The end of the year is approaching, and with it comes the popular custom of setting goals for a new phase of life. Among the most common women’s wishes for 2026 is to change lifestyle habits to a healthier model. Three out of four Brazilian women say they want to eat better in the next year and exercise more.
The number of women who promised to make exercise their first priority has outnumbered those who want to improve their diet. Of 300 people interviewed online by Vhita, a nutritional supplement company, 79% responded that the focus in the coming year would be on physical activity, compared to 72.2% who wanted to improve their diet and 71.5% who wanted to improve their mental health.
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The changes in habits that were supposed to happen in 2025 were a little different. In the past year, women sought to improve their diet the most (75.4%); Practicing physical activities regularly came at the bottom of the list (70.2%). For nutritionist Barbara Seno, who is responsible for the research, the general coincidence of priorities for 2025 with those expected for 2026 is not surprising.
“The fact that physical exercise and changes in diet appeared among the main goals of interview participants indicates two relevant points. On the one hand, how the female audience understands that maintaining an active life should be constant, but on the other hand, how many women may not have been able to put this routine into practice in 2025, which explains the anxiety about pursuing this goal again in 2026,” he explains.
Sleep and mental health
The change in comparison is that sleeping better was the third item on the list (69%) in 2025, and although there was an increase in concerns, entering the list for 71.1% of those interviewed in 2026, it lost its place on the podium, overtaking mental health care.
In wishes for the year 2026, mental health care came in third place on the list, and is the focus of attention of 71.5% of volunteers. This number represents a jump of 5.5 percentage points compared to the 64% who identified this alternative as a priority in 2025.
Added to this is the desire of 61% of respondents to achieve a better balance between personal life and work in the next year, a statement confirmed by 56.9% as a priority for 2025. All interviewees are over 18 years old and the confidence interval for the survey was 3%.
“In a context where we are faced with overwork, stimulation and information, it seems increasingly clear how important maintaining a good sleep routine is for mental health – something that the women interviewed in the study are aware of. This is perhaps why both goals appeared so close to each other among the interviewees, revealing a scenario of general interest in emotional balance, well-being and relaxation of body and mind in 2026,” notes Barbara.
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When it comes to sleep quality, it is essential to implement a healthy routine that will ensure a good night’s rest. Often, difficulty falling asleep or waking up early, for example, is related to daily habits that need to be corrected.
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A bad night’s sleep directly affects your mood and performance of the next day’s activities. Furthermore, levels of irritation, anxiety, and stress can increase significantly
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Studies show that the ideal amount of sleep varies from person to person, but the global average is six to eight hours per night. During deep sleep, hormones that are important for regulating the body are released.
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Many people suffer from lack of sleep and do not realize it. When in doubt, how about adopting some techniques known as “sleep hygiene”?
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1. Create a routine: Try to go to bed and wake up at the same times every day, even on holidays and weekends.
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2. Sleep early every day: Use the period near the end of your vacation to sleep about 30 minutes before the time you usually go to bed every day, until you reach the ideal time.
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3. Get up if you can’t sleep: Get out of bed if you’re having trouble sleeping. Do something relaxing like breathing deeply, listening to soothing music, or reading a book. It is recommended not to turn on the TV or use a cell phone. Do not go back to bed until you feel sleepy
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4. The bed is for sleeping: Never use the bed to study, read, watch TV, use the computer, or use your cell phone. The body needs to understand that this is a comfortable environment
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5. Keep the room dark: Having a completely dark room, without external light or lights from electronic devices, makes sleeping easier
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6. Avoid napping: Make the duration of napping during the day less than an hour and until 3 p.m., so that it does not harm your sleep at night.
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7. Avoid stimulant foods and drinks between four and six hours before bedtime. The list includes energy drinks, chocolate, coffee, soft drinks, black and green tea, and yerba mate tea.
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8. Avoid high-intensity physical exercise three hours before your scheduled bedtime. It can make a person extremely alert and disrupt sleep.
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9. Slow down: Take 15 to 30 minutes before bed to relax and slow down. Detachment from external stimuli helps signal the brain that it’s time to sleep
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10. Avoid alcohol and cigarettes: They also harm your sleep pattern
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Prioritize changing your diet
Among people seeking to improve their diet, the study indicated priorities for change: avoiding fried foods and processed foods (65%), drinking more water throughout the day (62%), and reducing sugar consumption (61%) were most cited.
Increasing fruit and protein intake and sticking to regular meal times also worked well, all outweighing the old adage of reducing food intake or calories, which only 44% of participants indicated.
Be careful with too many plans
Despite the frequent habit of setting end-of-year goals, experts point out that they should be handled with caution so as not to generate suffering due to unachieved goals, as a result of exaggerated expectations or comparisons to unrealistic success standards. In this sense, it is worth noting that the women interviewed in the research considered influencers Virginia Fonseca, Carol Borba and Gabriela Puglisi as their greatest sources of inspiration for well-being and self-care, known for their almost complete dedication to taking care of their bodies.
“The lack of self-knowledge and the expectations imposed on others fuel the demand on the self and lead to the creation of unbalanced goals. Repeated frustrations with unattainable goals generate disappointment and insecurity, and the arrival of a new cycle ends up strengthening negative memories and their meanings,” highlights psychiatrist Yascara Laursen, from the São Camilo Hospital Network in São Paulo.
The research provides an indication of how this comparison with distant web norms generates psychological suffering. In 2025, reducing screen time was on the priority list of only 32.5% of women. For 2026, reducing social media use is a priority for 45.2% of them, one of the largest relative jumps.
The doctor concludes, saying: “Working on self-knowledge and self-development is essential for dealing with this period. Every person must search for meanings that are in line with their own values, and build deep and lasting relationships inside and outside the family.”
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