Today’s fast-paced schedules can seem at odds with mental health. But being busy doesn’t mean you need to write off good mental health. Whether you’re focused on managing stress, anxiety or migraine, knowing how to improve mental health in small ways can make a big difference in a jam-packed schedule.
September is National Self-Care Awareness Month, so we wanted to offer some advice on how to be mentally healthy and happy, even with a busy life.
Get Good Sleep and Reclaim Your Morning
Busy people tend to underestimate how much sleep they need. A good night’s sleep is nothing short of critical for good mental health. Everyone’s needs are different, but the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) suggests at least 7-8 hours of sleep. Make sure you’re following proper sleep hygiene with habits like having a consistent sleep schedule and avoiding electronics at least 30 minutes before bedtime. These habits can help you address health issues, like sleep apnea or migraine.
Good sleep habits extend into the morning, too. If you start your day by immediately checking your phone, you might not be doing yourself any favors. When you check emails and social media, you’re bombarding your brain with stressful things right away. You’re jumping straight into “busy” mode without giving yourself time to wake up.
Instead, ease into it. Try to create a routine for yourself that doesn’t involve screen time or stress-inducing news first thing in the morning. You might spend some time preparing a nice, nutritious breakfast or writing in a journal. Consider keeping your phone away from your bedside and relying on an old-fashioned alarm clock instead. Whatever you do, be mindful of your mornings. Create a routine that’s soothing and eases you into being awake.
Eat Healthy
Just because you’re in a rush doesn’t mean you need to eat junk food. Our brains need specific nutrients to run on all cylinders, but the modern diet doesn’t always deliver. Like sleep, nutrition is different for everyone, with plenty of diets to address specific concerns. Generally, aim for fresh produce, whole wheat, healthy fats and lean proteins.
But you’re busy — you don’t have time to cook fresh meals every night. Even small swaps can help. Try replacing your processed muffin from the coffee shop with a banana and Greek yogurt. Meal prepping is also a great way to have healthy foods ready at a moment’s notice.
Get Outdoors
One way to improve your mental and emotional health and connect with nature is to get outside. It’s especially important if you spend all day at a screen. It can break up the monotony, give you fresh air and provide a healthy dose of sunlight. Sunlight helps your body release serotonin and produce vitamin D, both of which can help stave off depression and anxiety.
Just 5-15 minutes of sun three times a week is generally enough to help you experience the advantages of vitamin D. Try having your morning coffee outside or taking a short walk outdoors. You can even take up hiking or exploring your city by foot.
Exercise Regularly
It’s no surprise that exercise is essential for mental health. It helps with just about everything, from energy and sleep to memory and mood. It’s associated with improvements in anxiety, depression, stress, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Of course, spending all day in the gym might not work with your schedule. You can still reap the benefits with small amounts of exercise.
Here are some ways to sneak movement into your day:
- Park further away when you drive somewhere
- Take a few minutes to stretch at your desk
- Try to stand while working
- Go for a short walk every day — bonus points for getting outside
- Spend five minutes on a yoga routine
Try Breathing Exercises and Meditation
If you’re a busy person, being told to slow down and breathe sounds like a tall order but trust us, it’s worth it. Breathing exercises and meditation often rely on it. Diaphragmatic breathing — a special deep breathing technique — can help with anxiety and depression symptoms and improve stress management, sleep and focus.
You can see benefits from as little as 5-10 minutes of deep breathing. Many people like to use guided sessions, and there are many online resources such as apps and videos that can walk you through the process. The most important part of deep breathing and meditation is to be purposeful. Turn your thoughts inward and focus on the present.
Stop Multitasking
Multitasking might feel like you’re getting a lot done, but usually it just brings down your productivity. It can mentally overwhelm you and bring anxiety and stress to your day. Instead of multitasking, be purposeful with your time. Prioritize your tasks and focus on what you’re doing in the present moment. Don’t overload your day, either. Be realistic about what you take on.
Schedule Breaks
It can be surprisingly easy to forget to take time for yourself. Scheduled breaks can help you remember to accomplish self-care tasks on your list, like meditating or taking a walk. Set a reminder if you need to. Then, use this break time to focus only on you — not errands or work, but yourself and your need for self-care.
Track Your Triggers
It’s not always easy to see where your stress is coming from. Try keeping a log. Write down anything throughout the day that frustrates or upsets you or makes you anxious. Some examples might include a high workload or an argument with a friend. Track these stressors for a week and jot down your reactions. Explore your feelings and how you responded to the situation.
These notes can help you understand how you respond to stress and make plans to minimize triggers or react in a healthier way.
Set Clear Work-Life Boundaries
A poor distinction between work and home life is a common cause of stress, especially in the work-from-home era. It’s important to fully separate these environments, even if your workplace might not feel stressful.
Some tips to maintain your mental health through work-life balance include:
- Unplugging after work: If possible, separate your work and home technology. Silence your work email or log out of your work account on your computer.
- Not overloading yourself: Consider how taking on extra work might affect your ability to do the job well. This is important to avoid burnout and stay engaged in your work.
- Assessing your workplace: Think about whether your workplace is supportive of your need for mental health boundaries. If your boss is constantly calling you after hours or refusing vacation time, you may need to have a conversation with them or their superiors.
- Spending time with loved ones: Making time for friends and family can be tough if you’re exhausted after work every day. Be intentional with your time and carve out space to be with people you care about.
