01/25/2022
Here are nine tips for maintaining or improving day-to-day good mental health.
Self-care. This plays a role in maintaining your mental health. Self-care means making time to do things that make life nice. For some, that may be treating yourself to a weekly movie night. Others enjoy time spent reading, talking with friends, soaking in a bubble bath, or going for a long (or short) walk.
A few small acts of self-kindness each week can make a big difference in how we feel.
Get enough sleep. Rest is crucial to good health, mental and physical. Stick to a schedule, waking and going to bed at the same time each day.
Create a wind-down routine. Put on your most comfortable sleepwear, brush and floss your teeth and settle in for a good, long snooze. Nix blue-light emitting devices before bed and avoid too much caffeine.
Learn how to deal with stress. Stress is a part of life. Developing coping skills can change how much stress affects you, and how resilient you are. Deep breaths are a great on-the-spot stress minimizer. Consciously relaxing your muscles can diffuse a stressful moment. So can listening to a favorite song or watching a funny video. In the long-term, the tools that help keep us mentally and physically healthy are the very same tools that help us deal with stress: good sleep and nutrition, exercise, self-care, connection with others and the other tips mentioned in this article.
Liven up your routine. Human beings love a good routine, and most of the time we enjoy the feelings of security and safety they offer. BUT…a little change of pace can liven up your day. Drive to work a new way or choose a different jogging route.
Rearrange the pictures on your walls or your living room furniture.
Make a new recipe.
Brush your teeth with the opposite hand. You get the idea!
Treat yourself with kindness. Watch out for self-criticism and negative self-talk. Your inner critic is doing you no favors. Perhaps you’re not even aware of your inner critic – start to listen to your inner monologue and when you hear the critic, tell it you don’t want to hear it. After you’ve practiced silencing the critic, work on replacing the critic with an inner ally who notices the good things about you.
Say no when you need to. Focus on your goal and priorities, and if you start to feel like you’re taking on too much, say ‘no’ or ‘not right now’ to new tasks. At the end of the day, be mindful of all you have accomplished, and try not to turn the narrative to what you didn’t get to.
Eat well and drink plenty of water. What you put into your body will affect how you feel. Junk in, junk out. Getting a good balance of nutrients, including fiber and water, can have a stabilizing effect on your mood. Sugary or over-processed foods spike your blood sugar levels, which then drop, leaving you feeling tired, cranky and even unstable. Too little of specific nutrients including vitamin B12, selenium, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc and calcium has been linked to depression.
Aim for meals that contain a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables, plenty of protein and moderate amounts of healthy fats.
Surround yourself with good people. Our friendships and relationships can sometimes help (or hurt) our mental health, so it’s important to seek out interactions with people who are supportive, kind and positive. Reaching out to new people can be hard but worthwhile.
Look for positive people you’d like to engage with wherever you go regularly: work, school, church or even the gym are great places to start.
Avoid drugs and alcohol. Say no to drugs and keep your alcohol use to a minimum. Recent studies show that for women, moderate drinking means no more than three drinks on any one day and seven or fewer drinks per week. For men, it’s no more than four drinks on any one day and no more than 14 drinks per week. As for other self-medicating or recreational drugs, avoid them.
Information provided by IHG.
