With a busy mind and life, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Stress and anxiety creep into our lives and control our everyday interactions, with family or co-workers. It's important to remember that your mind is a tool, take control and cancel out the noise -- be at peace with yourself and your surroundings. If you're looking for a great book to read or listen to, we recommend going with "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle.
Here are some tips we've come up with to help you on your journey to better mental wellness.
Get Adequate & Better Quality Sleep
It's one of the most important things you can do for yourself... is to make sure you're getting enough sleep and following a pattern of when you sleep and wake up. This is a fact that you already know -- we've all seen what happens when we go to bed late and and wake up too early.
The amount of sleep recommended by professionals varies, but the best person to ask is... yourself. Listen to your body, go to bed consistently at the same time and see when you naturally wake. Try going to bed or waking up at different times, keep a Sleep Journal. This is the surest way to find your best sleep schedule.
The mattress you sleep on can affect your quality of sleep. Are you waking up uncomfortable? Ae you tossing and turning frequently? Is your significant other waking you up because THEY are moving around? Make sure you have a mattress that is providing the comfort and pressure relief you need to sleep better. We recommend looking into memory foam or hybrid memory foam mattresses.
Extra Tip: Keep it cool - 60-67 degree Fahrenheit is considered the optimal temperature for sleeping.
Go Off The Grid
Everyday we are inundated with technology, like TV, emails, text messages, notifications, and social media. The overstimulation of this technology can cause stress and anxiety, as well as manifest jealousy, inferiority, among other toxic situations.
Take a break, turn your phone off, step away from the TV and spend some time with yourself, a friend or loved one. It could be something simple like spending quality time with someone or doing some outdoor activities such as: walking, hiking, fishing, biking, or camping.
Sometimes the effect isn't immediate, but if you really take the time to disconnect yourself, a portion of everyday (limit the exposure), you'll experience a better quality of life.
Extra Tip: Turn your phone to "Do Not Disturb" a couple hours before you go to bed. Most phones can do this automatically on a schedule.
Take Time Off
This brings us to our next important topic! Take time off. You might be a workaholic or just have a hard time taking the leap to travel somewhere, but it's extremely important that you take time off.
It could be camping with family or friends, a staycation, or a trip to the tropics! The act of planning a vacation and looking forward to something can improve your mental well being. Studies show by taking time off, you can boost your happiness for up to 8 weeks!
When you're on your trip, refer to the above suggestions and try to stay away from technology or at least limit the amount of usage.
Start Your Day With Coffee
Did you know that coffee consumption has been linked to reduced rates of depression? Studies show that drinking coffee can reduced depression risk by up to 1/3.
The review concludes that coffee's impact on mental health is related to the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and microbiome, promoting properties. The caffeine also plays a roll in blocking receptions in peoples brains from binding with a chemical that can cause fatigue and depressed moods.
The suggested amount is drinking two cups of coffee per day, according to results from the "Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey", which tested 10,000 adults. Those who drank 2 cups of coffee per day reported 32% lower cases of self-reported depression than those who drank no coffee.
If you'd like to read more on this, please visit the National Coffee Associations.
Quiet Your Mind & Focus On The Present
Control your mind instead of letting it control you. A lot of us emotionally focus on the past (can cause depression) or the future (can cause anxiety) and forget to enjoy the present -- which is the only thing anyone can control.
Try mediating, mindfulness, and/or prayer. Exercises that deal with relaxation can improve your outlook on life and your state of mind.
You can also listen or read a book related to personal wellness, such as:
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- The 4 Agreements
- The Motivation Manifesto
