Activities you can try through Hack Your Health

To join the study, first choose an activity you'd like to try. And then use the link provided to sign up! We recommend you choose an activity you're not already doing or have recently tried.
BREATHE
Deep breathing meditation
​Daily time commitment: 5 minutes
What it involves: Once a day, you practice deep breathing meditation for 5 minutes.
Instructions:
  • Find a place to sit or lie down, whatever you prefer.
  • Set a timer for 5 minutes.
  • To do the deep breathing exercise
    • Close your mouth and inhale to a mental count of 4.
    • Hold your breath for a count of 7.
    • Exhale through your mouth to a count of 8.
    • This is one breath. Inhale again and repeat the 4-7-8 cycle until the end of 5 minutes.
EXPRESS GRATITUDE
Gratitude Journaling
Daily time commitment: 5 minutes
What it involves: Once a day, you’ll practice expressing gratitude through a brief writing exercise.
Instructions:
  • First, find something to write on, such as your phone, or a notebook.
  • Then, write down three things for which you feel grateful.
  • It's important to keep a physical record of what you write so that you can go back to it later. Don't do this exercise only in your head, and be as specific as possible. Go for depth over breadth. Try elaborating in detail about the person, event, or thing for which you feel grateful instead of a superficial list of many things.
GET ACTIVE
Vigorous physical activity
Daily time commitment: 10 - 20 minutes 
What it involves: Each day you’ll perform 10 minutes of vigorous physical activity.
Instructions:
  • By vigorous, we mean something that gets your heart moving and your breathing rate up.
  • Brisk walking, running, swimming, biking fast are all good examples. If you can’t do that, jump rope, do jumping jacks and/or do pushups!
  • Whatever you choose, be sure to do it for 10 minutes.
  • You don't have to do the same activity during the experiment, you can switch up to add variation if you would like.

​Warning! Exercise can be dangerous. Before starting any new exercise consider consulting your doctor, especially if you have a chronic health problem, recurring injury, or are pregnant or nursing. If you experience pain, breathlessness, or dizziness while exercising, stop immediately and see your doctor if symptoms are significant or severe.
ACTS OF KINDNESS
Performing helpful acts
Daily time commitment: 2-10 minutes 
What it involves: Each day you’ll do something nice (and out of the ordinary) for a stranger.
Instructions:
  • Do something ‘generous’ or ‘kind’ for another person.
  • It can be anything that could be considered as caring or kind: giving up a seat for someone, helping someone carry a package, helping someone cross the street, offering a large tip, writing a thank you note to someone who helped you in the past, or providing recognition to a colleague for their efforts.
  • Choose a kind act which you don’t regularly do. For example, if you usually open the door for someone, choose something else as your act of kindness.
  • Allow 2 to 10 minutes each day to help others and write down the activity in detail in a notebook or journal. You may wish to review the journal from time to time on the days in which this activity is assigned.