Healthy Living Tips to Improve your Mental Health

Aerobic exercises such as hiking, swimming, jogging, walking, gardening, and dancing have been proven to reduce both anxiety and depression. Thirty minutes of exercise of moderate intensity 3 days a week is sufficient for health benefits and can improve your mental health. 

We believe exercise is an empowering and healthy lifestyle modification that is within our control. 

Exercise if often not enjoyable for people in the beginning; lack of motivation can get in the way of making exercise a habit. It takes approximately 14 days for anything to become a habit, so stick with it and it'll get easier!

Sleep hygiene describes the habits and practices that are conducive to sleeping well on a regular basis. 

We recommend our patient's develop a soothing pre-sleep routine that promotes relaxation. A few of our tips include: 

• Keep bedroom temperature comfortably cool between 60-75 F.
• Avoid engaging in stressful/ stimulating activities before bed.
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, nicotine 4-6 hours before bedtime.
• Exercise early in the day.

Please speak with your provider if you would like further discuss sleep hygiene techniques. 

A well-balanced diet is not just good for your waistline, it is essential to your mental health. Eat a diet that relies on fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish, and unsaturated fats (like olive oil). 

People who follow this diet are up to 30 % less likely to develop depression than people who eat lots of meat and diary products. 

Tips for grocery shopping: 

Focus your shopping on the perimeter of the grocery store. Center aisles tend to be home to processed foods such as chips, cookies, and candy. Generally speaking, if it comes in a box- it's processed.

Supplements can help treat vitamin/ mineral deficiencies that have an effect on our mental health. These deficiencies can play a role in mental illness and exacerbate symptoms or compromise recovery. 

A majority of people can benefit from taking a B-complex vitamin. B vitamins are needed for healthy maintenance of brain cells and productive of neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine). This is especially important for persons on special diets, such as vegans and vegetarians, as animal products contain high amounts of B vitamins. 

Ask your provider about which supplements may benefit you!

What comprises a healthy environment? 

A healthy environment is peaceful and rejuvenating, and what that specifically means can differ from person to person.

Whether it be your workspace or living space, there are things you can incorporate to aid your mental health, such as: 

• Rooms with bright light (natural or artificial) can impact your behavior and motivation to act. 
• Proper air flow.
• Clean/uncluttered spaces.
• Views of nature.
• House plants.

Nature's benefits to our physical and mental wellbeing can be easily felt. Forest Bathing, or Forest Therapy, is an accepted part of Japanese preventative health care. Forest Therapy simply means immersing yourself in a forest settings; generalized research found real and long-term benefits including reduced stress, improved immunity, lower blood pressure, and accelerated recovery from illness or trauma.