Hi friends. We are excited to share, Beyond the Physical: Self-Care Is Crucial to Mental Health by Sara Bailey this week. Thank you Sara for providing this great post for us!! We really enjoyed it and appreciate the time you took for us!!
Nearly one in five Americans struggle with their mental health. The stress of work, home, and family is enough to cause mental stress on their own. When you add in the anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, even more people feel mentally strained. This makes self-care crucial since the benefits go beyond the physical and extend into your mental and emotional well-being.
If you’ve been lacking in the self-care department and could use a nudge in the right direction, Living 4You Boutique shares some tried and true methods for taking better care of yourself.
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BEYOND THE PHYSICAL: SELF-CARE IS CRUCIAL TO MENTAL HEALTH
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Get Enough Sleep
Adults require at least seven hours of sleep each night. Not getting enough sleep can make it difficult to concentrate and lower your reaction time. It also makes learning significantly more difficult.
One way to ensure you’re getting enough sleep is to create a sleep schedule. While the idea of bedtime may sound childish, you’ll feel better if you go to sleep at the same time each night. Base this time off your required waking time. If you need to wake at 5 a.m. for work each day, count backward seven hours to see when you need to be asleep. In this case, you’d need to be asleep by 10 p.m.
To give yourself time to wind down, you can start a regular bedtime routine an hour before you need to be asleep. A bedtime routine may include drinking a cup of warm tea with honey, reading a book, taking a warm shower, brushing your teeth, and taking care of your skin. Consider also investing in softer, breathable bed linens, as well as pajamas made from bamboo to ensure you stay comfortable all night long.
Find Your Mantra
A mantra is a positive phrase you repeat to yourself to help you feel more confident and less stressed. You can repeat your mantra in the mirror first thing in the morning and the last thing before bed. It’s simple to repeat it out loud (or, if necessary, in your head) when you’re feeling stressed out or doubting yourself.
Choose a mantra that makes you feel best and targets those areas where you have the most difficulty believing in yourself. You can find a few excellent examples of mantras online. Feel free to tweak any mantra that resonates with you so it’s more personal.
Mental Health When Working at Home
Trying to balance work and life when the two seem endlessly intertwined can be challenging. Unfortunately, this is the difficulty faced by many who work from home.
However, you can do a few things to help yourself if you begin feeling depressed while working remotely.
If these feelings of depression happen during winter, you may be one of the many Americans who battle seasonal affective disorder. SAD is often linked to a lack of sunlight. Opening your curtains to let in natural light and moving your desk close to a window may help. Including extra vitamin D during your morning supplement routine may also be beneficial. There are also special lamps you can purchase that simulate the effects of natural sunlight.
Self-Care Benefits Go Beyond the Physical
The benefits of self-care go beyond the physical to help promote better emotional and mental well-being.
Take a look at some other articles by Sara Bailey we think you will love:
3 Creative Ways to Redecorate Your Home for Better Functionality
Parents Working Remotely Are Using These Strategies to Stay Calm and Balanced
Resources to Help Women Take the Business World by Storm
Author Bio:
Sara Bailey
Sara Bailey hopes that by sharing her journey of grief she can provide insight and hope for others who experience loss. She created TheWidow.net as a way to share her unexpected journey of losing her husband and learning to be the best parent (and person) she can be while nurturing her grief.
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