We know it’s important to take care of ourselves physically – we have to eat right, get some exercise and get a sufficient amount of rest each night in order to function properly the next day. But what do we do when it comes to our mental health? There are many factors that contribute to mental health and finding the right balance is different for everyone. The tips below are useful for improving your mental health overall and keeping a great mindset.
Sleep
There’s no doubt that sleep is essential for our physical and mental health. During sleep, our body helps regulate the chemicals in our brain that transmit information. Ever wonder why you can’t remember some things when you’re a bit tired? The chemicals that do this are incredibly important in managing moods, emotions and our overall wellbeing. If we have bad sleeping patterns for long periods of time, it can start to make us feel negative emotions, and has the potential to bring depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses into our life.
There are quite a few mental health problems related to sleep, and they are all treatable. The Sleep Council is an exceptional organization that strives to help people get a better night’s sleep.
Be Active
Exercise is known to help reduce depression, stress, and anxiety, as well as improve moods. Keeping active directly affects the chemicals in the brain. It promotes the delivery of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, as well as neurohormones that support neuron signalling, growth and connectivity. Quite great, right? Exercise can be used as a self-help remedy for mild depression and anxiety or in a combination with other treatment methods too!
Stress
Learning how to manage stress is different for us all, as there are various scenarios which can cause it. Whether you’re stressed at work, home, or anywhere else, there are methods and techniques you can use to reduce your stress so it does not have a major impact on your mental health.
Learning what triggers stress in you is a great starting point. It may seem daunting tackling problems in your life, but it helps to write them down to come to the best possible solution for yourself. Because stress can have a major impact on sleep and disrupt our normal daily functions, it should be dealt with sooner rather than later. Fortunately, stress management techniques can greatly improve daily life.
Sunlight
We all need some Vitamin D. It’s an important vitamin to help keep our bones healthy, and most of us get it from the sun! If you didn’t already know, Vitamin D actually helps our brains to release chemicals that improve our mood. These are known as endorphins and serotonin. It’s recommended that 30 minutes up to 2 hours a day of sunlight is ideal, but when the seasons change and sunlight varies, it can bring about seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This is a form of depression that usually hits in winter, when sunlight is reduced. Several remedies, including light boxes and special alarm clocks can help alleviate the symptoms of SAD.
Eat Right
A healthy balanced diet also contributes to our moods and energy levels. It’s important to not consume too much sugar. As our blood sugar drops we are left feeling tired, with a low mood. By consuming foods that release energy slowly, it will help keep sugar levels steady throughout the day.
Many of us skip breakfast, but it is and always will be the most important meal of the day. There are many on-the-go breakfast meals that you can now take with you, such as granola bars, yogurt, and instant oatmeal packs, if you’re not one to eat early in the morning. Fruits and vegetables should be on your list, as they include minerals, vitamins and fiber, which keep us physically and mentally healthy.
To learn more about healthy eating, this website from the UK provides some useful tips: Mind for Better Mental Health.
Avoid Smoking, Drugs & Alcohol
Smoking, drugs and alcohol are not great for us physically or mentally. In regards to alcohol, when we’ve had a few drinks it can leave us feeling anxious and not so good the next day. The same applies to drugs. Excessive drinking over a long period of time can cause thiamine deficiency – low levels of this can impair brain function, such as memory, and can cause coordination problems, confusion and even affect the eyes.
All these substances are bad for our health. They contribute massively to low moods, anxiety, depression and lots more mental health problems.
Be realistic
Knowing what you want to achieve in every aspect of life is wonderful and can be quite motivational. However, goals must be realistic. The reason being, if our goals are out of reach, it puts pressure and potential stress on our shoulders to complete them within a particular timeframe. Let’s look at stress in the workplace as an example: you have six reports to do, each of which takes 2 hours to complete. Scheduling them to be completed by midday is pretty much impossible, unless you were Superman… or The Flash.
By setting realistic and reachable goals, it will provide a great sense of accomplishment and self-worth as you progress. This reduces stress and increases confidence, so it’s a win-win for you.
