Tips To Improve Your Physical & Mental Health
Summary: It takes effort to maintain our physical and mental health, but the results are worth it. With small, incremental changes and consistent effort, you can transform your physical and mental well-being.
While it’s tempting to want a quick fix to improve your health, enhancing your well-being in all areas of your life is a gradual process that takes time and commitment.
Drastic, overnight shifts to your lifestyle or an ‘all-or-nothing’ approach may instantly catapult you out of bad habits, but the results are not always long-lasting. Instead, it’s the everyday work of incorporating small changes into your routine that will help you steadily progress toward your goals.
Read on for a range of health tips to help you improve your health and wellness and open up the pathway to a healthier and happier you.
Move your body often
They say exercise is like preventative medicine Moving your body often and consistently helps you maintain both physical and mental health. It is genuinely the most effective, low-cost, easily accessible health intervention.
To bring more movement and exercise into your life, focus on finding activities you enjoy so exercise doesn’t feel like a chore. You don’t have to run marathons, spend hours at the gym or hike long trails to get the benefits. Walking, dancing, gardening and other less-intense activities are all helpful for your health and wellness. Even micro-workouts (that last 10 minutes) spread across the week can be immensely beneficial, especially if you’re someone who juggles multiple responsibilities.
As we age, strength training can help us maintain balance and other everyday functionalities. Some of the best strength training exercises for beginners, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dumbbell rows, can even be done at home with minimal equipment.
Get good sleep
Sleep is how your body restores itself and when your brain flushes out the toxins it accumulates over the day. It’s not an exaggeration to say getting good quality, regular sleep can transform how you feel and your perspective on the world.
Apart from being profoundly restorative, a lack of sleep has been shown to have a detrimental effect on judgement, decision-making, mood, memory and attention. It’s hard to strive for mental health without a good foundation of sleep to build on.
But getting eight hours of shut eye is not always easy. A packed schedule, late nights at work, poor food habits and even stress can make adequate, restful sleep elusive.
Here are a few things you can do to help improve your sleep habits:
- Start by maintaining a consistent sleep-wake schedule and a regular and relaxing bedtime routine.
- Make sure your sleep environment is dark and quiet or use an eye mask and earplugs to help make it so.
- Limit your intake of caffeine, alcohol and screen time before bed, which can affect your sleep patterns.
- Make meditation and stretching part of your bedtime routine for relaxation and better sleep quality.
Make time for relaxation
Most of us face chronic stress in our fast-paced modern societies, which can negatively impact our physical and mental health. Stress hormones can increase your blood pressure and heart rate, make you more likely to face depression and anxiety, cause muscle pain and headaches, and even contribute to major health problems like heart disease and diabetes.
Relaxation doesn’t have to take effort, but it does require thought and planning. Figure out what you enjoy and carve out time to do these things. Maybe listening to music, playing a game, spending time with loved ones, or even cooking or indulging in a creative hobby are activities that makes you feel relaxed and at ease. It doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as it has the effect of slowing down your nervous system on a regular basis. Again, this doesn’t have to mean a large time commitment. Try to carve out 15 or 20 minutes a day to do things that bring you joy.
Cultivate emotional well-being
Mental health is closely tied to emotional well-being. And the quality of our mental health is closely tied to the quality of our relationships. So make it a priority to cultivate strong ties with good friends and loved ones.
Research has found that loneliness can have devastating emotional effects on humans and can lead to psychiatric problems like depression, alcohol abuse, and even cognitive impairment. Other less obvious risks of loneliness include gambling and overspending.
Some ways of cultivating emotional well-being include taking a break from digital devices and inputs, practicing mindfulness or meditating, practicing gratitude and building time into your life for self-care.
Build psychological health
You can improve mental health through a variety of conscious practices, as well as through the help of mental health professionals. One major way that people can help themselves thrive psychologically is by learning to say “no”. This means setting healthy boundaries — financial and physical — with the people around you. Doing so can help you stay aligned with your values, preserve your energy for your own priorities and disengage from problematic relationships.
Another excellent practice to boost psychological wellness is being kind to yourself. Showing self-compassion can do your psyche a world of good. Many people fill their days with negative self-talk that is harmful to their psychological health. Practice talking to yourself as you’d talk to a cherished loved one who needs your support.
If these and other self-orchestrated strategies aren’t enough to help your mental state, seek out professional help from a licensed therapist or counselor. These professionals provide support, guidance and tools to manage mental health challenges and improve your emotional wellness.
Eat unprocessed foods and limit sugar
You are what you eat, and making smart food choices contributes heavily to your physical and mental well-being. We’ve all read that eating fast food and processed food is detrimental to physical health Avoiding the gratification of a quick, salty, sugary meal translates to a lower risk of metabolic disorders.
Healthy eating starts in the grocery store. Choosing whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein sources to stock up your kitchen with means you’re more like to select these ingredients when you prepare your meals. Avoid purchasing processed foods that are typically high in salt, sugar and trans fats. If you eat take-out four or more times a week, try to bring that number down until you get to a stage where most of your meals are homemade. It’s good for your health and budget!
Look up inspiring, easy recipes that you can prep in under 30 minutes or in a single pot. Over time, you can experiment and try new foods to keep your palate intrigued.
Practice daily for a healthier you
These are only a few of the wellness and health tips you can incorporate into your daily routine to create a significant difference in your physical and mental health.
Consistency is key to seeing the impacts of these interventions: Keep making small, sustainable improvements over time by using these health tips.
Need help finding ways to a healthier you? Mutual of Omaha is here to support you with more resources to help you lead a better, healthier life.
FAQs
Q1: How can I eat healthier?
Reduce the number of processed foods you eat. These foods are usually high in sugar, salt and trans fats, all of which can contribute to metabolic disease. Substitute them with lean meats, vegetables and fiber-rich foods.
Q2: What is one way to improve psychological health?
Setting boundaries can help people thrive psychologically, as this can empower you to live in a way aligned with your values and limit your exposure to problematic relationships. Learn to prioritize your well-being by saying “no” when you need to.
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