Eight must-know lifestyle tips to help boost mental health

Before now, it was widely preached that physical health is paramount for humans. However, the growing popularity of depression and even suicide has shown that mental health is as important as the physical.

If you would like to get started on paying attention to your mental health seeing as it contributes to your overall wellbeing, here are tips to help you:

Healthy diet

With many years of research showing that changes in fruit and vegetable consumption are related to changes in mental health, indulging in unhealthy eating habits can take a toll on mental wellbeing.

What you eat nourishes your body including your brain, hence, protein-rich foods; fruits and succulent green vegetables; wholegrain cereals; dairy products; chocolates (not too often); fish and plenty of water should be incorporated into your diet.

Avoiding too much caffeine, soft drinks and alcohol can also help stave off the short term side-effects and long-term health complications that result from these.

Get enough sleep

Sleep loss is known to alter one’s mood, leading to anxiety and foul temper. It also results in drowsiness, minimized attention to details and decline in mental alertness.

Sleep gives your body the time to recover and rejuvenate such that doctors often recommend a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

Exercise regularly

It has been shown over the years that physical exercise can boost mental health and reduce symptoms of existing ones such that experts have recommended exercising two to three times a week.

Spending time outdoors could lower depression and boost mental alertness and energy. It also plays an important role in cognitive functioning, memory and overall wellbeing.

Do social activities

Whichever way you might chose to spend your leisure time, spending quality time with friends in social activities could help keep you in a sound mental state.

Keep the smile radiant

Avoiding regrets and tempering anger-inciting comments with a radiant smile would tell on your mental wellbeing since researchers have revealed that laughter could be therapeutic, releasing hormones that help keep you mentally healthy.

Discuss your concerns

Whether to a therapist or a close confidant, venting your concerns is a good way to get smothering stream of thoughts off your mind.

You could keep a personal journal or schedule a periodic visit to your family therapist; this would push you to maintain good mental health.

Keep learning

Learning is one of the best ways to keep your mind preoccupied, active and healthy.

Reading good books is a great way to start as it broadens the scope of human mind and imparts on general mental wellbeing in the long run.