Self-care is a crucial part of our lives. Ensuring that you simply take care of yourself mentally, emotionally and physically can benefit all aspect of your life. Sensible self-care is the key to improved mood and decreased anxiety.
1. Sleep
Having a nap or obtaining the required hours of sleep will have an enormous impact on how you feel emotionally, physically and mentally. Lack of sleep can seriously affect your mood. It has been proven that people who are sleep deprived are more inclined to be in a very negative mood or mindset, feeling aggravated, annoyed and unhappy. So, getting a sufficient amount of sleep is vital to take care of yourself properly.
2. Volunteering
Helping people who are less fortunate than you can be a great way to utilise your spare time and lift your spirits. Volunteering can help reduce stress as it allows you to take your mind off your problems and put your energy and concentration on something or someone else who may need more.
It may also help ease depression as it keeps the mind occupied and can also increase your motivation as well as create a sense of achievement which can improve your mood.
If you are feeling alone, volunteering can help with making new friends and you can also be part of a community and feel like you belong somewhere. It also gives you a sense of purpose and meaning and may also help to put things into perspective, as well as encourage empathy for others. Volunteering can also help you to feel grateful for the little things in your life you may have taken for granted.
3. Yoga or Meditate
Both Yoga and Meditation are two great physical and mental activities. Yoga can help to ease stress and enhance your mood, as well as give you a good workout which releases feel good endorphins. Practising yoga can help to clear the mind and introduces a level of calmness into your life.
Yoga can also enhance the level of serotonin (happiness hormone) in your body. This combined with its stress relieving benefits can help you to feel better, calmer and more positive. Meditation is very similar to yoga. However, it enables you to take a second alone with your feelings and thoughts to find inner peace and positivity within yourself.
Meditation is a great way clear your mind and alleviate negative thoughts, feelings or stresses you might have during the day.
4. Gardening
Gardening can be a relaxing activity; it also increases your mental and emotional wellbeing. It can help with depression, reduce your anxiety and stress levels. Gardening has also been shown to increase quality of life and decrease mood disorders.
Gardening may also allow you to connect with nature and help you concentrate on something positive, focusing your mind to help with negative feelings.
The physical nature of gardening releases serotonin and dopamine which are known as our feel-good chemicals in the brain. In addition, gardening exposes you to natural sunlight and large amounts of Vitamin D which helps your body to produce serotonin and feel more positive
5. Do a digital detox
Taking a digital detox will enable you to pause and allow you to focus on the things around you that are important, such as family and friends. Turning off your phone or computer/laptop for a short while can also help to improve your sleep, reduce stress and change your mood.
6. Do something you love
Doing something you love makes you feel more relaxed and better inside and out. Some alone time can be great for stimulating the production of the happiness hormone, serotonin which instantly improves your mood.
Try watching your favourite tv series or film, playing sports, or cooking to take some time out for yourself.
Freeletics are now offering a free mindfulness course within their app, which is free to download from now until the 30th October.
Freeletics Mindset is a unique programme which combines fitness training with mindfulness and mindset training to help you achieve sustainable and long-term results.