Mental health is just as important as your physical health. Maintaining your mind is crucial to your overall well-being. As you age, your brain changes and neuroplasticity kicks in, meaning your brain is not hardwired, and you can develop new neural pathways. Establishing healthy mental habits can help with stress and keep your emotions in check. Discover daily things you can do for mental health that keeps you balanced and happy.
Tips For Optimal Mental Health
When you take care of your mental health, you won’t get stuck in your emotions, and doing so can improve your immune system, increase your productivity, and even help you live longer. Without further ado, let’s talk about the best tips for ensuring optimal health.
Learn Meditation
For thousands of years, meditation has been used to quiet the mind, ease anxiety, and regulate stress. There are many methods people can use, and whether you are a beginner or master, meditation can benefit your health in ways you may not know about. Yoga is a form of meditation and can help with anxiety, but it also helps strengthen your body. You can meditate for a few minutes or a few hours; it all depends on your skill level and patience.
Implement Exercise
You’ve heard how regular exercise helps keep you healthy and fit, lowers your stress level, is excellent for your cardiovascular system, and can balance your weight. It’s beneficial to your mental health as well. Various studies have consistently shown that exercise has positive effects on brain function, self-image, and addiction recovery. You don’t need to do two hours of cardio every day to make a difference; just increasing your heart rate and moving your body for twenty minutes daily is all you need.
Go Outside
Being outside in nature is good for your mental health. The sun helps boost your Vitamin D levels, and taking a walk or hike keeps you fit. Also, being outdoors helps your brain release the hormone serotonin, a natural mood enhancer. Even if it’s cold and dreary outside, just spending a few minutes getting fresh air helps.
Express Gratitude
There is so much negativity in the world; no wonder people’s mental health is failing. If all you see and hear is negative programming, your brain will absorb that and keep that mindset. However, writing in a gratitude journal can help lower your stress levels and may improve your immune system. Just writing a few things you’re grateful for daily helps keep you more positive—the more positivity in your life, the less risk of developing anxiety and depression. A daily five-minute gratitude practice can drastically change your mindset and help you focus on the good things.
Do Something Nice
Committing kind acts doesn’t just benefit the receiver; it can benefit you as well. Research conducted from the University of British Columbia discovered that people who regularly perform kind acts increased their mood, and reduced their anxiety and social avoidance. Sometimes, saying a few kind words to someone–even strangers–can cause a ripple effect. When someone is helpful to you, it benefits both of you, so doing something nice is great for your mental health.
Just Laugh
The mental benefits of laughing are many. Just laughing for a few minutes daily helps lower your anxiety levels, increases your ability to learn, and improves your short-term memory, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can also stimulate many organs, such as your heart, lungs, and even your muscles. Laughing increases the endorphins released by your brain, and helps activate and relieve your stress response and soothe tension.
Get Good Sleep
Good, beneficial sleep provides many benefits to your mental health. Sufficient sleep energizes your brain cells and keeps you motivated daily; it also gives you a peaceful feeling and does wonder for your mood and memory. For adults, between 7 and 9 hours of sleep is ideal. Children need even more (between 10-12 hours), and adolescents, about 9 hours. The key is getting enough REM and deep sleep that enables you to wake up refreshed, thus helping reduce anxiety and depression.
Contact Ardu Recovery Center
Sometimes, mental illness can develop due to various circumstances, genetics, or traumatic events. To ensure you get the care and support you need, please contact our staff today to learn about our holistic approach to treating those struggling with mental health issues.
