The lifestyles of most people are demanding. We must be effective nearly 24/7, which is complicated by sleepless nights, irregular eating, and stress. Our bodies and minds are often exhausted and need recreation. And this 30-day glow-up challenge is meant to improve your physical and mental health. Choose the month to focus on self-care activities, and let's start!
How to glow up in one month?
Glowing up means passing through a physical and emotional transformation. So, these practices and actions will improve your physical appearance and mental well-being and incorporate healthy habits into your life. During one month of this challenge, you'll make a huge step towards your natural beauty. But you'll need to be persistent.
Though our 30-day glow-up challenge list consists of 30 recommendations, they're not instructions on how to spend every day. You'd better repeat some of the activities you’ve picked daily (like drinking water). Some activities will be effective if you do them two or three times a week (like going to a dance class). And some points can be done just once (like cleaning up).
You can make a challenge checklist for each day of this glow-up journey. For example, on Day 1, you wake up at 7 a.m., drink two glasses of water, and take a contrast shower. And in the evening, you do the workout and spend only one-hour screening. Day 2 may have the same morning routine but will include going to a spa, etc.
Some of the recommendations will seem too generic, like avoiding toxic people. But don't let your inner skeptic say "understood" and skip this. Read the description to learn how to personalize this advice and make it actionable. We give you the instruments that you'll need to customize and control the performance of your glow-ups.
So, there's a lot to do during the next month, but you can absolutely manage this!
30 best ways to glow up in a month
You'll need to do lots of planning before you start the journey to your well-being. Adjust each piece of advice to your schedule and daily routine; otherwise, you risk jeopardizing the results. And try to keep the balance in forcing yourself as your emotional health may suffer.
1. Drink two litres of water
Water intake is critical for human bodies. It makes your joints more flexible, helps your brain function better, removes toxins, and improves your metabolism. This means that you'll have a lower risk of injury, have more energy, think more quickly and lose weight. These are outstanding awards for simply drinking water.
However, growing your daily volume of water may not be that easy. Here are several rules:
Drink pure still water. Don't add honey, lemon, or any syrup to it. Don't use mineral water or juice. And, of course, green tea doesn't count here, either.
Ensure you have access to toilets. With the new water regime, you'll need to go there more often. So, if you have a busy schedule, correct the time and volume of water intake to avoid long waits.
Plan your drinking routine. It would be ideal if you could drink water throughout the day evenly. But if not, let it be half a liter in the morning and another half in the daytime. Drink the remaining liter in the evening, but not before going to sleep.
2. Eat a vegetable salad for lunch
Adding healthy food is one of the critical steps to building healthy habits. But you can't just replace all the junk food in one day, so start little by little. And we offer to begin with your lunch. If you usually have sandwiches, add a veggie salad with olive oil. If you already eat a vegetable salad for lunch, add another for dinner.
Once you consume fruits and vegetables throughout the day, you already have a healthy diet. So, just skip this recommendation. Still, increasing the share of healthy foods is always beneficial.
3. Do ten burpees before dinner
Repeating burpees is an exceptionally effective workout that can transform your physical appearance rapidly. That's because it engages almost all the muscles in your body, improves your stamina, and trains your heart. Even if you already have regular training, doing another ten burpees won't be too much for your overall well-being.
But if you only start incorporating exercises into your daily routine, doing the conventional burpee series might be exhausting. In this case, try simpler burpee versions. Or check out burpee alternatives if you have some health issues.
4. Do breathing meditation before going to sleep
Meditation helps you become a whole person, balancing your mental and physical worlds. But breathing meditation lets you remove the negative influences and calm your mind. And these effects are beneficial for your beauty sleep as they let your body recover for around eight hours.
You can do it when you are already in bed—it works even when you feel tired. Lie on your back and spread your legs and arms. Watch several breathing cycles and count. For instance, you breathe in for two counts and breathe out for two counts. Then start lengthening your exhalations: breathe in still for two counts, but breathe out for three.
