8 UCLA health experts offer tips for a healthy 2025

You may already know the basics of starting a healthy new year. These include getting enough sleep, regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, and controlling stress.

But there is more to happiness than that. Moreover, even these basics can be difficult to practice consistently.

So, to kick off the new year, we've rounded up some of the most practical, and not always obvious, advice from UCLA health experts to help you stay healthy in 2025.

Dr. David B. Reubengeriatrician

“Most of the things people can do to stay healthy in 2025 are not that different from what they can do to stay healthy in 2024. Don't smoke. Drink alcohol, if at all, in moderation. Engage. Keep going and keep stimulating your mind.

“Be civil in all your interactions and try to be optimistic every day. You may not find anything to be happy about, but you may find something meaningful to do that will help others or yourself.”

Dr. Elizabeth CoeMedical Director of the UCLA Health Integrative Medicine Collaborative

“Check your internal energy the same way you approach your phone's battery. How charged is it? Are you starting the day at 100%? What's draining you? Adopt energizing habits and minimize debilitating habits by adjusting how you regulate your energy. You will be able to make better choices about

“Pause and slow down. Life tends to feel loud and fast. Give yourself permission to lower the volume and speed. By taking a break, you can restock your stores. Focus on the quality of your relationships. Deep, strong, and rich relationships lead to health and happiness.”

Dana Ellis Hannes, PhD, RDnutritionist

“Eat a whole foods, plant-based diet as much as possible. Eating more plant-based whole foods will enrich your food's fiber content, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory ingredients and compounds, and reduce your calorie intake. You're more likely to be healthier because you feel less full and fuller.

“And spend more time with the people you love. There's a lot of data that suggests we're less happy when we're alone. So spend time with the people you love and have fun. Please spend some time.”

Dr. Valentina OgarianClinical Director, Sims/Mann UCLA Integrative Oncology Center

“For me, health refers to body, mind, and heart. For your body, it's best to eat whole foods and incorporate some physical activity on a regular basis. It's also about eating foods that bring you joy. It's also about giving yourself permission to eat in moderation.

“When it comes to your mind, you can increase your awareness of helpful and unhelpful thoughts, gain access to social support, and give your mind a break by stepping away from social media and consciously focusing on present-moment interactions. Masu.

“Spirit and Heart is about finding and connecting with people, activities, hobbies, interests, anything that feeds the soul, anything that brings connection and fosters meaning. That could be spending time with loved ones, music, Connection through literature, art. Connection with prayer, meditation, and spirituality. Or community-based activities.”

Dr. Marissa VasquezLA Dodgers Chief Team Physician

“To live well in 2025, we need to focus on managing stress through mindfulness practices, quality sleep, and strong social connections, which can significantly improve mental health and resilience. Of course, this is in addition to maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise.

“When it comes to sports and athletics, focus on injury prevention, combine your workouts with cross-training, and support your body with proper nutrition and hydration.”

Director Diana Winston UCLA Mindful

“Make time for rest. This doesn't mean turning off all the time, but turning it off every now and then.

“Practice gratitude. Even just a moment of remembering what you are grateful for can go from a day of anger and overwhelm to one of peace and gratitude. And savor the moments of happiness. There are many moments of joy and enjoyment throughout the day. Don't skip them. Take time to savor this experience, even if it's only for a few seconds. We need to increase our joy resources. .

“When you feel stressed, remember 'STOP'. Stop. Take a breath or two. Observe how you feel inside. Be a little more aware and calm. Please proceed with the work.

“Be kind to yourself. We are often very self-judging. You are doing your best. Try to remember that.”

Dr. Jesse MillsDirector of Men's Clinic at UCLA Health

“Why wait until 2025? Put down your iPad, get up and move. Whatever you did yesterday, if it was walking one block, today you'll walk two blocks, tomorrow you'll walk four blocks. If it was one mile… Walk 2 miles today, 3 miles tomorrow, etc. Humans are good at building endurance. It's in our DNA. Be true to your genes and move.

“Don't add sugar to anything this year. Your body has developed a taste for sugar, so you can forget about it. If you add sweetener to your coffee, add half the amount. , try to stop completely within two weeks. Similarly, grow or hunt. Avoid foods that can't be hunted either. The more food you eat is processed, the less healthy your body will be. Processed foods tend to have added sugar, fat, and salt to make them taste better. Seeing unnatural combinations of sugar messes up your brain chemistry.

“Have a purpose. Find something important to do outside of work, whether it's volunteering, learning a new language, or forgetting your news or social media feed and picking up an instrument and learning to play.”

“Connect. Loneliness is an epidemic, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Combine purpose-based activities with social groups to put yourself out there.”

Lawrence To, MDdirector of the UCLA East-West Medical Center in Torrance.

“Massage your feet. It's a simple and easy thing that anyone can do, and it's very low cost, low investment, and high yield. Our feet flop around every day, but most people don't take care of their feet. There is a lot of knowledge about reflexology, but it is actually about pressure points, and when you massage your feet, you stimulate many pressure points. Just take a simple golf ball or roller and roll your feet on it. It can help you relax, especially when combined with closing your eyes and taking deep breaths.

“Many of us often overthink or feel stressed and have too much energy in our heads, which makes it difficult for us to relax our minds and sleep well. You need something to ground you, and that can be easily done by massaging your feet.”

“I usually tell my patients to massage their feet every day, and the best time to do it is at night before bed.”