Self Care: 5 Habits For A Healthier Life

Mental health talks are quite popular around the world these days. We are ready to give advice about not overworking or being too hard on yourself, yet it is practically impossible for us to follow the same advice. It is proven by a multitude of studies that self-care can improve your general mood and reduce anxiety drastically. Taking care of ourselves allows us to develop a healthy body and mind, helping us to connect with ourselves and the world around us. Although it might be quite hard to take out time from a busy schedule for self-care, there are a few habits one can inculcate within themselves that helps form a healthy relationship with oneself.

Meditation

Although the benefits of meditation are widely agreed upon, it is quite tough to actually dive into the world of meditation and let it help us. It is the art of calming your mind and bringing your awareness to yourself and your surroundings. Meditation often requires intensive breathwork, but surprisingly, even five minutes of meditation a day has proven helpful in enhancing self-acceptance, promoting a sense of calm and belongingness, increasing compassion and even increasing the amount of gray matter concentration in the brain. It is the best form of self-care that can be implemented every day.

Nourish your body

It is often said, you are what you eat. Try thinking of the food that you eat as the fuel that nourishes your body. Treat your body like a temple and it will be one. It is easy to regress into the ‘junk food’ life, but making small changes to your diet slowly and steadily can help you build a habit of eating healthy. Start by cutting out aerated soft drinks, fried and processed food and alcohol. Instead, opt for nutrient-dense foods and complex and whole carbohydrates. There are a ton of options out there for you to try out for a healthier diet, such as plant-based, Mediterranean, etc.

Exercise

Exercising not only keeps your body healthy but your mind as well. A lot of studies have shown how endorphins (happy hormones) are released in the brain after exercise. These hormones have a critical role in reducing and relieving stress and even managing depression. Exercise has been proven to reduce cortisol (stress hormones) levels in the body. Experts at Kate Hudson’s company Fabletics have also commented that even exercising for half an hour a day can significantly improve your mood as well as provide you energy to deal with the rest of the day. There are various forms of exercise that you can take up such as yoga, going to the gym, swimming, playing tennis, or even walking.

Sleep

A countless number of studies keep stressing over the importance of a good sleep pattern. Developing good sleep habits requires good sleep hygiene. This includes things such as not having caffeine in the evening, no screens at least an hour before bed and creating a sleep atmosphere in your room.

There are a ton of self-care practices that can help you reduce stress and increase efficiency. It is important to remember to take out time for yourself in order to keep yourself healthy and happy.