Five tips for better mental health
1. Don’t be sleep-deprived
Whatever might be the reason for high levels of stress, but being sleep deprived is one factor that has a huge impact on it. When we don’t get the required sleep, we become more vulnerable to stress. If not well-rested, we tend to sluggish in our cognitive functioning which results in causing anxiety. A high level of stress impacts our ability to get quality sleep.
To avoid sleep deprivation one must maintain good sleep habits like staying away from using electronic screens while in the bed, a disciplined sleep time and schedule, and using dark curtains in the bedroom.
2. Control overload of work or study schedule
If you are working from home or even if you are a student who is trying to make use of work and study from home facility, please ensure that you do not overload yourself with heavy work and study schedules. It has been observed very closely that just to fulfill their ambitions the youth takes on the work on their shoulders that happens to be beyond their capacity and as a result end up getting stressed, anxious, and having conflicting situations at home. All these young people need to understand that a day has only 24 hours and out of those around 6-7 hours need to be stipulated for rest and sleep so as to avoid stressful life beyond their control.
3. Watch your diet
Stress and binge eating are the two worst combinations that can make your mental health suffer blows if one is not conscious of the ‘what, how and whys’ of the food that one eats.
What you eat actually has an impact on how you feel about yourself. Stress impacts your cravings and leads to emotional eating which incidentally is a deadly unending circle. To know more about the connection between stress and eating patterns read here…
4. Stop ignoring exercise
Exercise is one activity that can help you come out of the clutches of stress. A good walk outdoors surely helps to cope with stress-building moments in the short term run which if done helps eliminate stress and build resilience toward it in the long run. Though the fact also stays that when suffering from mental health issues like stress and depression, coming out of your four walls itself becomes too much of an effort to do. One must remember that not exercising is one reason for the stress and anxiety that one undergoes. Make that Dopamine hit an essential part of your daily life to stay away from mental health issues. So don’t hesitate to make the most of the outdoors or even indoors to benefit from exercise, even if that is the last thing you would want to do. Push yourself to do it and you will be de-stressed.
5. Do not get into mindless direct confrontation with anyone
Yes, I mean it. Getting into a mindless discussion or direct confrontation with your near and dear ones while you are stressed can cost you dearly. I have seen budding relations going down the drain just because someone who was overstressed with trying to do more than one could chew, took out frustration at a wrong point in time. Remember, if you are stressed, don’t overthink or ruminate. Rumination intensifies the stress and makes one focus on negativity.
Each one of us faces things that cause stress. It is natural to keep thinking about things to better understand the stressful situations to make them change, but there are people who slip into obsessive, unproductive, and negative thinking. All we need to do is avoid doing the above-mentioned things to reduce stress levels by acting consciously. As they say, prevention is always better than cure so being mindful of your every act as well as thought is a must to avoid mental health issues.
