying new things releases dopamine (our feel good chemical) and makes us feel rewarded. Trying new things can be daunting and even scary, like going to new places, or trying to discover new talents, but perhaps trying a DTBM cookie is a great way to begin your journey of exploring new things.

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Spending Time with Loved Ones

Spending time with your loved ones, and actively taking a break from always being ‘plugged in’ is so important. In February of 2021, a report of adults in the US concluded that 36% of all Americans feel ‘serious loneliness,’ including 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children. Spending time with family, especially face to face, helps you cope with stress and provides you with a support system to get you through tough times in life. It can boost your mood, and rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul. In an age where everyone is technologically connected at all times, through Facebook or Instagram, it is important to not lose sight of the connections that matter most, the deeper, face to face interactions without any external distractions.

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Eating well

Eating well and prioritizing your health is extremely correlated with longevity, and preventing all types of diseases like heart disease or types of cancer. Eating less added sugar, trans fat, and lower amounts of salt is so important for living longer, growing healthy muscles, proper immune function, weight management, and so much more. Making it a habit to enjoy foods and find desserts that are not processed, artificially flavored, or full of added sugars, is not easy, but worth it. Unfortunately, processed food is so readily available and cheap, but eating DTBM cookies, with only five organic ingredients is one way you can prioritize eating well and your health.