“At the end of the day, peace of mind is what matters the most”
Some of the most successful and productive people in the world like Richard Branson and Bill Gates make sure they put time aside to take care of their mental health.
Mental health is as important as physical health. A person, no matter how healthy they are physical, will not reach their full potential without mental health. This blog will look at why this is the case and how to improve your mental health. It will focus on the importance of mental health, how to improve it, how to look after your mental health, changes you can make in your daily routine to improve your mental health, the importance of exercise for good mental health, types of exercise that help in improving mental health.
What is the importance of mental health?
Mental health is as important as physical health. We want to encourage you to take care of your mental health as much as you take care of your physical health.
The focus of this blog is around Mental health and how it is as necessary as physical health. We will be looking at how to maintain a balanced lifestyle. We will be discussing different easy exercises that anyone can practice to improve their mental health.
Most people think that physical health is necessary for healthy living. But mental health is equally important. It enables you to live a much better life. Mental health is not given the importance it deserves and is often sidelined in favor of physical health.
Exercises for mental health are important in keeping away stress and keeping in check your mental health. The importance of keeping your mental health in good shape cannot be ignored.
Mental health has always been an important part of our lives. But, our world is changing rapidly. We are becoming complacent.
Many of us are leading sedentary lifestyles. We are not moving out of our homes and we are becoming more depressed. There are many reasons due to which we are leading a sedentary lifestyle. We have easy access to food. So, we are not physically active. We are getting addicted to technology. We are not taking out time for ourselves. And, we are not exercising enough.
Importance of exercise in improving mental health-
It has been said that being fit is good for one’s health. One of the most overlooked benefits of exercise is in mental health issues. No matter how healthy one’s body is, one can still experience mental health issues like stress, depression, or anxiety. Physical activity can help prevent these mood changes.
Mental issues are a serious problem in today’s world. There are various ways to solve the problem and one easy way is to practice easy and light exercises in mental health. Exercise has many benefits in increasing mental health in different ways. From increasing memory to reducing stress and increasing creativity, the importance of exercise in mental health is very much.
Exercises that work like a magic in improving Mental health
1. Take a walk
This is the simplest and easiest of all the exercises that you can do to improve your mental health. Studies have shown that even a small ten-minute walk in the open air can be of huge benefit to mental health. What you have to remember is that you are not putting any effort into your body. You don’t have to take it as an exercise, rather you should just move your body in a way that just calms your soul.
This can be done literally anywhere whenever you feel a mental breakdown. Going for work in nature or even in the open air can actually help to decrease depression and anxiety, improving mental wellness.
2. Breathe-in and breathe-out
Research has found that doing low-intensity aerobic activities such as breathing in and out is the best form of exercise for improving mental health issues. Taking Deep and conscious breaths is an efficient way to reduce stress levels and improve your concentration level.
While breathing in and out make sure you focus on the movement of your diaphragms. Take a deep breath and keep it on hold until you see your diaphragms expand and then breathe out slowly. It is advisable to take at least 10 to 15 deep breaths whenever you feel mentally low. Take a moment to let you feel better after this and then you can get back to your work without feeling overwhelmed.
3. Yoga
Yoga is like a spiritual relation between your body and mind. It can do wonders to one’s mental health when incorporated with talking therapy and meditation. For people suffering from mental health issues, yoga can be a gateway to understanding what they mentally and emotionally feel about themselves. To create a healthy body both physically and mentally, yoga proves to be a gem.
Giving your body a little dynamic move by standing, stretching, and bending is a good way to relieve stress and anxiety. Although there are a lot of difficult yoga poses, we recommend you practice easy and simple poses that soothe your mind.
4. Rest
Rest is the most important thing for mental health. By ‘rest’ we just do not mean sleeping, it means that putting yourself in a position that you are no longer worried about anything. Your mind is at peace and you can focus on yourself. You can rest while sitting idle while having a walk, while just lying down on the bed, or while breathing deeply.
Also, having a good sound sleep can actually help you in reducing anxiety, stress, and depression a lot. It can help you in increasing concentration, improve mood and even improve your metabolism rate.
5. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts
High-intensity interval workouts proved to be quite effective in reducing stress and depression in people suffering from mental health issues. You can do these simple workouts given below-
- jumping jacks
- wall sit
- pushups
- crunches
- step-ups
- squats
- lunges
- Warm-up running
- Stretches
Doing these quick easy workouts actually boosts your mental health and improves your mood. These HIIT workouts can increase your body’s endorphins and can help in boosting pleasure and damping pain. When you perform these exercises it helps in reducing the tension that develops when one stays in one position for an extended period.
6. Dancing
Dancing has always been associated with happiness. It is a powerful way to express your mood with expressions. Dancing can actually help in improving your mental health only when you enjoy it. Put on your favorite upbeat song and dance making your heart laugh with happiness. It has been found out that even when you are in a depressed mood, you can enjoy dancing and it can make you feel better and happier than before.
7. Do what you love
Last but not least this is what matters the most to you. Doing anything that you love to do can actually make you feel better about yourself. Take a moment and do whatever makes you happy that can be literally anything.
Take out some time from your schedule and invest in doing something that you truly enjoy. If you have any hobby that makes you feel cheerful, do that for yourself. If you don’t care for yourself, nobody is going to do it for you.
Laugh a little louder!
Set goals!
Dream big!
Be creative!
Listen to music!
Final words
We are living in a modern world where life is becoming too complex. People don’t have time for having breakfast in the morning and they rush to their office with nothing in their stomachs. This is how we are living our life and this is something how we shouldn’t treat ourselves. Taking a few minutes to care for yourself to think for yourself and to make positive changes for yourself is worth the time.
Investing your time in yourself is investing time in your growth. Self-care is important and by doing these small steps we can improve our lifestyle by moving forward to a physically and mentally healthier lifestyle.
Doing these seven exercises will only take you a few minutes from your day and in return, you will feel confident, optimistic, cheerful, and delightful for sure. Make sure you share this with someone you truly care for to make their day mentally special.
Take care of your mental health, take care of yourself!