Emerge Victorious in 2021: Varietize

This is the third article in a three-part series on how Americans are faring on key quality of life indicators.

I’m going to get right to the point: Those of us who improve our sleep in 2021 are more likely to land December healthier and perform at a higher level than we are today.

Already tried to improve your sleep? I'm here to offer you a shortcut: Variety.

Specifically, variety of physical activities and foods consumed.

It's common knowledge that more exercise and healthy food contribute to higher measures of health and wellness and that both are positively linked to higher sleep quality.

But more recently, scientists, researchers, and medical professionals have found that variety also contributes positively to health and wellness. Product Rehab's Quality of Life indicators study builds on these findings by measuring how Americans are faring on:

1.     Level of physical activity

2.    Variety of physical activities  

3.    Quality of diet 

4.    Variety of foods 

5.    Quality of sleep

This third and final article in the series focuses exclusively on a single theme:

Variety is an elixir of life.

Here are 4 reasons why, in order of magnitude:

#1: People who increased both their variety of physical activities and food choices are eight times – yes 8x – more likely to sleep better now than one year ago.

For example, if you added a stationary bike, walking, or stretching to your weekly exercise routine and ate a greater variety of foods, chances are you're sleeping better now than you were a year ago.

Pandemic conditions like sheltering in place, closed gyms, and cancelled team sports can feel like a barrier to introducing new fitness activities into your regimen.

"I'm so bored in Covid because I always go for the same walk," one woman told me. Yet when she leaves the house, she always turns in the same direction - left - when she gets to the sidewalk. I asked her what would happen if she turned right next time.

#2: People who increased either their variety of physical activities or food choices are four times – 4x – more likely to sleep better compared to one year ago.

According to Amby Burfoot’s July 2020 article in the Washington Post, a study by researchers at New York University’s Rory Myers College of Nursing found that Americans who do three or more different activities per month are more likely to achieve 150 minutes of exercise per week than those doing just one or two activities. Their analysis is based on data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which studied physical activity patterns of more than 9,000 U.S. adults.

Ergo, more variety of exercise leads to more time exercising which leads to better quality sleep.

"I'm so tired of going to the park," a parent recently sighed to me. It's an easy walk to the well-manicured, large urban park near her home, but the monotony was creating drag. Yet there are plenty of other parks nearby, all within walking distance. By the time we said good-bye, with a detectable degree of excitement in her voice, she was making plans to visit every other park.

#3: People who increased just their level of physical activity are 3 times – 3x – more likely to sleep better.

Let's be honest with each other. Most of us improved neither our physical activity nor our diet as the pandemic raged, receded, and raged again in 2020. But 36% of Americans did increase their level of physical activity, and they were three times more likely to sleep better than worse compared to one year ago.

Pro Tip: Add one more exercise to your rotation every month to increase the odds of meeting your fitness minutes goals. Don't believe me? Review #2 above.

#4: People who increased just the quality of their diet are 2 times – 2x – more likely to sleep better than worse compared to one year ago.

If you're among the 40% of Americans who improved the quality of your diet, you were twice as likely to sleep better than worse compared to one year ago.

We’re accustomed to health and wellness mantras that push “more” – but evidence shows that “variety” is also effective.

The physical activity, diet, and sleep habits of these Americans in 2020 raise a key consideration for our approach to improve quality of life. It suggests hat variety is just as – if not more – important than more exercise or better eating habits.

I'm not one to declare formal resolutions every January, but I consider this time as an opportunity to make improvements and try something new. When the shelter-in-place orders started last year, I leaned into something I've been wanting to do for a long time: a 100% plant-based diet. The effort was an instant catalyst to greater awareness and experimentation with a wider variety of delicious foods than I ever imagined.

In 2021, I'm refreshing my workout routine by intentionally scheduling more variety into it every week. By December, I'll be sleeping like an 8x champ.

Next Study is Queued Up! We are just about to launch our next study, which is a forward-looking view of American attitudes toward finance in 2021 and their associated behaviors.

The first article in this Quality of Life indicator series highlighted the results of the two physical activity indicators and how they associate with sleep quality. The second article highlighted the results of the two diet indicators and how they associate with sleep quality. If you haven't read those two articles, take a few minutes to review them after you read this one -- it's okay to read them in any order.

If you are interested in a deeper dive analysis of the full survey data, just ask. 

Contact me at [email protected] or message me through LinkedIn.

Survey Details:  This survey was conducted by Product Rehab LLC, a marketing strategy and research company, among 195 Americans representative of the U.S. population by age (18+), gender, geography, and household income between September 24 and October 5, 2020.  The margin of error is +/-6%.