With a brand new year, many of us have already set new year resolutions. Perhaps one goal that has slipped our minds is the goal of achieving good mental health. Good mental health can be defined as having a sense of well-being and being able to rebound from challenges, failures and everyday stresses. Here are a couple points to keep in mind when striving towards a healthy mind.
1.) Physical Activity: Increasing physical activity or maintaining a certain amount of physical activity is a popular new years resolution. However, it is easy to overwork oneself resulting in fatigue and a failure to uphold the resolution. Achieving a careful balance of exercise and rest is therefore essential to good physical and mental health.
2.) Healthy Diet: We have always been told that fruits and vegetables are essential to healthy living. Of the various diets available, it has also been observed that the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest. It consists of a moderate to high consumption of poultry, fish and dairy as well as a low intake of sugary foods. Nutritionists also suggest avoiding foods that are “free” of certain ingredients. For example, foods that are “fat-free” or “sugar-free” should be avoided as the lack of these ingredients are often supplemented by other ingredients such as sodium. As a result, an attempt to maintain a healthy diet may actually disrupt the balance of biomolecules in the body.
3.) Sleep: Don’t we all want more sleep? As students, it may not always be possible, especially during exam season. A study done by the Global Health in Australia has found that individuals who obtain less than an average of 5 hours of sleep per night are more susceptible to mental illnesses. Instead of getting more sleep, a student’s solution to sleep deprivation may be getting a better sleep. The key to this is setting stricter sleeping schedules rather than taking random naps throughout the day. If you are having trouble falling asleep, a warm bath, foot soak or some peaceful music may help calm the restless mind.
4.) Stay social: Talking to friends, family or even staying busy with a volunteer position may be the only thing that keeps us sane. Sometimes ranting about a bad day to a friend will help alleviate the stress that has built up over the week. While it is important to speak to others, it is equally important to listen. Caring for others allows us to maintain healthy relationships.
5.) Time for yourself: During the school year, the only things on our minds may be essays, presentations and exams. Sometimes, our minds could use a break. Taking the time out to have a snack, read a book or watch a two minute cat video on youtube could refresh our brains and give us brand new perspectives on our challenges at hand.
New years resolutions can be difficult to follow through because many individuals set unrealistic goals. Remember that new years resolutions are not meant to produce stress. It is a chance to explore the possibility of improvements and an opportunity to take baby steps towards those improvements.
http://www.mentalhealth.wa.gov.au/mental_illness_and_health/mh_whatis.aspx
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286428.php
http://www.newswise.com/articles/6-tips-for-new-year-s-resolutions-that-improve-mental-health