Take Care of Yourself

Taking care of yourself involves more than just eating healthy and exercising. It also means: Looking after your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Knowing when things are getting out of balance and what to do about it. Being able to keep up with responsibilities while also taking care of yourself. Below are tips to help you take care of yourself.

Set Boundaries and Make Time for Yourself

Even a few minutes of quiet time can be refreshing and help to quiet your mind and reduce anxiety. Soak in a bubble bath, listen to music, read a book, or listen to a podcast or audiobook — whatever helps you relax.

While watching a good movie/TV show or unwinding by browsing social media and other websites can be relaxing, balance is important. Try to make a conscious effort to spend less time in front of a screen — television, tablet, computer and phone — including 30 minutes before bedtime.

Keep a Regular Routine

Maintaining a regular schedule is important to your mental health. In addition to sticking to a regular bedtime routine, try to keep consistent times for meals, bathing and getting dressed, working or studying, and exercise. This predictability can make you feel more in control.

Spend Time With People Who Help You Relax

Forming and maintaining positive, supportive relationships is incredibly important to managing your stress level. We all encounter conflict in our relationships, and learning how to respond to it constructively and resolve conflicts is part of how we maintain those relationships.

Physical Wellness

Get enough sleep.

Sleep quality has a dramatic effect on mood. After a night of little or no sleep, you will probably feel more anxious and short-tempered. Once you sleep well, your mood often returns to normal. Some things that can improve your sleep include a consistent sleep schedule and physical activity (see below).

Participate in regular physical activity.

Regular aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease tension and improve mood, sleep quality, and self-esteem. You could try an exercise app, get outside and go hiking on a nature trail, play a game in your yard, etc.

Eat healthy.

Choose a well-balanced diet. Avoid loading up on junk food and refined sugar. Limit caffeine as it can aggravate stress and anxiety.

10 Tips For Better Sleep

Stick to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the weekends. This helps to regulate your body’s clock and could help you fall asleep and stay asleep for the night.
If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. Power napping may help you get through the day, but if you find that you can’t fall asleep at bedtime, eliminating even short catnaps may help.
Exercise daily. Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep.
Evaluate your room. Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep. Your bedroom should be cool – between 60 and 67 degrees. Your bedroom should be free from any light. Finally, your bedroom should also be free from any noise that can disturb your sleep. Consider using blackout curtains, eye shades, ear plugs, “white noise” machines, humidifiers, fans, and other devices.
Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy – about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night.
Use bright light to help manage your circadian rhythms. Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning. This will keep your circadian rhythms in check.
Avoid heavy meals and stimulants like caffeine in the evening. Caffeine can disrupt sleep. Eating big or spicy meals can cause discomfort from indigestion that can make it hard to sleep. If you can, avoid eating large meals for two to three hours before bedtime. Try a light snack 45 minutes before bed if you’re still hungry.
Wind down. Your body needs time to shift into sleep mode, so spend the last hour before bed doing a calming activity such as reading. For some people, using an electronic device such as a laptop can make it hard to fall asleep, because the particular type of light emanating from the screens of these devices is activating to the brain. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid electronics before bed or in the middle of the night.
If you can’t sleep, go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel tired. It is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the sleeping environment. Use your bed only for sleep to strengthen the association between bed and sleep. If you associate a particular activity or item with anxiety about sleeping, omit it from your bedtime routine.
Don’t hesitate to speak with your doctor if you’re still having trouble sleeping. You may also benefit from recording your sleep in a Sleep Diary to help you better evaluate common patterns or issues you may see with your sleep or sleeping habits.

Content from the National Sleep Foundation

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