How to Improve Your Mental Health
Despite the importance of mental health, some people take issue with discussing this important aspect of overall health.
Our mental health dictates the state we wake up in each day. It can make us feel like we’re on top of the world or at the very bottom.
Therefore, we must take care of our mental health to reap the benefits and get that “good feel” factor back in our lives.
Luckily, we can practice mental health by performing certain daily habits. These habits will improve your mental state and make you feel better.
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So, let’s jump right into the four habits.
1. Get A Good Night’s Sleep
Sleep is an essential habit that can make or break your day. Living in a world full of distractions will inevitably derail your sleeping patterns.
Therefore, it’s your job to find ways to remove these distractions and focus on one of the most important aspects of overall health – getting a good night’s sleep.
A good night’s sleep is such an essential habit that we have scientific proof of the benefits. For example, one study found that sleeping for more than six hours will lower the chances of mental distress.
Those who slept, on average, less than six hours were twice as likely to report mental distresses during the day.
So if you’re going to improve your mental health, why not start from the very top? However, commitment isn’t the issue. Instead, the issue is dealing with nighttime sleeplessness.
Fortunately, we can apply additional habits to help you go to bed at the right hour. Moreover, these habits will aid you in falling asleep and getting the quality of sleep necessary.
To do that, try these habits:
- Don’t drink coffee or any caffeinated drink after 5 PM
- Make sure to go to bed at the same time every night
- Remove distractions from your room (put your phone away before going to bed)
- These three habits alone can do so much when trying to get a good night’s sleep.
2. Eat Healthy Foods
Healthy eating is a habit preached by gurus and experts alike. But even if you’re tired of listening to all the experts, eating healthy foods can impact your overall health positively.
Most importantly, certain healthy foods affect your mental health so much that it’s time to do a complete refrigerator inspection.
The list of healthy foods you should always have in your refrigerator includes the likes of berries, bananas, whole grains, fish, beans, etc. These foods are full of mood-boosting nutrients that impact your mental health positively.
While on the subject of foods to keep in your refrigerator, we have to look at the other side and look at foods you should never refrigerate. The list includes sugary foods, processed meats, fried foods, pastries, and certain high-fat dairy products.
These foods are not only excellent for your mental health but eating healthy foods is a habit for better focus. Think of it this way; if these foods impact your mental health positively, you will inevitably reap the benefits of a healthy mind.
3. Go Outside From Time to Time
Winter is fast approaching. If you’re living in a country where winters get very cold, maybe it’s time to go outside and gain that vital Vitamin D before it completely goes out for a few months.
One of the healthy habits that does so much for our mood and attitude is spending time outdoors. This habit is tailor-made for all you workaholics trying to create something for yourself.
No matter how hard you work, you need to cool down. And what better way to do that than to spend time outside in the sunshine and blue skies?
If you’re strapped for time and can’t afford to go on a picnic, spending as little as five minutes outside can do wonders for your mental health.
Remember that you don’t need to reserve your Sunday to reap the benefits of this habit.
You can go for a walk around your neighborhood, eat lunch at your local park, and generally being outside counts.
4. Find A Hobby
A great way to practice good mental health is to keep your brain constantly active. For that, we recommend finding a hobby that will allow you to keep your mind in check.
We all need hobbies to keep us occupied when not at work.
A hobby is also an excellent way to stop procrastinating while at home. There are numerous mental health benefits to picking up a hobby and giving it your best.
And finding a hobby doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Remember that a hobby is anything that makes you happy and invested. It can be anything from collecting stamps to building Lego Star Wars sets.
So, find the hobby you like and keep your brain active while at home.
Conclusion
We keep forgetting that looking after ourselves means looking after both aspects of health – physical and mental. And these four habits will do wonders for your mental health.
All that’s left is to give them a try and reap the benefits. Or, you could find new habits that achieve the same results. If you do, why not tell us what has helped you look after your mental health?
Author Bio
Erik Bergman co-founded Catena Media and helped grow it to over 300 employees and a $200 million valuation before stepping away to start Great.com, an iGaming organization that donates 100% of its profits to environmental charities.
In addition to running a successful online affiliate business, Erik also hosts the Becoming Great podcast, shares entrepreneurship tips with his more than 1 million social media followers, and contributes to sites like Entrepreneuer.com, Business Insider, Foundr, and Forbes.
