Now more than ever we’ve really noticed the importance of mastering a daily routine. Whether that’s to help navigate your mad working from home schedule, trying to juggle childcare, or trying to hit your fitness goals from the comfort of your own home. When it comes to your daily routine, did you know that boosting your gut health should be an important factor too? A healthy gut can help boost your energy, mood and immunity and just makes you feel good. Attending to the wellbeing of your gut is key, so here are a few daily habits to help keep your gut healthy and happy.

1. Start your day right Hydrate before you caffeinate, it’s as simple as that. Before you reach for your morning coffee, treat your gut to a nice glass of water (you can even add a slice of lemon for that extra zing). This will not only help kick start your daily hydration goals (winning), but staying hydrated also helps the mucosal lining of the intestines - which promotes digestion. It’s a no brainer!

2. The power of probiotics Probiotics aka the “good” bacteria, are live microorganisms that provide all sorts of powerful benefits for your body and brain. It’s important to eat a variety of probiotic and fermented foods so your gut doesn’t feel overwhelmed with the same bacterial strains and ends up lacking in others. This is a great way to introduce different ‘live’ foods (sounds scary I know) into your daily routine. While yogurt may be your first choice, why not try the likes of kefir, kimchi and kombucha - each booming with beneficial bacteria to help give your gut the TLC it needs to stay healthy. I am definitely biased, but a daily shot of Naked Biotics Maintain or Restore is a great way to keep your gut thriving and feeling good. I have to say it’s also great fun shotting it every morning!

3. Move Your Body There is so much power in movement and the impact it has on your gut is huge. Now don’t worry I’m not saying you have to do a HIIT class everyday. But a brisk walk, jog, or a home workout of your choice can help increase the good bacteria in your gut, which not only improves your digestion, but also helps absorb nutrients and promotes overall health. Moving your body literally keeps things moving in your gut (I know it sounds weird but this is good, trust me).

4. Stressed? So is your gut! If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, which many of us most definitely are at the moment, your gut will be feeling it too. For some of us, stress can slow down digestion, causing bloating and pain just to name a few. Keeping beneficial bacteria in your gut happy and healthy is super important for improving your body's resilience. Although it’s much easier said than done to just stop stressing (yeah okay), try to allow yourself some downtime where you can - incorporate some calming techniques into your daily routine like breathing exercises and meditation - read that book you’ve been dying to read that has been sitting on your bedside table gathering dust for months. There are so many ways to help bring down the stress levels in your body, which in turn will keep your gut feeling happy and calm. 5. Sleep Sleep is such a powerful way to heal your body and digestive process - the overall impact a good night's sleep has on our mind, body and soul is huge. How amazing is that feeling after 8 hours of dreamy Zzz’s, waking up feeling like you can conquer the world? Sleep really does matter. If you’re not sleeping well, your gut feels the effects. Our gut and brain use nerves and chemicals to communicate with each other, their constant natters can influence our sleep patterns, as well as our mood, so creating a good sleep routine is so important. This is the perfect excuse to create a pamper routine before bed (why the hell not, right?) Make your bedroom a calm and peaceful oasis - turn your phone on silent - dim the lights and even spritz some lavender spray on your pillow if you’re feeling extra fancy. A personal favourite of mine is to stick on a bedtime story on the CALM app - listening to Matthew Mcconaughey’s voice will put you in a blissful, sleepy trance, I promise you. So remember, never underestimate the importance of routine in keeping your gut happy. Simple positive changes to your day-to-day will make such a difference. You hold the power to keep those gut bugs feeling happy as Larry, one step at a time.

Ann-Christine Bee