Caring for your mental health can be a full-time job — all day, every day. While this can feel like a lot of work, it can pay off. By incorporating supportive routines into your daily life, you may not only help your mental health but also improve your overall well-being. However, if you are significantly struggling with your mental health, these tips and tricks may not be enough to get you through your hard time. It is always OK to ask for help, and seeking mental health care can be invaluable.
Below, read about helpful mood-boosting habits to add to your to-do list, and consider how to schedule your day to support your body and mind.
[READ: How to Use Your Smartphone — and Protect Your Mental Health]
How to Improve Mental Health: 9 Simple Steps for Boosting Your Well-Being
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If you’re looking to boost your mood, consider incorporating these nine things into your daily routines:
1. Practice mindfulness. Be present in all activities from brushing your teeth to dinner with your family or friends.
2. Move your body. Make time each day to move your body, which may include going to the gym or taking a walk outside during your lunch break.
3. Eat a balanced diet. Watching what you can eat can help you feel nourished and satiated, as well as provide the nutrients you need to feel your best.
4. Sleep soundly. Getting enough restful sleep each night is key to better mental health.
5. Nourish your social connections. Taking time to socialize and have human connection throughout the day has science-proven benefits.
6. Take intentional breaks and pauses. Giving your brain a break to rest can help your overall productivity and mood.
7. Get out in nature. Spending time in nature may increase your happiness, according to studies.
8. Be curious and try new things. Trying new hobbies, foods or activities can help you get out of a funk and may even lead to chemical changes in your brain that can benefit your mental health.
9. Plan things to look forward to. Research has found that planning things to look forward to, like an upcoming trip, may increase your mood.
1. Practice mindfulness in all activities
Practicing mindfulness can help boost mental well-being. While mindfulness is often discussed in connection with practices like yoga and meditation, the concept isn’t solely related to those activities. In fact, you can incorporate mindfulness into several — if not all — of your tasks throughout the day by intentionally using your thoughts and senses to increase your awareness of yourself and the world around you. This can include thinking about the taste of the food you are eating, the sound of the people, animals or vehicles around you, the feel of your computer or phone in your hands, and much more.
Dr. Robert McCarron, a professor in the department of psychiatry and human behavior at the University of California–Irvine School of Medicine and a board-certified psychiatrist at UCI Health, says that this kind of mindfulness can work wonders for mental health by centering you in the present moment — and diverting your attention away from any anxieties that may be trying to occupy your mind.
“There’s not really room for the mind to experience two emotions or situations at the exact same time, so taking a moment to feel the breeze, to fully enjoy and appreciate the food that you’re eating, to actively focus on the conversation that you’re having with a loved one, that can significantly reduce the unhappy, feeling that you were experiencing,” McCarron says.
So, “when you’re outside, take a moment — a minute and a half — to feel the sun, to feel the breeze instead of walking through the breeze, or not experiencing the joy,” he adds. “Take the time to enjoy this goodness, and it will often lead to better mental health.”
2. Move your body
Exercise can have significant benefits for physical and mental health. When it comes to mental health in particular, studies have found that people who exercise experience a lower mental health burden and more than 40% fewer “poor mental health” days than people who do not exercise.
“Engaging in regular physical activities, such as invigorating daily exercise, leisurely walks, gentle stretching and strength training, can significantly enhance mental health while bolstering our overall vitality,” explains Hannah Shay, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Stella Mental Health. “These activities not only promote physical strength but also elevate mood and reduce anxiety.”
[READ 6 Expert-Approved Tips to Make Exercise a Habit]
3. Eat a balanced diet
Like exercise, good nutrition has benefits for both the body and mind. Eating good food throughout the day can boost your brain power, keep your hormones and blood sugar levels in check, fight inflammation and protect yourself from physical and mental side effects of malnutrition.
[Read: How Foods and Drinks Affect Our Mental Health]
4. Sleep soundly
Maintaining a consistent, high-quality sleep schedule can give your mind a chance to wind down, reset and prepare for the next day. Quality sleep improves mood, helps manage stress, boosts cognitive functions like memory and concentration, and can reduce the risk of mental health issues like depression and anxiety. Sufficient sleep, particularly REM sleep, allows the brain to process emotions and memories.
“Unless a schedule of shift work precludes it, establish a regular routine that prioritizes time for 8 hours of sleep with a consistent, quiet wind-down routine,” advises Dr. Deborah Vinall, a licensed therapist and the chief psychological officer with Recovered.org, an organization that provides information and resources for mental health and addiction treatment.
