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5 ways to be more mindful about your mental health

By on November 20, 2018
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By Laurie Larson

Getting caught up in the daily grind of life is easy to do. Life is stressful, and the pressures to succeed are intense.

Unfortunately, we can get so caught up in life sometimes that we forget to take care of ourselves. And the end of the day, the only person you’re left with is yourself, so it’s important to make sure you take care of and like that person.

In order to dedicate more time to helping your soul flourish and maintain a healthy state of positive mental health, you’ll have to be more mindful about taking care of your mental health. Don’t know how to do that? Don’t worry. This guide will walk you through exactly how to do so.

Step 1: Take time to appreciate the minor details

1In a fast-paced world, you need to take time to hit the brakes and slow down. If you’re constantly on the gas through life, you’ll miss a lot of great moments.

Learning to take time to appreciate the little details of life is difficult at first. We’re inclined to ignore these and breeze through to the major problems occupying our mind like trying to navigate through busy traffic, doing annual taxes, or creeping deadlines for projects.

Think about the minor things you do each day, so much so that they become ingrained in your routine and you operate based off muscle memory: driving to work, making coffee, taking a shower, brushing your teeth… the list goes on.

While you perform these minor tasks, pay special attention to the details like the warmth and smell of your freshly brewed coffee, the pleasant scent emanating off of your car’s air freshener, or the tingling feel of a hairbrush combing through your hair. Finding ways to notice and enjoy the little moments in life can make them feel like big moments and bring you more happiness in your day-to-day.

Step 2: Develop healthy sleeping habits

2Let’s face it: we all could be getting better sleep. So often we are able to brush it off and make excuses to stay up late working on a last-minute project or watch too many episodes of our favorite show. We may think we’re invincible sometimes, but we all need our sleep.

Develop a healthy habit of going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day — even weekends. Make sure you have enough time to get seven to nine hours of relaxing sleep each night. This time is vital for your mind’s restoration after your busy days.

While so many know they should improve their quantity of sleep, a lot dismiss the quality they are achieving. In order to have your best night’s rest every night, make sure you set up a comfortable sleeping environment that fits all of your needs. The better you set this up for yourself, the better your chances are of achieving adequate rapid eye movement (REM) sleep for your brain.

Step 3: Incorporate exercise into your routine

3Along with being beneficial for our physical fitness, exercising helps calm our stress and clear our brains. If you exercise regularly, you’ll be likely to experience a better mood, an increase in your energy, and an easier time falling and staying asleep at night.

Cardiorespiratory activity, such as running, swimming, or cycling, are important components to your exercise routine that should be regularly implemented. But yoga is especially helpful when you are working on improving your mindfulness and taking more time for your mental health. Consider yoga an exercise that helps strengthen your mindfulness muscle.

While you are holding poses and stretching, you can take initiative to clear your brain. Tell yourself that all of the negative thoughts clogging your head — anger, fatigue, disappointment — are all temporary emotions that will end, just like you holding the pose will end.

In yoga, it’s especially important to be present in the moment and draw particular attention to your breath and other bodily actions. Practicing yoga in coordination with cardiorespiratory activity will help clear your brain of negative thoughts and teach you how to be more mindful altogether.

Step 4: Develop a healthy work-life balance

4Making sure you create a healthy balance between your work and your life is especially important for positive mental health. Be careful not to become so invested in your work that it takes over the rest of your life in a detrimental way.

To avoid letting the stress of work bog you down, develop “safe spaces” where you don’t allow your work to infiltrate. This could be as broad as your house, or a more specific place like your bed. If you can, avoid bringing work home. If you have to work after hours, try to go to a coffee shop or other local venue so your home can be your sanctuary for relaxation.

This technique is important in strengthening your mindfulness muscle. If you can be aware enough of your work stressors and develop strategies to avoid them, you’ll be able to handle other stresses in life with ease.

Step 5: Dedicate time to a self-care routine

5Self-care is finally getting the attention it deserves, but it may not mean what you think it does. When people hear “self-care” they start to make assumptions about spa trips, facials, and meditating before bed. If that doesn’t suit you, then that doesn’t have to be what your self-care looks like!

Your self-care routine may be indulging on an episode of your guilty pleasure show. Or it could be making a new recipe. Self-care is about what excites and relaxes you. What makes you happy? What’s something you wish you had more time for? Well, it’s time to make time for it!

You can live your whole life saying you want to do something, but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t act on it. Lack of time should never be an excuse. You’re in control of your time and how you prioritize it. Being mindful about your mental health is all about making the changes you need and staying consistent with your care for yourself. Don’t be afraid to put yourself first every now and then.
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newLaurie Larson is a writer based in Durham, NC. She writes on home, health, and lifestyle topics. In her free time, she loves adding far too many books to her to-be-read collection. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @livinglaurie.

*Photo credits belong to Pexels

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