Then you'll feel you want to extend your inhalation too, so make it 3:4, 4:5, and 4:6. Feel that you breathe in the self-care energy and breathe out negative emotions. If you feel more comfortable with a similar breathing practice or sitting in the Half Lotus pose, follow your version.
5. Do some fitness right in your bed
There are days when you feel tired as soon as you wake up. But don't get frustrated and feel guilty about missing your yoga or fitness class. We offer you training without leaving your bed. For example, lying on your back with your knees bent, you can do 30 abdominal press exercises and 30 bridges.
Also, from that position, you can separate your knees to the sides and return them back 30 times. Moreover, you can do this without getting out from under the blanket. So, that's one of the most appealing glow-ups on our list, and surprisingly, this approach works. So, why not add it to your morning routine?
6. Meditate to grow confidence
Low self-esteem can ruin our lives. Some people keep listening to their always-complaining friends and feel empty as a result. Others tolerate the unwanted job, finding tons of reasons why they can't change it, or allow their partner to abuse them from time to time.
But the power is on your side: you only need to say "no" if you are dissatisfied with something. And if this little word is unbearable, try self-confidence meditation. Sit on a chair or in the Half Lotus pose with your back straight and your eyes closed. Then imagine a source of warm and shining energy in front of you.
Now, see how it spreads to your heart and makes you smile. Feel how it fills your chest with warm energy, relaxing your muscles and healing your body and soul. This meditation will help you feel loved and valued. It'll also motivate you to cherish yourself and be ready to set boundaries and say "no," improving your mental health.
7. Go to the swimming pool
Swimming is a fantastic stress-relieving activity. You can go to a swimming pool being desperate about some situation and leave it having a totally different view of the problem. Besides, swimming is a great workout that helps you get more sleep. Water seems to wash away all the negative feelings and thoughts, leaving you tired but happy.
In addition, if you have some problems like asthma or backache, swimming will help defuse the symptoms. Improved balance, flexibility, coordination, and posture are also benefits of swimming. So, don't miss a chance to opt into the self-care activity.
8. Take a contrast shower
This can become another challenging but rewarding part of your morning routine. Alternating cold and hot water is an accessible and effective way to temper your body, strengthen your immune system, remove toxins, and train your vessels. You can finish your relaxing self-care shower routine with a cold or contrast shower.
First, indulge yourself with your favorite shower gel or scrub and give yourself some time to relax under the running warm water. Then switch on the cold or very cool water for 10 seconds and hold on! Return the hot one for 20 seconds and then switch it again. Repeat the series 5-6 times, finalizing with the cold water.
During the first several days, you may feel a bit shocked after the contrast shower and feel released every time it ends. But with time, you'll notice you'll be looking forward to this procedure as it will leave you calm and focused, while making your skin healthy.
9. Go to bed before 11 p.m.
Falling asleep between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. is the right way to get enough sleep and protect your physical and mental health. And if you keep doing this for your month-long glow-up incentive, you'll notice positive physical changes. Before-midnight sleeping phase is vital for decreasing the adrenaline level in your blood and gaining emotional rest.
This way, your body has enough time to recreate and normalize hormone levels, body temperature, and blood pressure. So, begin your nighttime routine around 9 p.m. to let your body leverage the nighttime energy in full. You'll also notice that dark circles under your eyes will decrease, hair growth will improve, and your mood will be more stable.
10. Wake up before 8 a.m.
Going to bed before midnight will have positive effects when combined with waking up early. If you're an office worker, you probably wake up before 8 a.m. And though getting up early sometimes feels destructive (mostly because you miss falling asleep on time), it has plenty of advantages.
For example, you get more time for your morning beauty routine, enjoying breakfast, exercising, and simply allowing yourself to be unhurried. As you feel these effects, you'll probably want and have the energy to wake up even earlier. This way, you'll incorporate more to-dos into your morning routine.
11. Visit a psychologist
Supportive psychotherapy works, and it's one of the best ways to boost your personal growth. A professional can help you enhance self-confidence, improve your social life, and reduce anxiety. Even a couple of visits will let the specialist understand your mental health condition and find a way to help you overcome difficulties.
