New Year's resolutions you should make based on science -- and how to keep them

Health

If you want an official “diet” that’s highly praised by researchers, you could take a look at the DASH diet, which has dieters cut sodium levels and switch from sugary foods and red meats to whole grains, lean proteins, and produce.

But an even simpler approach that many experts favour is just eating “real food,” meaning nothing processed or preserved, and usually avoiding anything pre-prepared.

For a resolution to eat healthier, try to resolve to cook a meal using no pre-prepared ingredients at least once more per week at home.

Another way to transform your diet and health is to set a resolution about what you drink

A healthy resolution might be to cut back or eliminate sodas or other sugary beverages from your diet. Much of the average person’s sugar intake comes from what they drink, and we continue to find reasons for why sugar is bad for us. Just recently, scientists revealed in a new study how data indicating that sugar consumption increased risks for cancer and heart disease had been hidden from the public for decades.

When it comes to booze, moderation is the safest best. There are recent studies indicating that some regular alcohol consumption is linked with lower risk for diabetes or cognitive decline. But any amount of alcohol likely increases cancer risk, so a resolution limiting your consumption might be a good idea.

One thing you don’t have to worry about drinking less of is coffee, which in many ways is associated with better health or a longer life (but avoid those sugar-packed coffee drinks!).

If you want to be more productive, resolve to take more breaks and work less

Contrary to what the workaholics of the world might have us believe, humans have limits.

There are certain times when we might be able to grind away at a project for hour after hour, but we can’t do that all the time.

In fact, psychologist K. Anders Ericsson told Business Insider that for the most part, we can only engage in heavy mental work for four or five hours at a time – not eight or ten or twelve.

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