How to Live a Healthy Lifestyle: 12 Simple Tips for Healthy Habits

If you want to live a healthy lifestyle, you don’t need to turn your whole life upside down. It’s not radical changes that make a lasting difference, but the small choices you make every single day. Another glass of water. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Going to bed a few minutes earlier. Healthy habits are often easier to integrate into your daily routine than you might think—once you know what really matters. 

In this article, you’ll learn how to start with the four essential pillars of how to live a healthy lifestyle: nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management. You won’t find strict rules, but instead, practical advice and inspiring ideas you can apply right away. Because living healthy doesn’t mean giving things up. It means being mindful, taking care of yourself, and feeling better in the long run. Start today, and your body will thank you. 

Whether you’re male or female, most of us already know what matters for a long and healthy life. The challenge lies in putting that knowledge into action, especially in our busy everyday lives. 

The good news is that it can be simple. If you focus on what truly benefits your health and simplify it, healthy habits for everyday life become achievable for everyone. 

Here are the most essential tips to live a healthy lifestyle: 

• Eat colorful, natural, and locally sourced foods.
• Move regularly throughout the day, aim for 30 minutes of exercise, and use supportive tools to enhance your training.
• Develop an evening routine, go to bed at consistent times, and optimize your sleep environment for better rest.
• Practice stress management through deep breathing, meditation, and regular short breaks.
• Make time for hobbies and social connections to boost happiness and reduce stress. 

You'll learn why these habits for healthy people work—and how to make them part of your daily life—in the following sections. 

For overall well-being, nutrition forms the foundation of how to live a healthy lifestyle. Instead of focusing on short-term diets, what really counts are the daily decisions you make. Pay attention to a balanced intake of proteins, plant-based foods, fiber, and fermented products. Additionally, keep your meals as natural as possible. Sprouts are also a valuable addition to your diet, as they’re packed with enzymes, vitamins, and phytonutrients. Small changes like these can help you establish healthy eating habits and have an impact on your long-term health. 

A simple meal guideline: Start with protein, then add vegetables, and finish with carbohydrates. This order can help reduce blood sugar spikes, keep you full longer, and support healthy weight management over time. 

Prioritize Protein 

Protein isn’t just essential for muscle growth; it also supports your immune system, cell regeneration, and helps you feel satisfied after meals. Aim for about 1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, depending on your activity level and goals. Good sources include legumes, tofu, tempeh, cottage cheese, eggs, fish, and high-quality meat. Plant-based protein shakes can also be a smart choice if you struggle to meet your daily intake. 

Eat a Variety of Colorful Fruits and Vegetables 

Colorful food means healthy food. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends eating at least five portions of fruits and vegetables daily. The more variety you have, the more nutrients your body gets. Avoid fruit juices when possible. They often contain excess sugar and cause quick blood sugar spikes, which can trigger cravings. Lighter fruits like berries are preferable to sweeter options such as grapes or bananas. This small shift in your diet can help stabilize your energy levels and is an easy, sustainable step in how to live a long healthy life. 

Include Fermented Foods 

Foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, yogurt, kefir, and tempeh support a healthy gut microbiome and, therefore, your digestion, immune system, and even your mood. When buying these products, look for live cultures and minimal additives. 

Reduce Sugar and Processed Foods 

You don’t have to eliminate sugar entirely to live a healthy life—just keep it in check. Try to stay below 25 grams of free sugar per day (a maximum of 50 grams). 

That includes added sugars and naturally occurring ones in honey, syrups, and certain fruits. Whenever possible, choose unprocessed, whole foods over ready-made meals. The closer your food is to its natural state, the more nutrients it retains and the easier it is to maintain healthy habits in the long run. 

Stay Hydrated: Aim for 1.5 Liters a Day 

Water fuels your body, and you need plenty of it to stay productive and energized. The DGE recommends drinking about 1.5 liters per day, in addition to the water contained in your food. That includes still or sparkling mineral water, unsweetened herbal or fruit teas, and diluted juice spritzers (1 part juice to 3 parts water). Pro tip: Drink a glass of water right after waking up, then another (200 ml) every 1.5 hours throughout the day, stopping about 60–90 minutes before bedtime to avoid waking at night. When it comes to alcohol, try to avoid it altogether, or limit yourself to no more than two small drinks per week. 

Alongside nutrition, exercise is one of the main pillars of how to live a healthy lifestyle. And the best part? It doesn’t have to be complicated. Whether it’s yoga, swimming, or padel, the most important thing is that you keep your body moving, both during your daily routine and through intentional workouts. 

Ideally, plan at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week. That can mean endurance training, a mobility flow, or a quick strength session using your own body weight. It doesn’t have to be intense every day. In fact, giving your body 1–2 rest days per week to walk, stretch, or use foam rollers can significantly support your recovery. Even small movements throughout the day add up. 

Standing up regularly from your desk, walking short distances instead of driving, or taking active breaks can all improve your fitness, support your cardiovascular system, and help maintain flexibility as you age. 

Stay Active for 30 Minutes a Day 

You don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to stay healthy. Just 30 minutes of daily activity can make a huge difference. The key is consistency, so choose activities you actually enjoy so movement becomes something you look forward to, not a chore. A balanced mix of strength and endurance training helps keep your heart strong, your muscles flexible, and your metabolism active. This combination also plays a major role in preventing cardiovascular diseases and promoting long-term health. 

