World Mental Health Day was this past Tuesday. Although we don’t need a day to be reminded of the importance of our mental health, it’s still beneficial to take some to prioritize our well-being. Cultivating healthy habits for mental health helps us to feel better and keep any illnesses from happening early. Deteriorating mental health signs are becoming more common than ever these days. While most of us are familiar with eating healthy and exercising, let’s share in this blog post 4 less-common healthy habits we can practice to maintain the stability of our mental health.
Why are Positive Habits Important for Mental Health?
What you do daily has a huge effect on your mental health. If you continue to develop negative habits, you’re going to damage the functioning of your brain. You’ll also continue to weaken your emotional health by becoming depressed or anxious. For example, if you continue to practice negative habits such as overeating or drinking too much alcohol, this could not only affect your physical appearance but cause you to develop memory loss or other cognitive failures. Practicing positive habits every day boosts our self-esteem, improves our performance at work or school, and helps us to live with peace of mind.
What Habit Increases Brain Power?
Some of those positive habits involve us taking action on our overall health. The way we take care of our bodies affects the functioning of our brains. That’s why exercising regularly is such an important habit we must develop to increase brain power. This habit has alleviated symptoms of mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Exercising has also aided in a person’s recovery from mental health issues.
What we put in our bodies also has an effect on our brain power. Junk food like candy, donuts, caffeinated drinks, etc. isn’t exactly going to do our bodies or our brains good. Neither will process food. So we must start implementing brain-boosting foods such as leafy greens, fruits, lentils, nuts, seeds, and other vegetables into our diet. These foods are high in omega-3 fatty acids which help improve our brain functioning.
Getting enough sleep is another important facet of our brain’s functioning. Without our required 8-hours of rest, our brain power will start to decrease. When you sleep, your body repairs any damage done during the day. You also wake up feeling more refreshed and your mind is a lot more clear after getting adequate amounts of rest. After getting 8 hours of sleep, you lower your risk of becoming depressed or anxious.
4 Other Healthy Habits You Must Practice for Mental Health
While most of us are familiar with those common healthy habits for practicing good mental health, not too many are familiar with the following four less common habits. Two of them are habits we know we should do but it could be hard for some of us to do them more often. Healthy habits for mental health involve more than exercising and eating healthy. We must also make sure we’re implementing the following habits into our lives:
1. Limit our Multi-tasking
One of the most popular soft skills most employers look for in an employee is being a good multi-tasker. However, if you want to preserve your mental health, you should limit this habit. Multi-tasking could leave your mind overwhelmed and reduce your work performance. You’ll also become a less efficient employee. You should try practicing a less-overwhelming positive mental health habit.
2. Go outside and Enjoy Nature
Sometimes, you have to go outside to get some fresh air. Participating in this activity is always good for your mental health and well-being. Going outside and embracing beautiful nature helps you to increase your attention, puts you in a better mood, and lowers your risk of being diagnosed with mental health illnesses. If you work your job from home, consider taking the time to spend at least 30 minutes a day refreshing your mind and being outside with nature.
3. Practice Gratitude
Showing gratitude to the people you care about is another healthy habit to practice for mental health. When you’re feeling down, why not do something to make others smile? Buy a next-door neighbor groceries or give a nice elderly one you know a ride to their home. You’ll feel better after doing this.
You could also set aside some time to write down some things you’re grateful for in your life. There may be a lot of unfortunate things that have happened to you. But what about the positive things? Write down a few positive things going on in your life each day. This will benefit your mental health and well-being immensely and you’ll develop a positive outlook in your life.
4. Limit your Social Media Time
As interesting and convenient as social media has been, it does have its drawbacks. Spending too much time on it could be detrimental to your mental health. Many young people have dealt with cyberbullying due to incessant time on Instagram or Tick Tock. Take some time to spend time with your loved ones instead. Limiting your social media time will prevent this habit from becoming an addiction.
Keep your Mental Health from Deteriorating with Healthy Habits
There have been plenty of people experiencing deteriorating mental health signs early on in their lives. Frontotemporal dementia, FTD, has been causing thousands of people to develop these unfortunate health signs early. Developing these less-common healthy habits along with eating healthy, exercising, and getting adequate sleep at night could help keep this condition at bay. Keep your mental health from deteriorating too soon by getting involved with more healthy habits.
What are your favorite healthy habits for better mental health? Do you practice gratitude often or go outside and enjoy the wonders of nature? Feel free to leave your thoughts on your favorite healthy habits in the comments section below. Another good habit for restoring your mental health is journaling. Check out my free printable Daily Self-Care Journal I’ve created in Canva to keep your well-being healthy. As usual, be sure to like or share this post with the next person you know who needs mental health care.
