Mental health: 5 Lifestyle Changes to Uplift Your Mood And Confidence Everyday

As with physical health, tending to mental health is an ongoing process and can be improved with simple daily practices. Here are 5 suggestions to get started.

Everyone agrees that Mental Health is as important as physical health, but do we really do enough to take care of our mental health on a day-to-day basis? Some basic ways of living that have been inherent to our culture have been proven scientifically effective for maintaining good mental health. As with physical health, tending to mental health is an ongoing process and can be improved with simple daily practices. Here are 5 suggestions to get started.

5 Lifestyle Changes to Uplift Your Mood And Confidence Everyday

1. Sleep hygiene: sleep is essential to maintaining good emotional and physical well-being. A minimum of 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night should be considered non negotiable to prevent sleep debt that we often try to cover up through mid day naps or long sleeping hours over the weekend. There’s indeed some value in a good night sleep.

2. Healthy diet: this seems more common sensical to physical well being, but unrelated to mental health. A good healthy diet with nutritious foods goes a long way in keeping our gut health, which is directly related to mental health. You would have noticed that when you’re having a stressful day at work or feeling anxious before exams, the butterflies in the stomach are a real thing, and subsequent complaints of gastritis, acidity and constipation are not uncommon.

3. Leisure: All work and no play can make the human mind dull. Burn outs which are characteristic of the fast paced contemporary society are a result of lack of time for leisure and extra curricular activities that we stopped engaging in as we get busy with work/exams and our general living. When we don’t get time to indulge in things we enjoy, our brain receptors responsible for pleasure are not being stimulated enough. Moreover, unwinding and resting are also good ways to slow down and enjoy me time.

4. Social interaction: There’s some value in picking up the phone and calling that old friend you have not connected with in a while. Humans are social beings who have a strong need for belongingness. When this basic need is eroded in a fast paced life, our mental health can suffer. Indian culture which is rich with festivals throughout the year provides us with opportunity to experience social interactions. So next time you avoid going to that Diwali or Christmas party, think twice.

5. Exercise: the Indian way of living has always incorporated some basic yoga asanas (postures) and pranayams (breathing exercises). Simple stretching and breathing that is ancient in our culture has now proven to be effective for good mental health by western science. So, next time you feel stressed out, you may find some ways of being healthy in our yoga culture.