Small Routines, Big Results 

You don’t need long or intense workouts. Regular movement throughout the day is enough to create real change. Building small, sustainable routines is one of the best strategies for anyone learning how to build healthy habits. Start simple: Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk instead of using an e-scooter. On top, reduce what keeps you from being active. You don't have to go to the gym for strength training. Feel free to train with your own body weight at home if that helps you establish a routine. 

Enhance Your Training with Tools 

Movement is something you do for yourself, but with the right tools, you can make it even more effective. Use our foam rollers, resistance bands from BLACKROLL to diversify your workouts, activate your muscles, and strengthen your entire body. 

Recovery is just as important as training. Tools like foam rollers and massage balls boost circulation, stimulate the lymphatic system, promote removing waste products, and help release tension in your fascia. Combine self-massage with mindful breathing to amplify the effect. It helps you relax while improving flexibility and reducing pain. 

While nutrition and exercise build the foundation of how to live a healthy lifestyle, true recovery happens when you rest. During the night, your body and brain go through vital repair, regeneration, and healing processes. Your body rebuilds tissues, strengthens the immune system, and supports memory and emotional balance. That’s why sleep is one of the most important habits for healthy people. Prioritize your rest! It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity for energy, focus, and long-term well-being. 

Create a Calming Evening Routine 

Restful sleep starts long before you close your eyes. A consistent, calming evening routine tells your body it’s time to slow down. Try the following healthy sleep habits: Avoid eating two to three hours before bedtime. Stop drinking liquids 60–90 minutes before sleep to prevent nighttime awakenings. Disconnect from screens at least one hour before bed – no phones, tablets, or TV. When your mind and body have time to unwind, you’ll fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up more refreshed. 

Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule 

One of the most underestimated but powerful healthy habits is keeping regular sleep and wake times, even on weekends. Going to bed and waking up at the same time helps your body maintain a natural rhythm, allowing you to fall into deep and REM sleep more efficiently. Research shows that consistent sleep can even reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia later in life. 

Optimize Your Sleep Environment 

Creating the right environment for rest is just as important as developing good sleep routines. For truly restorative sleep, focus on these three factors: Keep your room as dark as possible, or use a sleep mask. Maintain a cool room temperature—ideally between 60–65°F (16–18°C). Ventilate your room before bed or sleep with a slightly open window to increase oxygen flow. 

Relaxation and stress reduction are the fourth crucial area to explore when you want to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. In the long term, chronic stress can lead to cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and mental illnesses such as depression. So give your body and mind the breaks they need and draw new strength from inner peace through healthy habits! 

Breathe Deeply and Meditate 

For many of us, stress is a daily companion, and we can’t avoid it entirely. Fortunately, deep breathing and meditation offer ways to quickly regain calm after periods of stress. When practiced regularly, these simple techniques become habits for healthy people. Stress reduction leads to lower cortisol levels, which benefits our cells. This is because cortisol blocks repair processes in our cells, causing them to age faster. 

Schedule Intentional Breaks 

You probably have many obligations every day—both personal and professional, such as cooking, exercising, and shopping. Try to incorporate little islands of relaxation between these obligations. Closing your eyes for five minutes, letting your thoughts wander, meditating, looking at the sun, or listening to your favorite song: all of these things can be enough to recharge your personal batteries a little. These moments are essential tips to live a healthy lifestyle that feels achievable and stress-free. 

Make Time for Joy and Connection 

And: Create islands of joy for yourself! Take time for your hobbies, meet up with friends and family. All of this can be exhausting for your body and mind, but on the other hand, it can give you a lot of energy in the form of happiness hormones! Social connections in particular are an essential factor for a long and healthy life. 

Building new routines can feel overwhelming at first. How are you supposed to drink 1.5 liters of water, walk 7,000 steps, and work out for 30 minutes daily—all at once? The answer: you don’t have to do all of that immediately. 

Sustainable wellness comes from small, consistent steps. If you want to know how to build healthy habits, start small and stay patient. Add one healthy change at a time: drink one more glass of water, walk 1,000 extra steps, or move for 10 minutes each day. 

Expanding an existing routine is easier than creating an entirely new one. The goal is to make healthy habits for everyday life as simple and automatic as possible. 

Another tip: Optimize your environment to make it easy to stick to your routines. If you want to eat healthily, you don't have to cook fresh meals every day—instead, use meal prep to cook your food for the rest of the week in one go. Put your running shoes in plain sight by the door to encourage yourself to jog more often. Set a limit for your favorite apps to reduce your screen time. 

How to build routines step by step: 

• Define: What do I want to achieve with this routine?
• Optimize your environment so that you perform the routine almost automatically.
• Link your routine to another existing routine.
• Start with routines that are as small as possible and gradually expand them.
• Check off the positive routines on a list—it will make you feel good! 

Keep in mind: It can take 21 to 66 days for a new routine to really sink in, so start with small steps and be patient; it will be worth it! 

Health isn’t a finish line you cross once—it’s the result of the small choices you make every single day. When you focus on how to live a healthy lifestyle, you don’t have to live perfectly to stay healthy long-term, but you can start today by doing a few small things better than yesterday. You set your own pace: start with small goals and gradually increase them. This way, small routines can have a big impact on your health.