Self-Care Practices You Need for Better Health, Happiness and Wellbeing
by Kat Rowe | August 10, 2021
The right self-care strategies will do wonders for your general wellbeing and health while helping you to alleviate depression, anxiety and stress. This can help you become more productive, maintain healthy relationships with family and friends and sustain a positive mood for the long term.
Some of these self-care activities are:
Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise has many benefits for your mental and physical health. Even minimal exercise can have profound effects. This means that an inactive lifestyle can incubate many preventable diseases.
Physical activity can affect the brain. Walking, dancing, swimming, jogging, running, and other aerobic exercises are known to help curb depression, stress and anxiety. This happens because moderate and vigorous exercise increases blood flow to the brain. Once the physiological reactivity spikes, your body responds better to stress and anxiety.
Exercise also provides a healthy distraction that can improve brain activity. Adding in social interaction during physical activity can elevate your mood even more.
Have Enough Sleep
Each of the stages of sleep has different levels of brain activity. Brain activity is usually slower during the non-rapid eye movement stage of sleep, but it becomes substantial during the rapid-eye-movement stage. The successful completion of each stage enhances memory, learning and thinking.
Positive sleeping habits will bolster your brain’s activity to process emotional information. When you have enough sleep, your brain is able to consolidate thoughts and memories with ease. On the other hand, you risk health disorders and emotional reactivity if you have poor sleeping habits.
Stick to the Right Diet
There are many negative effects of poor nutrition on learning. Poor nutrition decreases attention and increases stress, which is not conducive to effective learning.
Depression and hyperactivity may set in when you start eating increased amounts of food colourings, preservatives and additives. That is why you should eat foods that increase your happy hormones, such as vegetables and fruits.
A high concentration of sugar in the body can be detrimental to your mental health. One way to avoid this is to consume more fibre. High levels of fibre will lower the rate at which the body absorbs glucose. Fibre-rich foods include strawberries, avocados and apples.
Your mental health also depends on serotonin production. When you have high serotonin circulating in the body, you will feel rejuvenated and happy. Therefore, you should try to include nutritious food that makes you happy in your diet.
Avoid Drugs and Alcohol
Excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs will impact your mental health and can lead to depression. In addition, some drugs stimulate psychosis.
So, how do you keep away from alcohol and drugs? For starters, try to surround yourself with people who practise healthy habits. These are people who eat healthy meals and exercise regularly.
Developing some personal goals can also help. A focused person is unlikely to find solace in drugs and alcohol. Similarly, if you or someone you love suffers from stress and anxiety, you can seek help. That way, you can get an expert opinion on self-care strategies.
Final Take
Taking care of yourself is an extremely important part of living a fulfilling life. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on self-care; a few alterations to your lifestyle can be beneficial. At Stride, we provide comprehensive mental health services to everyone. Need help finding the right mental health services? Check out our Find a Service directory.