You don’t realize how important your health is until it starts to unravel. Without a healthy mind, body, and soul, navigating the ups and downs of life is difficult, if not impossible. You’re constantly feeling stressed out, overwhelmed, overworked, and unfulfilled, that it begins to spill into every aspect of your life. Rather than waiting for things to spiral out of control, it is often advised that people take the time necessary to put themselves first.
At first, prioritizing your own needs may seem selfish (this is especially true for those who have children or significant others). In reality, however, if you do not do what is necessary to care for you, taking care of or being there for those you love can’t happen. It is, therefore, best that you learn how to invest in your health and wellness every day. Here’s how:
Start Your Day with Meditation
Meditation is part of a mindfulness practice that has been used for centuries to help reduce stress and anxiety while also clearing the mind. With all that you have going on in life, taking a few minutes to be in the moment and recenter yourself, can help to ease emotional tension.
Find a quiet place in your home and start each day with a 5-15 minute breathing exercise. Take deep breaths in and out focusing only on your breathing, the present moment, and the sounds around you (feel-good instrumental music can be beneficial).
Regardless of how intense or spiritual your meditation practice gets, you can still reap benefits from the practice of stillness, peace, and quiet for your body. Some studies show that the repeated effects of gaining total control of your body through mindfulness in meditation can even help reduce blood pressure.
When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. When you are controlling your breathing slowly and steadily for over 15 or 20 minutes to meditate, it should help slow your heart rate, which can have a positive impact over time.
Get Outdoors
Too much time indoors is detrimental to your physical and mental well-being. The indoor air quality isn’t ideal, your immune system becomes weakened, your gut health suffers, your mood declines, your waistline expands, and you increase your risk of life-altering diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and even cancer. Spending long days stuffed up under artificial light and conditioned air is just unnatural and unhealthy.
Getting outside for even an hour a day can make a world of difference for your health. Take a walk or a run in the mornings, during lunch, or after dinner, spend time in your yard, or participate in some outdoor activities like playing at the park with your kids or shooting some hoops with friends. Playing sports and competing is such a great way to test your skills, work on focus, and raise the stakes. Pushing your mind and body for the sake of winning, or losing with a lot of effort, is a great way to exercise.
Use CBD
CBD is a chemical compound found in marijuana and hemp plants. Though studies are still relatively new since the fight to legalize marijuana, there has been increasing research on the healing benefits of CBD for your mood.
Research has shown that CBD works naturally with the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain responsible for healthy emotion and memory. Those who suffer from depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders have found that using products like gummies or supplements from retailers like HugsCBD help to increase their mood.
Pre-Plan Your Meals
Eating right is an essential component to taking care of both your mind and body. However, for most people, time isn’t on your side. You barely have the time or energy to decide on what to eat, let alone prepare a meal at home.
You can eliminate this problem significantly by planning your meals. Pre-planning your meals gives you an ample amount of time to head to the grocery store and ensure you have everything you need to prepare healthy meals at home.
Spend Time with Those You Love
Busy schedules leave very little time on the list to spend time with those who bring peace, joy, and happiness to your life. As having healthy relationships has been proven to boost your spirits and extend your lifespan, it’s essential to make time for those you love.
Whether it’s 15 minutes or an entire day, start penciling in time to hang with family and friends and engage in conversation and activities that put a smile on your face. In 2024, long-distance friendships and checking in with family is easier than ever. Facetime, social media, and even cheap airfare helps you stay close with those far away, positively affecting your mood and theirs.
Do Something Nice for Someone
Believe it or not, helping others can make you feel good from the inside out. It helps to take your mind off of whatever may be going on in your own life while also allowing you to brighten the life of someone else. Each day (if you can) find some way to volunteer your time to helping someone else. Whether it’s helping an older adult load their groceries in the car or cleaning up a neighborhood park, the reward is just the same.
Busy schedules, trying experiences, challenges, and distractions are a regular occurrence in life. Though there may not be much, you can do to change what’s going on around you, not doing what you can to counteract these things can ultimately ruin your physical and emotional well-being. As impossible as it may seem at times, start taking simple steps such as those suggested above daily to boost your spirits and improve your health.