5. Nourish your social connections
When it comes to fueling good mental health, feeding your social life can be about as important as feeding yourself nutritious food. As long as the people you surround yourself with are good influences who make you feel comfortable and loved, being around others can offer a sense of community and support.
“Be careful not to become socially isolated,” Vinall says.
You can reduce your chances of experiencing the negative mental health side effects of social isolation by making an effort to intentionally engage with your communities and prioritizing in-person connections as opposed to solely online interactions.
“If we go on in life with a focus on text messages and social media, we may lose out on the importance of human emotional connection,” McCarron warns, which he says is essential in maintaining good mental health.
6. Take intentional breaks and pauses
Taking breaks throughout the day and checking in with yourself can help fortify your mental muscles by giving them the rest they need to operate at their best.
Shay encourages people to make breaks a habit in their day-to-day lives.
“Establish a routine that helps your brain recognize the importance of taking a pause,” she says. “This could be a quick walk around the block, listening to a podcast you enjoy or engaging in a 15-minute mindfulness exercise. Creating this intentional separation can help you reground yourself, refocus your thoughts and regain a sense of control over your day.”
[READ: Is Napping Good for You?]
7. Get out in nature
Spending time outdoors and in nature, with activities such as outdoor exercise and forest bathing, may have mood-boosting properties and could even have lasting mental health improvements. A 2019 research review in the journal Science Advances found that contact with nature may increase physiological well-being, including feelings of happiness and people’s sense of meaning and purpose in life, and decrease mental distress.
8. Try new things
Sometimes you can get into a rut where you’re always following the same routine or seeing the same people. Similarly, you may find that you try the same mental health coping skills over and over again. Sometimes, routine can feel comforting, and sometimes, you have your tried-and-true coping skills for a reason: they work for you. But other times, you may be looking for something new. In those cases, trying new activities or coping skills may be able to boost your mood. Health organizations like the National Health Service UK say trying new things can be tied to multiple mental health benefits — including raised self-esteem, goal setting and achievement potential and chemical changes in the brain that can help positively change mood.
9. Plan things to look forward to
Planning things to look forward to may help incentivize you to get through the day and provide an opportunity to boost your mood in the meantime, too. According to researchers, a 2014 study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that “anticipating a positive event is uniquely able to induce positive emotions both during and after stress,” which could help a person cope and recover from their stress. Studies have also linked planning for the future, such as preparing for or purchasing future experiences like a vacation or concert, with pleasurable forms of anticipation or happiness.
[READ Best Breathing Techniques for Anxiety]
What Is the 3-3-3 Rule in Mental Health?
One strategy that can be used as a mental health coping skill or grounding technique is the 3-3-3 rule. This rule encourages you to center yourself in the present moment by stopping what you are doing — or diverting your attention away from something you are worrying about — and focusing on three things you can see, three things you can hear and three parts of your body that you can move. You can follow the 3-3-3 rule without changing your physical location, making it an accessible coping skill in most environments.
McCarron says he doesn’t always recommend the 3-3-3 rule to patients because, often, he prefers to offer them even simpler coping options, like setting a timer for 60 seconds and tuning into how they feel.
“During those 60 seconds: feel your breath, hear your breath, experience your breath,” McCarron says. “What does it feel like as you’re breathing in? What does it feel like when you’re breathing out? What is that experience like for you? When the alarm goes off, you’ll you’ll know that’s the end of the minute — that’s the end of the mindfulness exercise — and that’s a good start.
Whatever coping skill you choose, starting with something short and simple can help you ease into the process — especially if it’s your first time.
Break Bad Habits to Boost Your Mental Health
Setting mentally healthy routines and finding coping skills that work for you can do wonders for you mood and mental health. But these mental health tips may not be able to cancel out the damage from all other bad habits, or routines that don’t serve you, if already in place. With your happiness in mind, remove bad habits to boost your mood.
Some habits to work on removing from your lifestyle include:
— Smoking cigarettes. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, research has found that many people with mental health conditions smoke cigarettes, and that smoking may temporarily lessen the symptoms of some conditions. However, NIDA also presents research that also found that quitting smoking is associated with reduced depression, anxiety and stress, as well as enhanced mood and quality of life.
— Excessive drinking of alcohol. Excessive drinking, especially for people who have alcohol use disorder, may at times be influenced by or lead to poor mental health. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, researchers have linked AUD and poor mental health, noting that people with AUD can have a much higher prevalence of anxiety, depression and other psychiatric disorders than the general population. Drinking alcohol can also negatively impact sleep, which can worsen mental health symptoms.
