Looking for healthy habits for teens that are realistic and can seamlessly fit into your life (or your teen’s life!)? This simple list of habits is a great place to start if you are passionate about self improvement or if you are a parent that wants to encourage their teen to get started with healthy habits.
It’s never too early to start your self care routine and you will be amazed at how you feel once you start implementing some of these healthy habits. Most of these tips are things that I did as a teen or wish I had prioritized more as I now realize how important they are.
Use this post as inspiration as you create your beautiful life and crush your goals!
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or mental health specialist. If you are struggling please reach out to a medical professional.
What are healthy habits for teens?
Healthy habits for teens include anything that helps you to improve your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. There are various different ways to achieve this so find what you enjoy, fits your budget and what you can do consistently.
Also, your friends may not understand why you are starting these new healthy habits. And that is ok! Start healthy habits for yourself and your friends may even be inspired and try to implement their own self care routine as well.
This post is all about the best healthy living tips for teens.
The Best Tips For Maintaining Healthy Habits For Teens
1. Find something you are passionate about
This is just my personal opinion but I think that finding something purposeful to fill your time with is a very undervalued part of the wellness industry!
As you will see, some of the tips on this list are more typical, like eating right and moving your body, but what about your mind? What helps you to jump out of bed in the morning, brings you joy and keeps you going through the tough days?
I’m not saying you have to go on a quest to find your purpose in life or why you are here. That is mostly a process of creation rather than seeking.
But just encouraging you to explore different hobbies and passions, stick to one for a bit to see where it can take you and maybe see how you grow as you explore it!
Be open to hobbies that come your way and don’t judge yourself for trying things that may be outside of the norm in your friend group or family.
Here are some unique hobbies to consider:
- Knitting or crochet
- Ballet or other dance classes
- Bird watching
- Reading (maybe a new genre)
- Coding
- Makeup
- Volunteering in your community
- Growing your own food
- Entrepreneurship
2. Learn how to make simple healthy snacks for teens
If you are lucky, your family will still be cooking for you as you live at home. But something you may be expected to do is make your own snacks.
There’s nothing wrong with premade snacks like chips or cookies. It can be helpful to start learning about cooking early though so that when you move out you are not starting from scratch.
Also, the more nutrient dense snacks you prioritize the better you will feel!
Here are some simple healthy teen snacks you can make:
- Fruit and veggie smoothie
- Homemade sushi
- Homemade hummus, pair with raw veggies or pretzels
- Bean and veggie wraps
- Nut butter energy balls
{RECOMMENDED POST: Copy These 15 Minute Easy Plant Based Meal Prep Ideas}
3. Get active! If you don’t love sports, no problem
It’s no secret that being active can do wonders for your health! I’m sure in the majority of your health/physical education classes they mention this. And for good reason. Not only does staying active help you to feel your best and be confident about your looks, it can also help you reach your other goals as well.
A really great place to start is with at home fitness classes on Youtube. They are free, you can do them from anywhere and they can be done whenever you have time. You can find anything from HIIT classes, dance classes, pilates and yoga!
If workout classes are not your thing, even a daily walk does wonders for you!
I have to share my yoga classes of course since many of them are beginner friendly! My consistent yoga practice really started with free yoga classes on Youtube so it is exciting to share my own version with you and I hope they bring you as much goodness as those classes brought me!
4. Make great friends-doesn’t have to be a lot, quality over quantity
We can’t choose our family but we can choose our friends! It is said that we become the most like the 5 people we spend the most time with so choose them wisely.
As a teen, sometimes your friends end up being dependent on who lives in your town. Now with social media you can meet people from all over the world! But still, the people you most likely will see often are those nearby.
It is important to be mindful of who your surround yourself with. If you get an off gut feeling about someone then trust yourself and stay optimistic about finding likeminded people.
As long as you find a couple people that you can relate to, feel comfortable with and share similar passions then you are good to go!
A helpful tool is to notice how you feel after hanging out with certain people. If you feel emotionally drained or agitated then take note of these feelings. Instead, if you feel happy, refreshed and inspired then rejoice and know that you probably found a good group to spend your free time with!
5. Prioritize sleep and healthy sleep habits
Ok so this is a boring tip but sleep is SO important. Teenagers get a bad rap for sleeping too much but from what I have learned it is developmentally appropriate and needed!
Here are some tips for getting great sleep:
- Don’t pull all nighters. They are rarely worth it and you will feel horrible the next day
- Don’t do drugs or drink. Again, they will make you feel horrible the next day and it is overrated. I promise.
- Find a way to cool down your room, AC/fan
- Make it dark with curtains (or blankets over windows lol)
- Don’t have caffeine in the late afternoon (coffee, soda, some teas, matcha, some boba drinks, energy drinks etc.)
- Take naps when you want but don’t over do it
- Wear an eye mask! I thought only people in movies wore these but they are such a game changer since they block out so much light
{RECOMMENDED POST: 9 Eco friendly Evening Routine Products to Get the Best Sleep of Your Life}
6. Learn more about your financial health
Everyone’s situation is different but I highly recommend getting a job as a teen no matter how financially stable or unstable your home life is.
Simply put, money gives you freedom.
Not all the freedom, obviously, you are not an adult yet. But I will never forget the feeling as a teen of making my own money and being to buy what I wanted and go where I wanted. It’s just a fun feeling to experience.
Also, it is never too early to learn about financial literacy. This is not financial advice but learning about saving and budgeting can put you light years ahead of many adults that still struggle with this. Money can be a taboo topic but there really is no other feeling like starting to support yourself financially and make small financial decisions here and there.
Some other benefits to working as a teen are:
- Make new friends and meet new people from different walks of life
- Gain a bit of independence
- Learn new skills. Even if it seems dumb now you never know when it will come in handy
- Great way to stay busy if you tend to be bored during school breaks
- Get experience doing something you may want a career in
7. Find ways to celebrate your achievements and plan for exciting things to come
As they say, celebrate your small wins! Of course there are “big wins” you will have as a teen like getting your driver’s license, getting into college, athletic achievements and more.
But even being consistent with some of the things on this list are incredible and worth celebrating!
Did I miss any other healthy habits for teens that you want to include? Please let us know in the comments below and it can help others as they try to navigate their health as a teen or while they raise their teen.
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Stay well,
Maggie
This post was all about the best healthy habits for teens.
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