Mindful Living Promotes Mental Health

mindful living

Mindful Living: Daily Practices for Inner Wellness and Mental Health

Mindful living is all the craze for this year. Why are people embracing a new lifestyle to promote inner peace and wellness? We’re glad you asked. In this fast-paced world, it is essential to give our mental health and inner wellness a priority. If you are someone who’s always busy with work and other matters but pays little to no attention to your overall health and mental well-being, it’s time for you take a break from the robotic routine and embrace healthy habits.

What is Mental Health

The term mental health does not have one set meaning. Meanwhile, good mental health does not necessarily imply that you are always happy, neither does it imply that you are usually unaffected by your experiences. Find out, in this article, what inner wellness means, and how you can always improve your mental health.

Daily Practices for Inner Wellness and Mental Health

Get Enough Sleep

This is not a “would-be-nice” bit of advice. Sleep is food for your brain, and you really need it to perform well and feel good. Many people, however, do not stick to basic rules for achieving good health. The body requires adequate sleep and rest to heal and renew the energy and strength to function as needed. This healing will help in both mental and physical activity all through the day.

Proper sleep helps to regulate the hormones that are directly related to our emotions and mood. Sometimes when you feel like you are irritated or emotionally imbalanced, it is probably because your body lacks sufficient sleep. An adult body requires approximately 6 to 7 hours of sleep daily. Therefore, always ensure you get enough sleep and rest.

Mindful Living: Consider Your Diet

Do you experience a rollercoaster of sugar highs and lows? What are you eating? You may be bingeing on fatty and sugar-laden carbs, which will bring you up and down all day. What do you need for energy and emotional health? Protein. You can get it from chicken, fish, eggs, lean meat. Whole grains and beans to fill you up. Super foods like avocados, apples, broccoli, and cabbage will give you the nutrition you need. Cheese in moderation, milk, cottage cheese, yogurt are all excellent for a balanced diet.

Get Outside Every Day. Sunlight Is One Of Your Best Friends

Vitamin D deficiency results in a number of problems like Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. When you are exposed to sunlight, it results in the release of endorphins, which are also referred to as happiness hormones. These endorphins are responsible for the productivity of your brain. Hence, in your daily routine, you should include spending some time in sunlight. However, ensure you put on sunblock, so as to prevent sunburn.

Mindful Living: Deal With Stress Effectively

These days, it may be quite hard to avoid stress, but it is possible to cope with it. This is where the knowledge of how to deal with stress smartly and effectively comes in. Spend a few moments breathing and start your day with some quiet time if you can. Take timeouts, when you start feeling anxious. Learn what your triggers and stressors are. Learn to meditate or listen to calming music. There are many ways to ease your stress and calm your anxiety.

Get Moving. Any Kind Of Exercise is Good

When you exercise daily and remain physically active, the blood flow in your body tends to improve. Through the increase in blood flow, the level of oxygen increases, and then you tend to feel more energetic and mentally alert. If you work in an office, physical activities and exercises are more essential. It is crucial to know that exercise does not only ensure that your body remains fit, but it also causes your mind to remain healthy. You do not need to join expensive gyms to get your required daily exercises, as even a daily morning walk will suffice.  Apart from your mental health, exercise strengthens your muscles and bones which protects you from certain natures of personal injuries while running your daily errands or during a workout session.

Mindful Living: Be Social And Stay Connected

Lack of connection and isolation are the two greatest reasons so many people experience depression, physical, and mental illnesses. Being alone is difficult.  Do you have family, church or other activities to keep you engaged with others?  Connection with other people reduces stress. So does laughter. There is even a term called laughter therapy. Check out ways you can laugh every day. If you’re not a joiner, you can still be connected with people who have similar interests.

Mindful Living: Find and Practice New Hobbies

Hobbies are another stress reducer and way to make friends and be connect. We love hobbies because they keep us busy and engaged. What are hobbies? Getting outside and hiking? Cooking at home or with friends. Exploring new neighborhoods and restaurants. Crafting, gardening, making music and singing are all hobbies that bring a feeling of connection and wellbeing.  Discovering new hobbies is awesome for strengthening the brain and boosting mood.

Live In The Present

One of the greatest reasons for mood swings, anxiety, and depression is when one remains stuck in previous events. Negative thoughts of “why” not only rob you of happiness, but could also make you lose the opportunities that the present wants to offer. Thus, always live in the present, and do not be too anxious about the future.

Try Somatic Therapy If You Have Untreated Trauma

Somatic psychotherapy is a broad term for therapies that focus on the mind-body connection. The term “somatic” means “relating to the body”. Somatic therapies function by controlling the feedback loop that continually runs between the body and the mind. Why you might need somatic therapy. Grief and pain are not all in your head; your body also holds on to memories of trauma. That is where somatic therapy comes in, since it can help to release them.

Through unique techniques, a somatic therapist could help you release pent-up trauma experiences that have become trapped in your body. Somatic therapy is more than merely treating the mind. It also treats the body and nervous system. For instance, painful emotions and chronic tension could be healed at a cellular level.

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