Though you may not notice any immediate impact, qualified help will influence your communication patterns and emotional reactions. And this will allow you to feel more satisfied with your everyday life. So, don't neglect the opportunity to take another step towards your happier future self.
12. Have a body massage
If you have headaches, back pains, seizures, and insomnia quite frequently, probably it's time to have some massage therapy with coconut oil. How does it work? Such negative emotions as anger, sadness, and fear cause muscle tension.
And without timely relaxation, these tensions can turn into blocks or painful trigger points. These blocks don't allow blood and lymph to flow freely and can limit our movements with pain. So, it's vital to relieve muscle tension regularly. Moreover, massage helps to eliminate toxins, improve circulation, and refresh your body and mind.
13. Meet with your best friend
Though best friends can't offer professional assistance, their main advantage is that they love and understand you. And these people can help you feel better during a difficult period. Let yourself spend an evening at a pajama party, drink a cup of tea in the cafe nearby, or go for a walk in the park.
In addition to following this 30-day glow-up challenge advice, you can use your smartphone less often. This will let you reduce screen time and complete another glow-up challenge from this list. So, have fun!
14. Limit alcohol
We often drink cocktails to relax and have some rest from the anxiety or monotonous routine. Indeed, alcohol can make you feel good, have fun, and enjoy your evening with friends. And that's okay if you do this once in a while. But regular intake of alcoholic drinks is far from self-care because it damages your liver, digestive tract, and heart and increases the osteoporosis risk. It also dehydrates your body and has many unfavorable consequences, like slower reactions, clouded judgment, or inappropriate behavior. That's why we added this glow-up advice to our list. And we recommend having up to 200 ml of wine per week during this 30-day glow-up challenge.
15. Drink less coffee
If you're a coffee person, this glow-up tip will be disappointing. On the one hand, studies show that coffee can decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes, improves memory and attention, and boasts antioxidant properties. On the other hand, consuming too much caffeine will make your body lose calcium, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Moreover, it fluctuates your blood sugar, making you want to eat something sweet soon after or while drinking a cup of coffee.
But the most notorious coffee effect is probably insomnia. And since our challenge focuses on normalizing sleeping patterns, try not to have more than 1-2 cups of coffee per day. Consider drinking the decaffeinated one or hot green tea instead. The latter also includes antioxidants and has a prolonged energizing effect.
16. Go to an art therapy class
Art therapy is a perfect tool for expressing your emotions and, thus, growing mindfulness. Expressing your feelings with colors and symbols can help you cope with stress, anxiety, and depression. So, this is another self-care practice that can help you go through a difficult period in your life and accept the transformation.
However, mindful art therapy isn't only a stress-relieving or healing practice. It also boosts your creativity, opening new dimensions and perspectives. It can be used for inspiration and motivation so that you can remove the blocks on your way to well-being. Let yourself hear that quiet inner voice that has tried to speak for years.
17. Do a large cleanup
You can't have something new until there's a place for it. Our glow-up challenge couldn't but motivate you for a cleanup. And it's not about wiping the dust off your TV, washing the floor, or cleaning the bath. The space around us reflects our inner world. So, if you have lots of stuff you'll hardly ever use, it's time to throw it away or pass it on to someone.
Check your closet too. There must be plenty of dresses you don't like anymore. Some of them are too small or too big, while others have already gone out of fashion. Unnecessary shoes, bags, accessories, perfumes, devices, and other items take your energy and don't let new, wanted things in. And don't forget about your smartphone!
18. Walk for at least 30 minutes a day
If you can walk at least some distance to your work or back, do it. Or, instead of eating a sandwich in front of your laptop, eat it in the park and then take a quick walk. This will help you let go of tension and recharge with nature. Walking is another self-care activity on our 30-day glow-up challenge list because it has many advantages.
It allows you to absorb all the nutrients: vitamins, proteins, healthy fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and water. It also trains your muscles, improves endurance, normalizes blood pressure, and helps you get slimmer. And just 30 minutes a day of regular walking will let you leverage all these effects.
