In today's fast-paced world, it's all too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life, often at the expense of our own well-being. We always tend to put everyone else and everything else before our own well being. Amidst juggling work, family, and other responsibilities, self-care can often be last on our lis or fall off the list altogether .
However, prioritizing self-care is not only essential for maintaining physical and mental health but also for enhancing overall quality of life. In this article, I'll delve into the vital importance of self-care and explore some healthy tips and tricks to incorporate into even the busiest of lifestyles.
Understanding Self-Care:
Self-care encompasses any activity that we deliberately do to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. It's about recognizing our own needs and taking proactive steps to meet them, rather than waiting until we're burnt out or overwhelmed. Contrary to common misconceptions, self-care is not selfish or indulgent—it's a necessary component of maintaining a healthy balance in life. This does not mean that you have to spend hours, days doing something you love! By all means, if you do have a couple of hours on your hand, absolutely take that time and do whatever lights you up and fills you up with energy and vitality. But self care can be a daily practice with just minutes or moments that any busy person can include in their life. You can develop discipline and build a daily routine that you can stick to no matter what. Self care equals prevention of disease.
So why is self care so important? Let's dive in:
Stress Reduction: Engaging in self-care activities can help to alleviate stress and promote relaxation. Whether it's practicing mindfulness meditation, taking a leisurely walk in nature, or indulging in a soothing bubble bath, carving out time for self-care can significantly reduce stress levels and improve overall well-being.
Enhanced Mental Health: Prioritizing self-care is crucial for supporting mental health and emotional resilience. Activities such as journaling, spending time with loved ones, or seeking professional therapy can help to manage anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges.
Improved Physical Health: Self-care extends beyond mental and emotional well-being—it also encompasses taking care of our physical health. Eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, and prioritizing adequate sleep are all essential components of self-care that contribute to improved physical health and vitality.
Increased Productivity: Contrary to popular belief, self-care is not a waste of time; in fact, it can actually enhance productivity and performance. By ensuring that our own needs are met, we're better equipped to tackle tasks with focus, energy, and efficiency. Who doesn't want this?
Enhanced Quality of Life: Ultimately, self-care is about nurturing ourselves so that we can lead happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. By making self-care a priority, we're better able to show up as our best selves in all areas of life, from our personal relationships to our professional endeavors, not to mantion that our immune system will thank us.
Here are some Healthy Tips and Tricks for Incorporating Self-Care into a Busy Lifestyle:
Set Boundaries: Learn to say no to activities or commitments that drain your energy or detract from your well-being. Setting boundaries is an essential aspect of self-care that allows you to prioritize your own needs. Always feel into any activity that you are invited to participate in: if it's a "hell, yes", than absolutely do it, if you are not sure, than you can just say" No, thank you". Learn how to prioritize yourself and your needs first. It's not selfish, it's necessary and healing.
Schedule "Me Time": Block out time in your schedule dedicated solely to self-care activities. Treat this time as non-negotiable, just like any other appointment or commitment. Put it in your calendar, because if that time is blocked out in your calendar for you, chances are that it will happen, if it's not in your calendar, it will most likely be forgotten. However much time you have, include time for self care in your life. Some examples of this are: a longer shower alone without any distractions, with essential oil diffuser; 15 minutes of reading before bedtime; meditation and deep breathing anytime of the day; dance for 10 minutes to your favorite songs - shake it out; lay in the sun; listen to an episode of your favorite podcast; call a friend. If you have time for a massage, an acupuncture session, a workshop or a weekend getaway with your friends, amazing! But remember, it does not have to be a long activity to be considered self care.
Practice Gratitude: Cultivate a daily gratitude practice by taking a few moments each day to reflect on the things you're thankful for. The practice of gratitude has been shown to improve mood and overall health. You can do this by journaling or just simply writing it down, or you can do it in your mind when you wake up - this sets you up for a better mood and a better day. If you have extremely busy mornings, you can do it before you go to sleep , each night. Either way, incorporating a few minutes of daily gratitude can have tremendous health benefits.
Move Your Body: Incorporate physical activity into your daily routine, even if it's just a short walk during your lunch break, a quick yoga session before bed, or a 10 minute dance after dinner. Exercise is not only beneficial for physical health but also for mental clarity and mood regulation. Find something you love, and do that as often as you can, even if it's just for 15-20 minutes. Anything is better than nothing.
Unplug and Disconnect: Set aside designated times to disconnect from technology and digital devices. Engage in activities that promote relaxation and presence, such as reading a book, practicing mindfulness, or spending time outdoors.You can set a time to stop using your phone or any technology 1-2 hours before bedtime and use this time to focus on yourself, on your family, on your thoughts. Disconnect to connect to your life.
Nourish Your Body: Prioritize nutrition by fueling your body with whole, organic, chemical free, local, as close to nature as possible, nourishing foods. Aim to eat REAL food, not junk food or food that comes in a box. Eating organic is another form of disease prevention. Check out EWG's - Environmental Working Group - dirty dozen and clean fifteen list for reference. https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php
Get Adequate Sleep: Make sleep a priority by establishing a regular sleep schedule and creating a restful sleep environment. Sleep is probably amongst the number one medicine that is guaranteed to help your body heal. You can establish a healthy sleep hygiene by setting your bedroom to a cooler temperature, make it dark and technology free. Stay off your screen - any type of screen - for at least 2 hours before bed. Use blue light blocking glasses if you really need to use your laptop or phone for any reason and set your devices on nightshift by turning on the yellow light on your devices. For laptops there is a software that you can istal for free, it's called f.lux , which is a cross-platform computer program that adjusts a display's color temperature according to location and time of day, offering functional respite for the eyes. The program is designed to reduce eye strain during night-time use, helping to reduce disruption of sleep patterns. https://justgetflux.com/You can also read or meditate before sleep. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep per night.
Drink clean, filtered water. If you have to purchase your water, purchase spring water, never purified water. Spring water has minerals in it, while purified water has been depleted of the minerals that are essential for your body's normal functioning.Our body is made out of 75% water, so make sure you drink plenty of water to nourish and keep your body hydrated.
Get outside in nature as much as possible. Spending time in nature is and ancient healing technique and it's been proven to recalibrate the nervous system, lower your stress and heal your body. If it's not possible to be outside every day, open your windows every day.
Self-care is not a luxury—it's a necessity for maintaining health, happiness, and overall well-being, especially in the face of a busy lifestyle. By prioritizing self-care and incorporating healthy tips and tricks into our daily routine, we can cultivate a greater sense of balance, resilience, and fulfillment in our lives. Remember, self-care isn't selfish—it's self-preservation, it's health. So take the time to nurture yourself, because you deserve it. Your body, your immune system , your cells will thank you. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you.
With much love, in health
Andrea Popan