Find Your Happy Place
Having a “happy place” allows you to create a mental escape where you can destress and relax. Even in the midst of a hectic day, you can pause and retreat to this place to calm yourself. Create a vivid picture of your happy place in your mind. Consider places you like, such as an old vacation spot, or somewhere you want to go, like a relaxing spa. You could also create your own happy place that might not even exist.
Wherever it is, try to incorporate sensations. Envision the sights, smells and textures of the space. Use it whenever things get stressful. You can even go to your happy place when you do other exercises, such as deep breathing.
Developing a Routine to Focus on Your Mental Health
Establishing predictable daily patterns benefits your mental well-being in many ways.
- Lowers anxiety: Anxiety often builds because of the unknown. It can be stressful when we can’t predict what will occur in our daily lives. By following a daily routine for depression and anxiety, you let your body know what to expect. You can alleviate anxiety by having a general idea of what you’ll do tomorrow and the days after that.
- Helps you feel more in control: Routines also help you regain control of your life. It’s uncomfortable when unforeseen events keep happening. And because stress is such a significant migraine trigger, managing levels is crucial. With a healthy routine, you focus only on what you can manage each day. For instance, you could cook breakfast at the same time every morning.
- Creates healthy habits: Without a set routine, it’s easier to fall into an unhealthy rut. For example, you might spend too much time on social media or neglect mealtimes. Creating a healthy routine and sticking to it helps you make lifestyle changes. You could establish a sleep schedule by going to bed at consistent times or incorporating more fresh produce into your diet. These healthier patterns might also lower migraine frequency.
- Prevents burnout: Chronic stress can lead to burnout. Because a routine helps you manage anxiety, you could reduce fatigue and exhaustion.
Building routines can also help you navigate a hectic time in your life, such as college. Students have many responsibilities, from classes and homework to a job and extracurricular activities. Without a routine in place, you could develop unhealthy habits, miss crucial deadlines or suffer frequent migraines. Luckily, establishing a routine can help you feel more organized. You can keep track of your to-do list while remembering healthy habits like sufficient sleep.
How to Build a Routine
If you’ve never set a schedule before, you might wonder how to get started. Here are five essential components of a healthy routine.
1. Start With Sleep Hygiene
Sufficient, restful sleep is the basis of a healthy routine. Adults should get seven or more hours of sleep each night for optimal health. Getting enough sleep every night provides health benefits like:
- Improved energy levels
- Stronger immune system
- Stress relief
- Reduced migraine attacks
People often skip crucial sleep to get ahead of tasks or enjoy extra leisure time.
If you don’t have a consistent sleep schedule, make that the first step of your new routine. Prioritize getting at least seven hours of rest every night, even if that means you need to go to bed earlier. You can get enough sleep every night by:
- Going to bed at the same time each night
- Limiting screen time before bed
- Avoiding caffeine or alcohol in the hours before bedtime
2. Eat Nutritious Foods and Don’t Skip Meals
Next, proper nutrition is essential for a mental health routine. A balanced diet boosts your well-being, but people may miss meals as they rush to their next activity.
As you build your schedule, establish mealtimes at the same time every day. Try incorporating protein, fruits, vegetables and healthy carbohydrates into each meal. To prevent skipped meals, try strategies like:
- Preparing meals ahead of time
- Keeping a stock of quick meals and snacks on hand
- Scheduling lunch and snack breaks
- Waking up earlier to fit in breakfast
Your brain needs food to function properly, and healthy foods can boost your brain activity. In turn, you might feel your mental health improve.
3. Exercise
You should also make movement part of your routine. Staying active is crucial for physical and mental health. It relieves stress, keeps your body in shape and can even reduce migraine frequency.
It can seem challenging to squeeze in exercise if you have a busy schedule. Even when you don’t have time for an hour-long workout, make room for some type of movement. Whether it’s taking a walk around your apartment complex or completing a 15-minute workout circuit, plan to exercise each day.
4. Eliminate Variables
Another way to remove stress from your schedule is by eliminating variables. We make thousands of daily decisions, like choosing what to wear and where to park. Having too many options can increase feelings of stress and adversely affect your mental health.
Removing extra choices can help you save time and energy. For example, if you never know what to make for dinner, plan a few simple meals ahead of time to reduce anxiety. The fewer variables you have, the more comfortable you can feel with a routine.
5. Schedule Flexible Time
Lastly, remember that you don’t need to account for every moment of your day. You can leave wiggle room for unplanned or impulsive events, such as a dinner invitation from a friend. Schedules constantly change, so having built-in free time gives you more flexibility. For example, you might block off an hour every night that you can use however you want.
Sticking to Your Routine
Planning a routine is the first step, but sticking to it is paramount. Once you establish your routine, try to adhere to it to the best of your ability. Set reminders on your phone or a calendar to keep you on track. For instance, if you plan to eat lunch every day at 12:30, an alert on your phone will help you remember when to take a break. After you’ve established a pattern, it becomes easier to follow.
Going with the flow and deviating from your habits every so often is normal. Plans change and new issues arise, and you might have to disrupt your schedule to meet these challenges. Don’t let your routine become a new source of stress in your life. Instead, view it as a comfort.
Make CEFALY Part of Your Routine
For those with migraines, it’s impossible to undervalue the importance of a daily routine. Following a set pattern can help you manage stress and cut down on headache frequency. If you’re seeking additional relief for your migraine pain, consider using CEFALY. Our clinically proven migraine treatment device can reduce or prevent migraine attacks. You can plan for regular CEFALY use in your daily routine.
For more information on the CEFALY Connected device, learn more today.
