Create healthier habits

Spring has a way of making everything feel a little more possible. There’s a shift in the air, a collective exhale, and we find ourselves quietly taking stock.

We declutter our homes, spend more time outdoors and look for ways to re-energise our routines.

This Spring let’s take a different angle to making small changes to freshen up our routines. Let’s look at the quality of our connections, and the everyday healthy habits we can build to improve them.

Connections can take many different forms

It’s how we engage with our:

• Family
• Friends
• Colleagues
• Ourselves
• Nature
• Our community and culture

From having a yarn at the local sporting club to catching up with an old friend, we can connect on so many different levels. Look at your everyday connections, particularly in your household. If you live with family, how do you connect? How do you connect with the food on your table? And how are you connecting with those around you every day?

For people living in rural and remote areas, these moments of connection can be especially important when friends and services aren’t always close by.

And importantly, connection doesn’t just influence how we feel. Research shows it can have a significant impact on both our mental and physical health.

Connection matters more than we realise

Loneliness and social isolation are more common than many people think.

According to Ending Loneliness Together’s State of the Nation Report, around one in three Australians experience loneliness. While everyone feels disconnected from time to time, ongoing loneliness can affect wellbeing, mental health and quality of life.

The good news is that connection doesn’t necessarily require major life changes. Often, it’s built through small everyday moments: a chat with a neighbour, a phone call with a friend, joining a community group, or sharing a meal with loved ones.

For people living in rural and remote communities, where family, friends and services may be further away, these moments of connection can be especially important.

1. Reconnect with yourself
   Connection starts closer to home than many of us realise.Taking time to reflect on how you’re feeling, what you need and what’s important to you can help build self-awareness and resilience. This might be through journalling, spending time outdoors, practising mindfulness or simply creating space to pause.

   Checking in with yourself is particularly important during busy periods when it’s easy to focus on everyone else’s needs while neglecting your own.

2. Connect through food and shared meals
   Food has always brought people together.Whether it’s a weeknight dinner with family, a barbecue with friends or sharing morning tea with colleagues, meals create opportunities to slow down and connect.

   Shared meals also encourage healthy habits. They provide time to be present, enjoy food more mindfully and strengthen relationships through conversation.

   Spring can be the perfect opportunity to refresh your menu, try seasonal ingredients and explore new healthy recipes together.

3. Reach out and strengthen your social connections
   Human beings are wired for connection.Strong social relationships are associated with better wellbeing, lower stress levels and improved overall health. Even small interactions can help create a sense of belonging.

   That’s why the message behind this year’s R U OK? campaign remains so important – Ask R U OK? Any Day because a conversation could change a life.

   If someone has been on your mind, consider giving them a call, sending a message or simply asking, “How are you going?”

   And if you’re struggling yourself, reaching out to someone you trust can be an important first step. You can also find help here.

Connection is good for your heart too

The benefits of connection extend beyond mental wellbeing.

Research has linked loneliness and social isolation with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease and stroke. Some researchers have even compared the health impact of prolonged social isolation to other well-known health risks.

As World Heart Day approaches on 29 September, it’s a timely reminder that heart health isn’t only shaped by what we eat or how much we exercise. The quality of our relationships matters too.

Springing it all together

Spring doesn’t ask you to do everything at once. It just asks you to start. Pick one connection to nurture this month, it might be with a friend, your family, or yourself. You might be surprised where it leads.

Would you like to create healthier habits with a free Health Coach? Do the online Health Check today to see if health coaching is right for you.  

My health for life is proudly funded by the Queensland Government through Health and Wellbeing Queensland, and delivered by Diabetes Australia. 

Sources

1. Ending Loneliness Together. State of the Nation Report: Social Connection in Australia 2023, as cited in Ah Shay B. Addressing loneliness in general practice. Australian Journal of General Practice 2026;55(3):154–156. 
2. R U OK?. Ask R U OK? Any Day campaign, 2026. Available at ruok.org.au. 
3. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Social prescribing can be a ‘script against loneliness’. Media release, August 2025.