— Staying up late or not prioritizing sleep. According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, inadequate sleep is associated with significantly increased odds of frequent mental distress.
How Can I Improve My Mental Health?
Improving mental health can be a big task, especially for people who are dealing with symptoms of a mental health condition. It is important to take mental health seriously and not assume that someone can always improve their mental health with simple tricks. However, you may be able to boost your mood with a few more strategies.
1. Try to understand your feelings. Trying to understand your feelings can help you acknowledge your emotions. Understanding your emotions won’t change them — at least not immediately — but may help you increase your awareness of yourself and how you react to certain circumstances. 2. Develop coping strategies. By developing healthy coping strategies, or go-to actions to take during hard times, you may be able to distract yourself from uncomfortable emotions or find ways to work through them. Coping strategies can be simple activities, such as getting outside for a breath of fresh air, squeezing a stress ball or sipping a cold glass of water. 3. Practice relaxation techniques. Relaxation tips like focusing on gratitude, journaling, coloring or trying out meditation can help calm your body and mind. 4. Talk to someone you can trust. Social connection is invaluable for emotional health. Especially if you are having a hard time managing your emotions, talking to a trusted friend may help you feel less alone in your experience. Now or in the future, you may also be able to lend a listening ear to a friend who is struggling with their mental health or emotions. If you don’t want to talk to someone you know, reaching out to a trained mental health professional to talk through your situation may be helpful.
Set Up Your Day for Mental Health Success
It’s wise to incorporate mentally healthy habits all throughout your day. If you struggle to fit these in, it can help to think about how and where to use a mood-boosting activity.
Some ways to support your well-being throughout the day include:
— Start with morning movement
— Afternoon breathwork or meditation
— Plan ahead before bed
— Set a calming evening routine
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Start with morning movement
The way you start your day can impact the hours to come, so it is wise to start it off in a way that supports your mental health. This could include incorporating morning movement into your routine, such as a workout before you begin work or the activities of the day. It could also look like starting a habit of reading or drinking a calming tea. Choose a routine that you enjoy to most effectively set your mind up for success.
“Consider the morning as a sacred time, a brief interlude between the peacefulness of sleep and the demands of the day ahead,” Shay says. “Whether it’s engaging in a daily meditation practice, jotting down thoughts or goals in a journal, or savoring a warm cup of coffee in solitude, taking time for yourself can help ground your mind and set a positive tone for the day. This intentional approach not only prepares you physically, but also mentally, allowing you to face the day’s challenges with clarity and calmness.”
Breathe through your afternoon
The afternoon can be a great time to pause and practice breathwork and meditation, Vinall says. Especially if you are stressed at work or find yourself stuck in a never-ending to-do list, it can be important to take a few minutes to pause and breathe to reset your thoughts and prioritize your mental health.
“The afternoon is the perfect time for a brief practice of breathwork or meditation,” VInall says. “Even if you have a busy job with limited downtime, take a few minutes in your car or cubicle to close your eyes, notice the feel of your breath, and consciously slow and deepen that breath.”
She recommends a breathing practice where you inhale slowly through your nose, then exhale even more slowly through your lips. Repeat that about five times, focusing on your breath and how it feels in your body.
“If or when your mind wanders to the stresses of your day, gently bring your focus back to your breath without judgment,” Vinall says. “This practice shifts you to your parasympathetic nervous system, which produces a relaxing effect, and shifts you out of sympathetic nervous system responses of stress reactivity, making it the perfect mid-day reset.”
Plan ahead before bed
Before you wind down at night, you can do your future self — and future mental health — a favor by planning for the next day. Consider tasks such as meal prepping or writing out a schedule so that you don’t have so much to worry about in the morning.
“One effective strategy to alleviate morning anxiety and stress is to prepare essential items in advance the night before,” Shay says. For people with families, she suggests involving “older children in packing their lunches or selecting their outfits, encouraging them to take responsibility and make choices, which can foster independence and reduce morning turmoil.”
Set a calming evening routine
Calming evening routines, such as no screen time before bed, reading a book or drinking a warm beverage, can help you calm your body and mind. It may also benefit your sleep, which can in turn support your mental health — and enable you to start the next day fresh and well rested.
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9 Daily Habits to Boost Your Mental Health: Simple Steps for Boosting Your Well-Being originally appeared on usnews.com
