It’s important to take care of yourself and your wellbeing. Mental health can affect your ability to cope with stress, overcome challenges and build relationships. Hence, it includes your psychological, emotional and social wellbeing. As those physically healthy people that overcome any illness and injury, those that have strong mental health can bounce back from sadness, trauma or stress. For this to happen you have to adopt some practices that will elevate your mood and become more resilient.
Nowadays we have to work harder to ensure mental health and the following are some things to consider.
1- Seek Social Connection
Recent studies have shown that the loneliness pura problem has aggravated during COVID pandemic. This being said, you have to be creative to connect with people through more than just a phone call but maybe try virtual game nights, or remotely watching movies together through private chat rooms.
2- Get Good Sleep
Having poor sleep can sabotage your mood and lead to irritability. Sleep helps your nerve cells to communicate and remove toxins from our brain. It’s advisable to get at least 6 to 7 hours of quality sleep per night. Knowing that the brain needs time to unwind and rest before sleep, it’s recommended you take a break from stimulations of screens like TV, phone, tablets or computers- 2 hours before bedtime. Added to that, keep your room cold and dark.
3- Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet
An unhealthy diet can have a great impact on your mood and brain, it can disrupt your sleep, drain your energy and lower your immunity. Eating a wholesome diet low in sugar and rich in healthy fats will help you look and feel better. For instance, fatty fish rich in omega 3 such as salmon, tuna, or sardines are a great source of good fats.
4- Stay Active
Regular physical activity had a significant antidepressant effect on the brain. Physical activity releases endorphins that lift your mood and provide added energy. Aim for 30 minutes of activity on most of the days, start with a walk until you find an exercise you enjoy.
