Your mental health is every bit as important as your physical health but it often gets overlooked. Spending time to take care of your mental state can not only have positive effects on your physical wellbeing but also improve what you are able to mentally achieve on a day-to-day basis. Celebrity Angels takes a look at the best ways to boost your mental health.
Maintain a sleep pattern
Too much or too little sleep can cause spikes in both anxiety and depression. Following a structured sleep routine will not only keep you organized and efficient, it will also benefit your health and regulate your circadian rhythm.
Eat Well
Eating a healthy and balanced diet will help maintain mental activity. If you find yourself on a fast food, junk diet you could prevent your consumption of the necessary vitamins and mineral needed, leading to deficiencies. A diet lacking in iron and vitamin B12 can cause a ‘low mood’ and leave you feeling stressed and anxious. If you consider yourself a particularly anxious person, try limiting the amount of caffeine you consume, too.
Sunlight
Basking in the sun’s rays is one of the easiest ways to boost your mental health. Granted, with Britain’s unpredictable weather this can be a bit hit and miss but nevertheless if you persist and make the most out of your summer, you will find yourself getting much more Vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for our bodies and our brains—it helps release endorphins and chemicals to do with mood such as serotonin.
Limit your alcohol, smoking and drug intake
While we don’t always link drinking and smoking with addiction and depression, limiting your consumption/use of both of these could boost your mental health. Alcohol can lead to withdrawal symptoms the next day that can leave you depressed and anxious, making it harder for you to maintain concentration. If you drink for long periods of time, you can potentially get thiamine deficiency—thiamine is important to the memory functions of our brain and without it you could suffer memory loss.
Be sociable
Our busy schedules often leave little time for socialising but it’s important to make an effort to forge and maintain good relationships whenever you have the chance. Friends are important for your self-esteem and also an important support base when you’re in times in trouble.
Ask for help
If you are unable to confide in a friend, a doctor can be a non-judgmental ear. Approaching a reliable source of advice before your mental state escalates can help to boost your mental health.
Recognise your stress triggers
These days, stress is often unavoidable but knowing how to approach and handle these stresses could be key to boosting your mental health. Make sure to avoid burying potential problems, approach them head-on and seek help and advice where needed. Learning to cope by implementing a daily routine can simply rectify common stress triggers.
If there are stressful factors in your life that you can—and want—to cut out, make these changes to significantly boost your mental health.
Relax
As obvious as this final piece of advice may sound, taking the time to relax and switch off is important. Simply spending a day at home with a book or film, or even taking a walk can help release endorphins that will contribute to better mental health.
Find out the best ways you can help someone combat depression with Celebrity Angels
