'Self-care'- An excuse that will instantly brush away the guilt that comes with dining out mid week and buying gifts for ourselves. Self-care is a term that's well-recognised at the moment but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Originally, a deeper meaning existed. Self-care referenced looking after ourselves and promoting good health in three ways: mentally, physically, and emotionally. Instead of fancy restaurants and spontaneous purchases, it involved establishing a self-care routine that would genuinely be of benefit to the mind, body, and soul. For Mental Health Awareness Week, we want to go back to the original purpose of self-care. Here's how to create an effective self-care routine to help accomplish the day and live your best life.
Mental Health Self-Care Routine
To begin, we have mental health self-care. Before we dive into anything else, are you getting enough sleep? A simple self-care activity that is essential for all three types of wellbeing, you should always prioritise your rest. According to Healthline, 7-9 hours is the ideal amount for most adults. Plus, awareness, concentration, productivity, and performance are all negatively affected by sleep deprivation.
If you struggle to settle into bed at night, try these three tips for some mental health self-care.
- Check what your eating. No caffeine after 3pm!
- Avoid blue light. The blue light from our phones and laptops is known to keep us alert throughout the day, which is counterproductive when we're trying to wind down. Avoid using at your phone late at night or turn on the night shift setting which uses warmer colours that don't stimulate the brain to stay awake.
- Implement an evening routine. Go to bed at the same time and don't underestimate the power of creating a Zen environment for your mental health self-care. Spritz some space spray with calming Cannabis Seed oil on your pillow, light a candle, and dim the lights to help soothe the mind and calm your senses.
Physical Self-Care Routine
Another self-care practice to help your body get ready for the rest and repair it needs is a daily dose of exercise, which brings us on to physical self-care. Try to move your body but avoid exercising too close to bed-time, as this can have an affect on how easy it is to fall asleep. Why not try the following daily movements:
- A daily outdoors walk can get the heart rate up and help bring stress levels down, no sweating needed.
- Practicing low intensity exercise like yoga and pilates can both tone and sculpt the body as well as releasing tension. Grab a mat and look up a class on youtube!
- Go back to basics- we understand that sometimes motivation to go to the gym can be low but fear not! Endorphins can be got by having a self-care activity and exercising in the comforts of your own home. Lather up that chafing cream and go for a cycle or a jog.
Other ways to practice physical self-care is to pour an evening bath with a bath soak. The warm water will relax the muscles while the aromatherapy blend of essential oils and manganese mineral extract work together to bring a sense of calm and transform your bathroom into a spa-like experience.
What's more, we know how easy it is to overindulge in high sugar, processed foods. We welcome treating ourselves with open arms, especially when our bodies crave it. However, in the grand scheme of things, a balanced, nutritional diet is far more beneficial for your physical self-care.
- Add anti-oxidant rich spices like cinnamon in overnight oats or turmeric to brown rice.
- Base your meals around foods high in vitamins and omegas, like avocados, fish, or eggs.
- Sipping on water throughout the day and lastly,
- Eat your greens!
Incorporating a healthy diet into your self-care routine plays a huge part in physical self-care.
Emotional Self-Care Routine
Finally, we have emotional self-care. Perhaps the most well-known self-care routine today, emotional self-care is all about nurturing and learning how to deal with your emotions, as the way in which we process our emotions has a huge impact on our overall quality of life.
The first step in practicing emotional self-care is being aware of how you speak to yourself. Is it in a negative manner? Would you talk to others in that way? Once you recognise how you speak to yourself, make a mental effort to be kind to yourself. Practice writing your thoughts out in a journal. The 'morning pages' technique is where you fill three pages of whatever comes to your mind first thing in the morning. Do this before checking your phone or anything else that will alter what comes to mind. This technique is known to help clear the mind and reduce anxiety, allowing you to begin the day on a blank canvas.
There are plenty of self-care practices that you can take today that will genuinely help to promote good health. Next time you go to over-indulge or splurge on a shopping trip to lighten your mood, try to incorporate a genuine self-care day. Be kind to yourself, relax, eat a nutritious meal and get some rest, because you deserve it.
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