The best health hacks we added to our routines in 2025 for muscle gains, gut health, and more

Like many of our readers, I live in a household with two working parents. Our kids are still on the younger side, 6 and 8, so life is fairly hectic. Of course, my mind is always racing, planning, organizing, scheduling, and doing all of the other things that come along with managing the mental load that we're all very aware of these days. Turning my brain off, or at least briefly pushing pause, is tricky, especially at bedtime.

Committing to taking a few deep breaths as soon as I get under the sheets has done wonders for me. Sometimes I'll follow a quick meditation track on my phone; other times, I'll do some box breathing. But more often than not, I just try to breathe in and out for a few minutes, focusing on the movement of my body and nothing else. The practice helps clear my mind and gets my body ready for bed — and the flurry I know tomorrow will bring.

Jennifer Beck Goldblatt, Senior Editor, Health & Parenting

This year, I've been putting a little bit of ginger in almost everything. Fresh ginger tea, grated ginger to add zip to soups and stews, and crystallized ginger as a sweet treat. I generally eat a healthy diet — lots of fiber, fruits and veggies, home-cooked meals — but the extra ginger has made a big difference for my gut health. I'm less likely to have an upset stomach even when I indulge my passion for spicy food.

One of my favorite recipes to make in big batches is fresh ginger tea with turmeric, black pepper, a bit of cayenne, and plenty of honey. It smells great, and it's warming and full of antioxidants for a perfect self-care break any time of day.

Gabby Landsverk, Senior Health Reporter

Midway through the year, I bought a Brick for my phone. It's a gadget on my fridge that helps me block whichever apps I choose (in my case, my email and internet, since I already got rid of social media on my phone).

I tap my phone every night before I unwind for bed and usually don't tap again until right before work starts — my peak junk-scrolling times. Something about the humiliation of having to physically walk up to my fridge because I want to Google an actor from a niche '80s movie keeps me from un-Bricking. I get to my morning workouts quicker and read more books, which has made me a much happier person.

Julia Pugachevsky, Senior Health Reporter

Buying an air fryer has been a game changer for quickly rustling up nutritious food. I thought they were for heating up fries and frozen treats, and that you couldn't use them to heat saucy foods, like the curries and bean stews I cook and freeze.

Since realizing you can get air fryer-proof dishes, which can be DIYed with foil or baking paper, I've made dozens of protein pancakes for breakfast. I enjoy frozen veggies that are no longer soggy and sad from being defrosted in the microwave, batch-cook chicken meatballs in 10 minutes before work, and can quickly reheat my trusty frozen beans. (To make pancakes, mix up the regular ingredients, cook the batter in a single layer in the air fryer, then chop and stack once cooked.)

Kashmira Gander, Senior Health Editor

My kids are finally all in the same school (and therefore same schedule), which means I have a bit more time in the mornings for myself before hopping online for work. I've been taking 15-30 minute walks in the morning to get some fresh air and sunlight before spending the rest of my day in front of a computer.

I joke I'm like a plant and need as much sunlight as possible to have the best mood I can have, so prioritizing time outside has helped, especially with SAD now that the darker months are upon us [that's seasonal affective disorder — when your mood and energy tanks in the fall and winter.]

Conz Preti, Deputy Editor, Parenting & Health

In March of this year, I committed to waking up after my first alarm goes off, rather than snoozing it at least two extra times, as I had been accustomed to doing since middle school.

I made this small but radical change because I was feeling exhausted all the time, and I've found that my energy level feels far more stable, and my mood tends to be better throughout the day when I manage it. It can be really difficult in the moment, but the payoff has been huge!

Kim Schewitz, Health Reporter

I finally started pelvic floor physical therapy! And, reader, let me tell you: It's worth it. The pelvic floor is a "hammock" of muscles in your pelvis that controls your core, your breathing, your bladder, your sexual function, your digestive system, and so much more.

Can you feel yours? Unless you're pregnant or have incontinence, the answer is probably "no." But that doesn't mean you should leave it un-therapized. Even just one session with a pelvic floor PT showed me what I was doing wrong. I left with useful exercises I can do to improve my core control and my breathing so that my workouts are more effective, and don't put unnecessary stress on my organs. I'm a convert.

Mia de Graaf, Deputy Executive Editor, Health & Features

I'd been in a running rut for years. I was bored with my usual routine of running a few miles at a leisurely pace, but trying to actively track and increase my speed felt daunting as well. Getting a VO2 max assessment taught me that I could run a lot faster than I thought I could — and having exact numbers to shoot for was very helpful, too. I've since joined a nearby Orangetheory, which focuses on hitting higher heart rate zones throughout class, and have slowly inched up to running paces I thought unimaginable a year ago.

Julia Pugachevsky, Senior Health Reporter

My trainer gave me some advice that helped me get through a big fitness slump.

Everyone's training typically falls into three phases each year: terrible, OK, and great, he said. I was in the "terrible" stage, where your motivation is wiped.

To my surprise, that's where my trainer was, too. Learning that even athletes like him struggle with motivation helped ease my embarrassment.

It made it easier to give myself permission not to go near a gym for three months after I got burned out by a Hyrox-esque fitness contest. I thought long-term, enjoyed leisurely walks, and the odd PS Fit YouTube dance video, knowing I'd eventually get back to regular exercise, whether that was restarting functional fitness or trying something new.

I was right: I'm now doing regular Saturday morning 5K runs with my neighbor, and started using the Ladder training app this fall. The big takeaway: be kind to yourself.

Kashmira Gander, Senior Health Editor