5 Genius Lifestyle Changes For Mental Health That You Need In Your Life
Are you ready to learn about lifestyle changes for your mental health?
Making healthy lifestyle changes that benefit your mental health is one of the most rewarding decisions. You may not see it right now BUT it affects your mental health.
You are going to learn all about practical lifestyle changes and examples for your mental health that you can easily implement in your daily lifestyle.
After learning about these lifestyle changes, you’re going to wish you’d started sooner because they’re literally that simple.
This post is all about lifestyle changes for mental health that you need in your life!
1. You NEED Routine
Generally, when you’re looking for a lifestyle change, in a mental rut or just aren’t feeling like yourselves, this is our body’s way of telling it’s time for a new routine.
Even if you don’t think you have a routine, you do. Take some time to evaluate everything you do from the time you wake up to the time you fall asleep.
Are you the person that oversleeps or wakes up early? Do you exercise? Do you order takeout or do you cook? How much water are you drinking throughout the day? How many meals do you eat in a day? What time do you go to bed?
Focus on adding things into your routine that will enhance your life rather than removing things.
A tried and true planner like THIS allows you to write out your list of to-do’s and create a daily schedule.
Here’s an example of how I organize my routine:
I love this planner for 2 reasons:
I can almost guarantee that these tasks are going to get done because I wrote it down.
I like how it’s lightweight, cute and large enough where I can actually write out the things I want to accomplish.
There’s no better feeling than checking everything off my list.
2. Comitt to Moving Your Body
Now that you’re figuring out what things to add into your routine, some type of physical movement every day is crucial to a lifestyle change.
Exercise has a direct link to our mental health. It’s linked to our emotions, the way we treat ourselves and others and the food we eat.
If you’re someone that struggles with depression, anxiety or just feels like you’re in a rut, your body is probably craving some type of movement. Try going for a walk outside, taking class or doing your favorite workout. Aim for at least 10 minutes a day.
When we exercise our bodies release endorphins which ultimately makes us happier. Exercising helps you get into a new routine and forces you to try something new instead of staying in the same cycle.
This is one of the easiest but hardest things to do because your bodies may not change and that’s okay! This is where growth happens. Your body will love you for doing this because they needed it.
If you don’t know where to get started, we’ll do this together!
Here is a list of the exact workout equipment you need and that helped me lose 45 pounds:
Okay…. but aren’t these cute?! Seriously, all the fun colors so that you can enjoy your workout whether you’re at home or on the go. These pieces of workout equipment are essential to changing your lifestyle.
I used these during the p*ndemic and gooddbyyyeee 45 pounds!
3. Cook more meals!
Okay, cooking may sound like one of those “duh” things, but seriously it’s a game changer.
A simple way to boost your mental health is to start cooking more meals at home.
Cooking is so therapeutic! It allows you to just let go of whatever is going on in that moment and focus on the thing in front of you.
You have to make it fun. Put your favorite playlist on and cook your favorite meal.
Cooking more meals at home allows you to cut a great deal of excess sodium that you would normally get from ordering takeout. I know takeout is convenient, but seriously your body will thank you for this later.
Even at some of the healthiest places like Chipotle there’s still so much added sodium (which is just crazy)!
Here’s an example of a salad that I created using the Chipotle Nutrition Calculator. I made a salad with brown rice, black beans, chicken, fajita veggies, and fresh tomato salsa. You won’t even believe the sodium! 1,425 mg…in one meal! The recommended daily intake for sodium is 2,000 mg.
Looks like it’s time to start cooking more because excess of anything will start to make you feel bloated, sluggish, off your routine and we don’t want that.
Here’s exactly what I did to change that.
I started using this air fryer and meal prepped majority of my meals.
This air fryer has truly changed the way I view food and I decrease the amount of time I spend in the kitchen.
If you are short on time and have limited space in your kitchen, this air fryer is for you! I love making different varieties of chicken, salmon and shrimp.
I love this air fryer for 2 reasons.
I can let the food cook and tend to the other things on my list.
The clean up is so easy! All I have to do is wash the non stick pan. Uhm, no dishes?! Yes please!
{Related Post: 7 Healthy Habits to Build a Healthy Lifestyle}
4. Prioritize your sleep
Sleep is something everyone talks about, but is difficult for people to actually do. When you’re changing your lifestyle and improving your mental health, sleep is imperative.
Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
I know this might be difficult, but develop a night routine to relax your body. This will let your mind know that it’s time to start getting ready to go to sleep.
When you implement this lifestyle change, you’ll notice an improvement in your mental health because you’ll wake up feeling more refreshed and actually looking forward to what they day brings.
I started to get more sleep by adding this one thing into my routine.
Think of yummy hot chocolate plus the added benefits of Magnesium, Valerian Root and L- Theanine.
I started using Slumber Party about 6 months ago because it was difficult for me to stay asleep the entire night. I also started taking it because I have a huge sweet tooth before bed and this instantly curbs it. Amazing, spectacular, phenomenal!
This is perfect for everyone because you can simply add it into your night routine. For those who don’t, that’s okay! Buy it now and structure your routine to enjoy your cup before bed.
5. Increase Your Water Intake
I know everyone tells you how important it is to drink more but it actually is. Remember how we said when you’re looking for new lifestyle changes it’s all about adding things into your routine.
Hydration is so important when it comes to getting into a routine, moving your body, cooking more meals and getting better sleep.
From my experience, whenever I’m dehydrated it negatively affected my mental health and increases my anxiety, fatigue and completely throws me off schedule.
When you’re not drinking enough water, it may be more difficult to focus and this leads to derailing from your routine. Aim for one gallon of water a day.
This lifestyle change forced me to start being more aware of my water intake or else I wasn’t feeling my best.
I love this water bottle because I can literally take it anywhere and it motivates me to reach my water goals!
I take it class with me during the week and work on the week and the water stays cold all day!
This water bottle allows me to stay on track with my goal of drinking a gallon of water a day. Aim for at least 1 water bottle a day.
It’s so easy to drop a few lemon or cucumber slices for more flavor.
Lifestyle changes for mental health all have a common theme and that’s adding things into your routine. Take it one thing at a time and you’ll notice a positive lifestyle change for your mental health.
