Happy New Year! This is the time of new beginnings and new goals for the coming year. Many strive for better health in 2023, and while a healthy lifestyle is a worthy achievement for everyone, there are some clear advantages to making these beneficial changes when you’re trying to conceive.
Making a new year’s resolution that focuses on better health needn’t be a huge ordeal. In fact, even small lifestyle changes go a long way toward improving your health and wellbeing. Experts agree that the success of any goal begins with taking small steps. And improvements to your physical, emotional, and spiritual health may help you achieve your goal of growing your family.
Lifestyle Changes to Help in Your New Year’s Goal
Here we offer seven lifestyle changes to help you achieve your new year’s resolutions and improve your health and your fertility.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
As resolutions go, the goal of getting to a healthy weight is a top contender. Most people seek to get to that goal through weight loss, however being either underweight or overweight has an impact on your ability to conceive. Either condition disrupts your hormones, which in turn, affects ovulation. A healthy diet goes a long way toward boosting your fertility.
Men also suffer from weight-related infertility. Experts associate male obesity with low levels of hormones, like testosterone, necessary for pregnancy. Obesity in men also poses a risk for a low sperm count and low sperm motility (movement).
Having too little body fat is just as detrimental to fertility and your overall health as having too much. An easy way to check where you’re at is by using a BMI calculator. Health professionals consider a BMI between 19 and 25 healthy. If you fall outside this range in either direction, speak to your doctor.
Stop Smoking to Improve Your Health
Smoking impacts health in so many ways–from lung diseases, including cancer, to heart disease and impaired fertility. How does smoking affect fertility? Smoking wreaks havoc on your reproductive system, including your eggs and your fallopian tubes. Women who smoke have a significantly greater risk of miscarriage. Quitting smoking immediately will improve your health and your fertility. If you need help to quit, seek support from your doctor, mental health professional, or a support group.
Cut Back on Caffeine
Are you someone who needs that morning cup of coffee to get going? Or do you enjoy your daily Starbucks treat as a reward for making it to 3 pm? Do road trips and red bull go together for you? If so, you need to pump the breaks on your caffeine intake. Here’s why:
Caffeine constricts your blood vessels, which hampers the flow of blood to various parts of your body, including your uterus. Without healthy blood circulation implantation of a fertilized egg is compromised. Drinking caffeine during pregnancy contributes to lower birth weight and other risks. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) advises those trying to conceive to cut your caffeine intake down to about 200 mg. [Text Wrapping Break]
Exercise
Most of us know the benefits of regular exercise: reduced stress, better cardiovascular health, improved sleep, lowered risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and weight management, to name a few. But not only is exercise a great way to manage your weight, a study published by the National Institutes of Health shows that 30-60 minutes of daily exercise helps reduce the risk of ovulatory-associated infertility.
Self-Care is Vital
Does it seem like everyone is talking about self-care these days? While it might be buzzworthy, the fact is you need to take care of yourself and your emotional and spiritual health more than ever right now. Number one on your list is doing the healthy things you enjoy! Read, go for a walk, take a bubble bath, get a massage, have lunch with a friend, find an enjoyable hobby. All of these pursuits help you maintain a level of happiness and calm that is so necessary to improve your health and your fertility.
For those who find themselves dealing with regular bouts of anxiety and depression, it’s time to seek help. You want to be the best possible parents, and that means checking in to ensure your emotional wellbeing. Reach out to a professional who is adept at dealing with infertility and fertility complications.
Quiet Time and Stress Reduction
Trying to conceive without success is often very stressful. Combine that with the normal stress of work, relationships, bills and the like and you feel the world coming down on your shoulders. Take time to step back and pause the noise in your head. May we suggest the following?
- Take a break from social media at least one day each week. Can’t do it? Try an hour of no Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, etc.
- Journal your feelings.
- Meditate or try some breathing exercises.
- Take a brisk walk.
- Revisit an old hobby; paint, crochet, garden. Creativity is centering and calms your mind.
- Obtain a fertility assessment from your doctor. Knowledge is a powerful tool in combating stress.
A Good Night’s Sleep
It seems as though everyone has an issue these days with getting a solid night’s sleep. While lack of sleep takes a toll by way of decreased focus and mental acuity, increased risk for chronic conditions, depression, obesity and other things, it also impacts fertility in very specific ways:
- Too much blue light contributes to poor egg quality so shut down the electronics before bed.
- Aim for 7-8 hours of solid sleep each night to prevent disruption to your crucial reproductive hormones.
- Working the nightshift, or what’s sometimes referred to as the “infertility” shift, can disrupt your circadian rhythm causing hormonal imbalances that throw off your menstrual cycle.
Here are some ways to fix your sleep pattern and improve your health and your fertility.
We Are Here to Help With Your New Year’s Resolutions
Cutting out caffeine, limiting sugar, practicing yoga, and taking up birdwatching don’t automatically ensure you’ll conceive. However, every positive thing you can do to improve your health helps your reproductive system respond to treatment and, moreover, keeps you healthy for all your parenting years to come.
For more on how you can keep your new year’s resolution to improve your health, or for any of your fertility concerns, contact Rise Fertility. We’re here to help you achieve your goal of a healthy, happy family, in the new year and beyond. Schedule a consultation with the fertility experts at Rise Fertility today.
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