We all know that excellent mental health is imperative to think, feel, and live your daily life. Mental health is also crucial to coping with challenges at work or in personal life, dating, stress levels, and recovery from life misfortunes.
Most of the time, you hear that they are mentally strong; being mentally strong or healthy not only helps to live a balanced healthy, and happy life. It also means the lack of mental problems and the existence of positive qualities.
Here are the top 10 activities to boost mental wellness.
1- Exercise
Exercise is the top priority to stay that will help you stay physically healthy and also help you to reduce stress levels. When you go to the gym or hike, you might observe that you always feel great after the gym session. Because your body releases endorphins, also called happy hormones, to take your confidence to the next level.
I’m an outdoor person and love to go for a walk, run, or hike. Try to incorporate some kind of outdoor activity into your daily routine. I am not a huge fan of workout in a confined space. Here is a great article on how exercise changes our brains.
2-Practice gratitude
There are many ways to practice gratitude. Start your day with the top 3 things you are grateful for; I practice daily for excellent health, great helpful people in my life, a];d for the great food.
I also practice another great way of gratitude on Medium. I read a lot on Medium and always appreciate the writer by clapping, commenting, and highlighting their work. I know it’s not easy to produce articles consistently. A little gratitude will boost their confidence.
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
— Robert Brault
3-Prioritize sleep
This year I’m prioritizing my sleep. I need to sleep between 6 and 7 hours most of the time. In the last few years, I developed a habit of going to bed at 2 am which I am trying to break by going to bed before midnight.
Everyone needs precise hours of sleep to perform at the optimum level. I recommend having quality sleep for at least 7–8 hours a day. I cannot sleep past 7 hours because it gives me back pain, and I feel dizzy all day. But my wife always sleeps 8+ hours, and if she sleeps less than 8 hours, she feels lazy and sleepy all day.
I read a great article on how to sleep better and also to understand the science behind sleep. Here is the link
4-Limit mind boosters
When I say limit your mind boosters. I mean, limit the intake of caffeine: coffee, tea, matcha, etc. I used to drink 4–6 cups of pure black coffee a day to survive the corporate job. Since the pandemic moved the office at home, I realized too much coffee is not suitable for my wallet and mental health.
After doing research, I decided to cut back my coffee to increase my sleep quality and mental health. Study shows that mind boosters can increase depression and anxiety in the long run.
You might not feel an immediate difference in your anxiety while consuming 4+ cups of coffee daily, but it’s not a good option in the long run.
5-Balanced diet
Try to eat healthy food with a balanced protein, carbs, and fat ratio. Your brain consumes a lot of energy and makes sure you provide him healthy source of food. These are the healthy foods for your brain: fatty fish, moderate coffee 2–3 cups, blueberries, turmeric, broccoli, seeds, dark chocolate, nuts, oranges, eggs, green tea. I will write a detailed article about why these food sources are great for your brain later this week.
A balanced diet is crucial to having optimum energy all day and supporting your nervous system. A tremendous nervous system and optimum energy levels are important for mental health.
6-Mind games
To keep your brain young and creative, learn a new hobby; the deep concentration will help you create new neuron connections to increase your alertness. Mind games can play a positive role in your mental health. I usually play chess or sudoku. You can try any of these games: Lumosity, crosswords, happy neuron, chess, or sudoku.
I found that with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone. You’re not the first to go through it; you’re not going to be the last to go through it.
— The Rock
7-Journal
Try to write a daily journal; this is kind of related to point number 2 but at a much deeper level. Write down all the things that make you happy in your diary; you can even write down the most personal stuff because it’s your journal, no one will see except you.
You can go back to read whenever you feel a bit down to enjoy the happy moments.
8-Deep breath
This is the exercise I picked from an article, I could not find the link. Try deep breathing like you are doing yoga. Here is the drill.
- i) Find a comfy place to sit, stand or lie down
- ii) Take a regular breath
- iii) Now start a deep breath
- iv) 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, by holding your breath
- v) Slowly breath out through your mouth
- vi) Repeat several times
9-Mix routine or randomness
Routines are imperative to manage daily life. Following a habit or pattern give a sense of control of our lives. Routine also offers predictability; your mind knows the next steps and stability because your amygdala knows you are practicing safety.
Start tiny, change your desk setting, go for a hike to change the scenery. I sometimes try to use my left hand all day to send different signals to my brain.
Drill: Try this simple exercise; next to your brush, if you are right-handed, try the left hand. You will feel annoyed to do that, but it’s a great brain booster exercise.
10-Get help
Mental wellness is crucial to living a happy life. If you see someone or you struggling, find support right away, talk to your family and friends.
Always look for professional help if you think the support you are getting from your family or friend is not enough. Give your hand for assistance if your friend or family member is feeling down; ask them if you can help or support.
Key takeaways
- Make exercise a part of your daily life to boost the endorphins
- Always be thankful
- Focus on quality sleep
- Limit caffeine intake
- Focus on a balanced diet
- Play some logical games
- Write journal
- Practice deep breathing
- Try to mix your routine once a week or month
- Get professional help if you need
Thank you for reading, and let me know in the comments what you do to keep your brain healthy.
