Mental health is a vital aspect of overall well-being and requires regular attention and care. It is essential to incorporate healthy habits and lifestyle choices in our routine to maintain good mental health. In this article, we will explore some easy-to-follow tips that can help unlock improved mental health secrets.

PLAN YOUR DAY

Even if you are not an individual who loves to have everything structured, making a list of tasks for the day and for the week can help you have mental clarity and achieve your goals. You might want to unwind and set agendas the night before so that you are not flustered in the morning. However, if you consider yourself a person who might constantly think and get worried about unmet goals, then making the list at night might not be the best idea as it would interfere with your quality of sleep. Instead, you can start your day with making a list to prevent yourself from brain fog throughout the day.

HYDRATE

Hydration first thing in the morning is not only good for flushing out toxins from your body, but also reactivating and improving your cognitive functioning. After a good night’s sleep, it is very likely that we wake dehydrated which can be linked to behaviours of irritability, low mood, fatigue and confusion. So, for physical and mental health, drink up!

YOU HAVE BEEN SKIPPING BREAKFAST, HAVEN’T YOU?

‍Your blood sugar levels are low in the morning and having fluctuating blood sugar levels can easily affect your mood. Even if you’re running late or have less time, make sure to get these levels stabilised to reduce crankiness and gain energy. Breakfast here does not imply morning coffee and on-the-go pastry, we are talking about a nutritious meal that includes complex carbs, healthy fats, and protein. Having a nutritious breakfast can help you function better cognitively and psychosocially. Carbohydrates consumed during breakfast can help in the formation of serotonin which is a “feel good” neurotransmitter and a hormone that helps in regulation of mood. So, natural production of these hormones can help in reducing irritability, depressive symptoms, brain fog and improve cognitive functioning. Additionally, having breakfast regularly can help in reduced production of cortisol – stress inducing hormone.

EXERCISE

Exercising in the morning energises you by increasing your blood flow and properly waking you up in the morning. Physical activity helps in releasing endorphins – hormones to counter stress and pain –and serotonin which reduces stress and improves a sense of wellbeing. Production of these hormones can help you tackle stressful tasks all day ahead.No time? No worries. Instead of doing a whole work out session, try to stretch right after waking up. It can help you relieve any tension or pain from last night’s sleep and increase your blood flow to prepare your body for the day ahead.Stretching before bedtime can also help you relax your muscles and prevents you from waking up with pain.

STAY AWAY FROM YOUR PHONE

Most of us are guilty of checking our phones right after waking up and having frantic responses if it is not within our reach. Ah yes, these symptoms can lead to diagnosis of smartphone addiction. While staying on top of our messages and news might bring us momentary comfort, however this habit triggers feelings of stress and anxiety. See another article to see how to keep your phone away for improved mental health.

BRING BACK DINING TABLE CONVERSATIONS

‍If you live with family or friends, try to have your meals together without your devices. In the past, big families ate together for convenience i.e. dinner was served together for everyone. However, this practice served an important social function as well. This non stressful time is important to connect and unwind with each other. This instigates the feeling of love and belonging which needless to say is imperative to mental health. Families especially with spouses and children must carve out this time. Dining together and intentional activities that foster connection are seen to improve marital satisfaction. Moreover, children can have lowered tendencies of substance use, and depressive symptoms because they feel looked after and cared for. Smaller children are shown to have better language skills and better grades in school when parents talk and dine with them.

MEDITATE

Meditation is an effective way to reduce and manage signs of stress, depression, anxiety, and sometimes even emotional and physical pain. Starting with as low as 15 minutes of meditation at the beginning of the day can help you ground yourself for the challenging tasks ahead and instill clarity of thoughts. The stress relieving effects and getting in touch with yourself has shown to produce similar physical relaxing responses as one is on vacation.

BEDTIME ROUTINE

‍Unwinding at night is very important and should be focused on activities that reduce high emotional and anxiety responses. People might leave physical aspects of work in the office, but seldom are able to leave work-related thoughts and worries with it. Rumination can keep us up or disturb our sleep at night. Hence, practicing meditation and relaxation techniques before bedtime can clear your mind and improve quality of sleep.

I do not know how to meditate...‍Meditation at the beginning can be daunting. Thus, to support your journey, turn to guided meditation and mental wellbeing apps. They have personalised short to long meditation sessions which can keep you calm and guide you to what to do.

GRATITUDE JOURNALING

What is gratitude journaling? – literally count your blessings.In the midst of our stressful and busy lives, we somehow get accustomed to focus on the negatives which overshadow the joyous things and people in our lives. Thus, gratitude journaling is making a conscious effort to routinely acknowledge and be grateful for small to big events, people, and comforts of life. Research has supported that this small exercise can have positive effects on our mental wellbeing, increase optimism about the future, enable sound sleep and reduce stress.

Why do we have to write and not just think? A study suggested that decluttering thoughts into concrete language increases our awareness which deepens the emotional impact.