19. Remove sugar from your diet
Sugar gives you energy immediately after you eat a piece of chocolate or cake or drink a cup of tea. But it contains lots of calories and no nutrients, so eating it has no positive impact on our organisms. Sugar affects our teeth and hearts, makes us gain extra weight, and weakens our immunity.
So, our 30-day glow-up challenge is here to help you change your daily habits of adding sugar to foods and drinks and consuming sugar-containing products. But how much sugar is OK to eat? Ideally, no sugar. But if this is too hard, then cut your daily volume in half every week.
20. Grow mindfulness
When you develop mindfulness, you try to uninterruptedly observe your thoughts without making any judgments. It also includes accepting your emotions. So, mindfulness is a continuous process, and that's hard work. Staying mindful makes you more concentrated, tolerant, and flexible. It also improves your self-control, emotional intelligence, and mental clarity.
In this glow-up challenge, we offer you an eating mindfulness meditation. Close your eyes and sit with a straight back for a while, focusing on your breath. Feel your hunger and open your eyes, staying relaxed. Listen to your body when choosing what to eat and feel every taste. Don't be in a hurry and repeat it tomorrow.
21. Build a skincare routine
The right skincare routine can make your skin look younger and healthier. Specific face mask recipes can make dry skin more hydrated and even cure acne-prone skin. During the morning skincare routine, clean your skin, moisturize it, apply sunscreen, and wear makeup if you want. In the evening, remove the makeup, including the mascara and eyebrow pencil, cleanse your face, apply treatment for blemishes, moisturize, and enjoy glowing skin.
22. Do 10 push-ups before watching TV
Make Netflix a reward, but not only for a long day at work. With our glow-up challenge, this price is not enough. So, we offer to pay with ten push-ups for every hour of your TV time. If this exercise is too hard for you, try to push up while keeping your knees on the floor. Or alternate them with squads, lunges, or jumping jacks.
23. Reduce your screen time to one hour a day
Experts say that adults should not spend more than two hours screening outside of job-related tasks. But our minds can cheat, as it's tempting to switch to TikTok and Instagram after checking your corporate email. Well, our glow-up challenge is here to launch your social media detox. So, from today, you have only one hour for all the social media stuff.
24. Use a hair mask once a week
Even if your hair looks good, applying a hair mask is vital. If you color your hair, it's probably fragile, damaged, or dry. Organic essential oils and other natural ingredients can nourish and moisturize such hair. Moreover, some hair masks can treat your scalp skin and strengthen your hair bulbs, fighting hair loss.
25. Set your goals for the next month
Once you agree to take this glow-up challenge, you'll need to understand which positions you start from and where you want to get to. So spend a couple of hours and focus solely on the next-month’s goals. Are you here to get rid of five kilos? Do you need to let go of some harsh memories? Or do you want to build a night routine that will allow you to sleep well at last? Put it down.
26. Avoid toxic people
Toxic people are always around, but it's your choice whether to let in the negativity and upset they bring or let it go. If your mother tries to control you, kindly remind her that you're not a kid anymore. If your partner gaslights you, it's time to consider the pros and cons of your relationship. And if your friend never says sorry after hurting your feelings, remember that it doesn't look like friendship. Although this glow-up challenge won’t be easy, detoxifying your life is totally worth the effort.
27. Stop drinking cola
Cola seduces us everywhere: from YouTube ads to DIY videos. It has become the symbol of refreshment and friendship. And many of us love a sense of belonging to those young, beautiful, and rebellious guys from the ad. But in reality, sugar-sweetened beverages only take you away from your health, freedom, and loveliness. So, stop damaging yourself, and you'll glow up soon.
28. Smile more often
Smiling helps fight stress. When we smile, our brains produce dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. These hormones have pain-relieving and antidepressant properties. They relax our muscles and improve our mood, so remind yourself to smile more often. And don't forget that a smile makes your face more beautiful and helps you glow up.
