Understanding Habit Stacking and How it Can Affect Inflammation and Longevity

As the calendar rolls forward from one year to the next, many people confidently set intentions for the year ahead. But, whether they want to ease stress levels, exercise more, or better care for their skin, those resolutions tend to fade as the months pass. Is there any way to help your clients implement those healthy habits for the long haul?

With a holistic approach supported by time-tested practices like habit stacking, wellness goals have a fighting chance. You can go a step further by developing habits based on longevity and considering the role of inflammation in long-term health.

Dive into all the details below, including key tips and insights to promote sustainable wellness routines this year.

What is Habit Stacking?

Habit stacking is the practice of linking a new habit to something you already do habitually, like eating breakfast or brushing your teeth. The idea here is that the step in your existing routine will prompt you to do the new habit.

Habit stacking is based on the concept of self-directed neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt and change according to new experiences. Self-directed neuroplasticity involves intentionally rewiring the brain’s neural connections through specific habits and practices, including habit stacking.

Especially for individuals who struggle to stick to new habits, as so many of us do, habit stacking can help build a sustainable wellness routine and help your clients reach their long-term health goals. Here are a few examples:

• Aiming to increase your activity levels? Stack a 10-minute walk or yoga flow after your regular meals. It’s shown to improve digestion, reduces inflammation, and promotes better circulation—all of which support your skin’s health and glow.
  
  
• Want to ease stress levels and deepen your sense of calm? Add a five or 10-minute meditation to your morning or evening routine. Pro tip: Double stack it with LED light therapy to create a simple multitasking routine that benefits both the body and skin!
  
  
• Interested in stimulating your brain and learning new skills? Stack a microlearning session onto your morning cup of coffee. Microlearning involves absorbing short bursts of information, like watching a five-minute video or reading a short article.
  
  
• Looking to elevate your skincare routine? Add one simple, clinically proven step, like red light therapy, to your existing regimen. It only takes 10 minutes, but it penetrates below your skin’s surface to reduce inflammation, calm redness, boost blood flow, and stimulate new collagen and elastin production. Red light therapy is an excellent addition to in-office skin treatments, and clients can bring home an RLT device to maintain their results.
  
  

Building Habits That Support Longevity

Stacking healthy habits can help your clients achieve various goals, from improving their mental health to giving their skin a gorgeous glow. Even more excitingly, these goals can provide cumulative health benefits, helping to improve their longevity over time.

Longevity is the ability to live a long, healthy life, but can also refer to vitality and quality of life as you age. While aging is inevitable, sustainable wellness routines that promote longevity can help clients retain their energy levels, physical fitness, and radiant skin for years to come.

Longevity doesn’t hinge on any single habit. It’s like a puzzle with many pieces—including diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and relationships—all of which contribute to the bigger picture. You can consider these pieces while recommending habit-stacking strategies to devise routines that support long-term well-being.

• Diet: Foods rich in omega-6 fatty acids, collagen, and antioxidants are particularly helpful for preserving the skin’s longevity through optimal skin barrier function and protection against free radical damage.
  
  
• Exercise: Experts recommend at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise or 150 to 300 minutes of moderate exercise per week to support physical fitness, cardiovascular health, mood, and general wellness.
  
  
• Sleep: Getting at least seven to nine hours of high-quality sleep each night is an essential habit to preserve longevity, ensuring the body has the chance to repair damaged tissue and clear toxins from the brain.
  
  
• Stress Management: Chronic stress wreaks havoc on the body by continually releasing inflammatory chemicals. Thankfully, simple, stackable habits like mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises, and journaling can help keep stress levels in check. As a reminder, this can be double-stacked with Omnilux LED light therapy to create a simple multitasking routine that benefits both the body and skin.
  
  
• Relationships: Socializing and fostering positive social relationships keeps us young by stimulating our brains and enhancing feelings of well-being.
  
  

Promoting Longevity By Managing Inflammation

Inflammation is a common thread that runs through health-focused habits. Healthy habits like eating well, staying active, and managing stress help reduce inflammation throughout the body. Less-than-healthy habits like eating processed foods, drinking excessive alcohol, and having a sedentary lifestyle, on the other hand, can increase inflammation.

Chronic inflammation, which occurs when the body’s levels of inflammation remain elevated over a prolonged period, is directly linked to accelerated aging. It weakens the immune system, increases the risk of DNA damage, and can even break down the collagen fibers that give youthful skin a plump, smooth appearance. Over time, this can lead to more pronounced wrinkles and sagging skin, as well as joint pain, digestive discomfort, and brain fog.

Along with the longevity-centered habits discussed above, you can manage inflammation by incorporating red light therapy into in-office sessions and home habit-stacking strategies. Red light therapy (RLT) is a safe, natural way to reduce inflammation, with clinically proven benefits for chronic pain, injury recovery, muscle soreness, and signs of skin aging. It works by emitting specific low-level red and near-infrared light wavelengths that are proven to stimulate mitochondria, the cell’s energy source. This supports and improves cell function, which can:

• Protect against oxidative stress, a key cause of cell and tissue damage
  
  
• Ramp up collagen production
  
  
• Boost blood flow, ensuring cells receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to thrive
  
  
• Increase the production of ATP, cells’ energy source
  
  

With our red light therapy devices, including the Contour Face, Neck & Décolleté, and Glove, you can seamlessly incorporate RLT into your clients’ home wellness routines. They can even complete a relaxing 10-minute red light session as they practice mindful meditation or journal before bed—now that’s what we call habit stacking!