We understand there is a stigma surrounding mental health and seeking help is not a sign of weakness, but strength. The tips in this article only act as a brief guide to improving your mental health.
Author Bio: Abbie Faulkner is a passionate writer, with a love for educating and storytelling. When not in front of a computer, she loves to test her skills in interior design and supporting local mental health charities.
Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
The opinions and views expressed in this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of www.rtor.org or its sponsor, Laurel House, Inc. The author and www.rtor.org have no affiliations with any products or services mentioned in this article or linked to herein.
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Most of the people take medicine to reduce their stress but it would be better if they take natural food to decrease their mental stress. Nice written and very informative post. Thank you so much for sharing this…I recently found your blog and when I am reading it I loved it…Now I’ll read your blogs regularly. Thank you
Thanks, For sharing these health tips with us will say you are giving great tips for health these tips definitely help people suffering from stress or having lack of sleep great work keep doing
This is some really good information about mental health options. I liked that you pointed out that you should be really realistic about how you should handle the issues. It might be smart to start with talking to an expert about what options will work well with you.
Great healthy tips..exercise is really good for everyone thanks for the sharing amazing tips.
Hello, Very good article.
Thanks for sharing, keep up the good work.
Hello, Very good article.
Thanks for sharing, keep up the great work.
Hello, Very good article.
Thanks for sharing, keep up the great work.
Great Aritcle. Thanks for sharing.
I would like to add one more point with the existing points; Stay motivated. As per my view, it also plays an important role in mental health. Staying motivated will help in thinking positively.
Thanks for sharing this awesome post . I really love it. Great work
True, Regular Exercise keep us healthy, fit and happy physically and mentally
Agree with the author completely. We need to maintain the rules to maintain our mental health. Often we don’t sleep properly, don’t take food in time, take excessive stress. We should not do this. We should strictly follow these rules.
Thanks for sharing this post!!!
Correct, a healthy diet having fruits and vegetables help in keeping body and mind fit and healthy.
Read more about the use of Ginger and Honey as a home remedy for various health issues. Thanks
Having a routine helps us feel grounded in times of uncertainty. Agree with the author completely. We need to maintain the rules to maintain our mental health. Often we don’t sleep properly, don’t take food in time, take excessive stress. We should not do this. We should strictly follow these rules. Thanks for sharing this post!!!
I agree with the writer. We always do exercise to gain physical goals but never focus on mental health. It’s very important to emphasize mental health. We need to maintain the rules to maintain our mental health. We should not do this. We should follow these rules.
Thanks for sharing this post!!!Good Luck!!
We often don’t focus on mental health. But it’s really important because the soul and body are interconnected. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. But we just run behind physical health.
I am really thankful to the author that he/she explained it very well and gave such nice tips.
Keep Writing!!!
I totally agreed with being active and getting sunlight!
Super content. I really like the way you describe the solution, keep writing this kind of content. I also write a great content about hijama, it’s the ancient way of a solution to many Mental Issues.
In our day to day life, mental health is being ignored. Because we can see physical health is good or not, but we can’t see mental health. So, we don’t focus on our mental health. But it is as important as physical health.
I appreciate that many authors are writing about this and creating awareness.
Thanks to the author!
We often don’t focus on mental health. But it’s really important because the soul and body are interconnected. Mental health is important at every stage of life,
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I was in depression for a very long time & exercising has helped me a lot. Some great insights in improving your mental health. Thanks for the article.
I think in the current world, especially in quarantine, the mental health of everyone is suffering. I hope that these tips will help us improve our mental health.
The good news for your mental health, however, is that we know how to shrink your deadly seriousness to practically nothing and reduce almost completely the sway it holds over your health, vitality, wellness, and zest. The natural medicine of humor is an incredibly powerful resource that you already possess; you’ve only forgotten how to use it to maximum effectiveness.
24. Practice forgiveness – even if it’s just forgiving that person who cut you off during your commute. People who forgive have better mental health and report being more satisfied with their lives.
Most of the people do not give mental health the attention it requires, we should be giving it more importance and look after ourselves more. It is really crucial in these trying times.