29. Massage your face
We all know the benefits of a body massage, but we sometimes forget about the muscles on our faces. Facial massage promotes skin health, helping us feel and look better. That's because it improves blood and lymph circulation, releases muscle tension, and removes toxins. So, do a gentle face massage in the morning and before sleep and see how you glow up.
30. Smoke less
Chronic respiratory conditions, dental problems, diabetes, and heart diseases are only a few of the harmful effects of smoking. So, if you're only starting your smoking "career," try to stop and quit. And if you have years of heavy smoking behind you, then do your best to smoke less during this glow-up challenge.
Bonus: 5 Fast Glow-Up Ideas
Are you waiting for a better moment to launch the 30-day glow-up challenge? Do 30 recommendations seem to be too much to integrate into your self-care routine right away? If so, apply these five tips to get a toned body and a refreshed mind with minimal effort and prepare for a more significant challenge.
1. Drink three glasses of water every morning
When you're not a water drinker, consuming two liters a day can be too much. Especially if you have a busy schedule and aren't sure about accessing toilets. In this case, drink three glasses (~600 ml) of pure water in the morning. Do it before your morning routine to ensure your body has enough time to process and remove the water while you're still at home.
Don't judge yourself for drinking only 30% of the daily volume of water. Instead, feel how these three glasses help remove toxins, improve your digestive health, and make your skin glow. And one day, your organism will ask for more and more water, and you'll be ready to cope with its signals.
2. Don't eat after 6 p.m.
A glow-up challenge assumes you'll be several kilos lighter when it ends. People lose weight when they eat less and exercise more. The most straightforward diet is not to eat after 6 p.m. Unfortunately, for many 9-to-5 employees, this rule can be unbearable. That's because office workers only come home around 6 p.m. and usually have dinner around 7-8 p.m.
If not eating after six is too tough, try to do it, for instance, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while the other four days will be dinner-less. This will let you get used to good habits gradually. And already in a week, you'll start to glow up, noticing positive changes in your shape and mood.
3. Join a dance or a fitness class
If you've always wanted to dance but never had the time and courage to start, the moment to glow up has come. Dancing is magical as it transforms your body, builds your confidence, and brings inspiration into your life. Your brain will need to grow new neural connections as you rarely do dancing movements in everyday life.
Still, this 30-day glow-up challenge is flexible, and if you're not a dancing fan, try aerobics, boxing, yoga, swimming, running, or whatever sports activity you prefer. The main goal here is to find the motivation to move, and group training can help with this.
4. Do breathing meditations every day
Breathing is the bridge between our body and mind. If you experience anxiety, fear, or other tough emotions, breathing can help you recover the balance quickly. So, add breathing meditation to your night routine. You can sit on the edge of your bed with your feet on the floor or in the Half Lotus pose.
Close your eyes and concentrate on your breath. Inhale for two counts and exhale for two counts (the 2:2 pattern). Then lengthen your exhalation to four counts and make five cycles with the 2:4 pattern. Now switch to 4:4, make several iterations, and go to 4:6. Stop after five minutes and breathe naturally for a couple of minutes, watching your inner state. Now, you're ready to glow up while sleeping.
5. Eat at least one apple a day
Do you eat salads irregularly and aren't yet ready to increase their volume? We have a plan: get used to eating only one apple a day. This fruit is rich in antioxidants (vitamins and minerals) and fiber. So, it'll help you lose weight, improve muscle and brain functioning, prevent inflammation, and decrease stress. Eating apples can even lower the risks of heart disease and cancer. That's why adding this tasty fruit to your daily diet is a self-care action. And with time, you'll want to have more fruits instead of sandwiches.
Glow up all the time with Eleviate
The 30-day glow-up challenge is the first significant step to making yourself healthier, more mindful, and shiny. This collection of actionable recommendations will let you glow up in just one month, provided that you honestly follow them. The Eleviate app will help you track the daily completion of these glow-up tips.
This mobile app also boasts multiple other tools. They can help you process negative emotions, get fitter, continue healthy nutrition, and live your perfect lifestyle when this glow-up challenge is over. So, with a supportive friend like Eleviate, you can get your life back to physical and mental balance and glow up all the time!
