Living a healthy lifestyle goes beyond a balanced diet. Real wellness lies in taking care of both mental and physical health.
How can we include simple self-care in our daily routine? For those worried because it might take too long and don’t have time for a full pampering SPA day, the good news is that self-care can be simpler than you might think.
Whatever you have in mind as a way to take care of your mental and physical health — whether it be starting a new diet, a new fitness routine, or even working on your relationships, you can start by taking small steps. So, don’t get overwhelmed if you don’t know where you should start; we’ve prepared a simplified list with simple tips to kickstart your self-care routine according to your needs.
Take a Break From Screens
You can start off by giving your eyes a break from blue-light screens—TV, smartphones, computers, and so on. Taking a 15 to 20 minutes break from digital devices might prevent you from digital eyestrain, like headaches and dry eyes.
Schedule Your Breaks
But if you’re forgetful, tend to work non-stop, and forget to take breaks throughout your working day, you should consider scheduling them. You can use a Google calendar, a planner, or even glue a post-it on your computer screen with a reminder!
Go For a Walk
It doesn’t matter if you live in a big city like New York or LA; you can take a 15-minute lunchtime stroll. The benefits of a simple walk outside are many. Studies have found that it helps to increase productivity, declutter your mind, boost concentration and energy.
Exercise
This one might sound like a no-brainer, but 30-minutes of daily activity is a powerful tool to fight depression, tiredness, and anxiety. If you can’t go outside to work out, you can explore on demand-classes and bring your mat to your living room.
Take Yourself On a Date
Grab your book and go to the next coffee or restaurant and pamper yourself with a delicious meal and glass of wine or tea. Solo dates are a great way to get to know yourself better, show some love and kindness to yourself; why not?
Plan A Getaway
Taking a break from the hectic city life, it’s the perfect escape from reality, especially if you haven’t been able to travel safely in a while. It doesn’t have to be a faraway destination either, somewhere you haven’t been before. You can take some time off and even revisit a spot you like.
Practice Mindfulness
We’ve talked about mindfulness here several times, but creating a mindfulness practice isn’t complicated. If you haven’t tried any mindfulness techniques or meditation before, you can start by taking as little as 3 minutes off to close your eyes and connect with the present moment.
Take a Relaxing Bath
There are few things better than coming home from a long day of work and getting into a lovely hot bath. Instead of speeding through a two-minute shower, find some time to take a relaxing bath and maybe adding some music, a glass of wine, and a candle.
Enjoy The Silence
Excessive noise can affect our sleep, blood pressure, and even heart rate so, if you have some time to go on a silent retreat and get the full benefits of not speaking for a day (or more), great. If not, you can reduce stimulation and enjoy some quiet time by yourself.
Written By:Camila Santiago