Get a Spring in Your Step
Back to the Basics: Why it’s Important to Take Care of Yourself & Wellness Tips
With everything that is happening in the world right now, it can be hard to put yourself and your needs first. Whether it’s family stressors, mental and/or physical stressors, or because of COVID-19, it can be easy to take care of yourself in the way that your body needs to be taken care of. Below are some self-care tips that you can use to take time for yourself.
Drinking Water
Drinking water helps keep one’s body temperature in a state of equal homeostasis, which allows the joints and organs to function properly. Drinking water also lubricates and cushions the joints and plays a vital role in protecting the spine from misaligning.Eating Fruits & Veggies
Getting the correct proportion of greens on our plates can be very challenging at times - especially when one’s in a time crunch. Fruits and vegetables provide an added benefit to one’s diet by helping a person maintain a healthy weight, controlling one’s blood sugar levels, and reducing the amount of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or bad cholesterol, that our body produces.
Prioritize Your Mental Health
Prioritizing one’s mental health is incredibly important. It’s important to pinpoint what areas in one’s life are causing mental or physical stress and make lifestyle changes in order to combat or at least diminish the stressors. Every once in a while, we all need mental health days, and there is absolutely no shame in that.
Exercise
With spring right around the corner, now is the perfect time to go out for walks or runs in the park. Most people tend to think that they have to workout for 45 minutes to an hour in order for it to count as a workout, but that is not the case at all. One can get a workout in by simply walking up and down a flight a stairs; by doing squats in their living room while they have their favorite TV show on; or even simply walking for 15 minutes. Working out doesn’t have to feel like a daunting task.
Sleep
Getting a sufficient amount of sleep is very important in order to properly function throughout the day. Getting a lack of sleep that your body needs to flourish can lead to many negative health issues such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even a stroke. Nowadays, it can be very difficult to fall asleep right away because it’s a tendency to go on your phone before bed. This causes us to stay awake for longer, which then change’s one’s natural circadian rhythms (your body’s natural waking up time). Implementing lifestyle changes such as reducing screen time before bed can help
Do Something You Enjoy
Enjoy your day doing an activity that you love. Whether it’s spending time with family or friends, or simply enjoying time by yourself, it’s important to set time aside for yourself to do something that you enjoy doing.
Every Once In a While, Indulge in Your Favorite Sweets
Although it’s important to stay healthy, it’s also okay to eat sweets every once in a while - as long as it’s in moderation.
Back-to-basics wellness tips that actually improve your health Inexpensive health and wellness options. (n.d.). In Wellmark . Retrieved from https://www.wellmark.com/blue/healthy-living/wellness-tips-that-actually-improve-your-health