Following the flurry of the festive season, the New Year is an excellent time to restart, realign and prioritise. That’s why many have already lined up some New Year’s resolutions – planning on joining a gym, spending more time with family, or looking for a new career path. Whatever you wish for yourself, whichever goal you’re writing down in big bold letters; there is one common denominator – an element that connects it all – and that is You!

‘Your health is your wealth’– a proverb that has become more important than ever over the past two years and definitely should remain in everyone’s mind in 2022. Often people confuse being healthy as a state of just being physically fit and usually people assume that fitness and strength are all about building a strong body. It’s equally important to remember that health offers a connection to your overall wellbeing — which includes mental wellbeing.

But here’s the good news: you can train your overall body and mind simultaneously as you train your muscles. Based on recommendations from the World Health Organisation and the American Heart Association, we should do at least 150 active zone minutes each week. With a little help from wearables like fitness trackers and smartwatches, you can easily track these activity targets while supporting your overall health, mental wellbeing, weight management, and even help prevent diseases.

Your mental well-being affects how you feel about all areas of life and how you interact with the world. It impacts your ability to set and fulfil goals, your capacity to build and maintain relationships, and whether you enjoy the ride. In short, learning to prioritise and manage your mental well-being leads to a better quality of life.

According to a South African survey conducted on the behalf of Fitbit by Course5 Intelligence, 50% of respondents consider strength to be a combination of mental and physical traits while 41% defined strength as the ability to deal with the stresses and challenges that life presents in our daily lives.

Strength is all-encompassing and has evolved, in recent times, from humans being in the best shape physically to prioritising both our mental and physical health, listening to our bodies, and thinking about our health holistically.

If you choose to prioritise one thing on your resolution list, it should be your mental health. A growing body of research shows that there are simple steps you can take to recharge your emotional batteries and spark a sense of fulfilment, purpose, and happiness. Reading, meditating, outdoor exercise or taking a short nap are some of the simple activities that can strengthen and sharpen your brain and enhance your mood and reduce stress.

Modern-day wearables from leading brands like Fitbit could also offer a helping hand in achieving one’s New Year resolutions by providing tools to monitor and track your stress levels, sleep, heart rate and by helping you stay fit and energetic.

Advanced features on recently launched smartwatches and fitness trackers include heart health notifications, stress management with EDA sensors, premium program memberships and mindfulness tools. Premium is a Fitbit platform that can also unlock a range of mindfulness sessions from experts including the Deepak Chopra Mindfulness Method or Calm, the #1 App for Sleep, Meditation & Relaxation™ to help prioritise self-care – and could facilitate in helping to manage stress in the comfort of your home.

Through personalised guidance, content and insights, users can take control of their wellbeing and rebuild a routine that nurtures healthier habits and make small changes that will have longer-lasting impacts on their overall wellbeing.

So, make the one re-YOU-lution that matters most to take control of your wellbeing, rebuild a routine that nurtures healthier habits, and make small changes that will have a longer-lasting impact on the whole You.

2 A survey by Course5 Intelligence conducted on behalf of Fitbit in August 2021 of 13,053 adults in 12
countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa. (UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain,
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Poland, South Africa, and UAE). The participants are a representative
sample as selected by Course5 Intelligence.