“The mind is everything; what you think you become.” – Buddha
“The power of the mind is very great. It can create heaven or hell for us.” – Swami Sivananda
Throughout the ages, so many things have been said about the human mind because we have realized how powerful it is. This separates us from the other species around us on this planet. The development of cognitive abilities over thousands of years has made us into the species we are today.
All the innovations that have been made are because of the human mind.
We have been to the moon and back, we’ve developed technologies that have enabled us to fly to anywhere on the planet in just a matter of a few hours, and we’ve developed technology that makes it possible to talk to anyone face to face in real-time, no matter where they are, even in space.
These are some of the things among a thousand others.
Things we didn’t even imagine in our dreams a few years ago are now possible thanks to our minds. So without a doubt, our mind is the most sophisticated computer in the known universe and we might not be able to fully understand it in this lifetime. Imagine the kind of gift each one of us is blessed with.
But for some of us, the mind is not working the way we expect it to. Instead, it’s working against us. Not because we’re weak, but because we have strong and intense thoughts and emotions flowing in the wrong direction.
Our lifestyle has changed drastically over the past couple of decades. With the rise of the internet and the digital revolution, the nature of our work has shifted, and now most of us are employed in desk jobs.
We have limited our physical activities and spend most of our time on the internet glued to computer screens and mobile devices. Unfortunately, this lifestyle is taking a heavy toll on our bodies and we’re suffering our own creation.
Although there are many other biological and psychological reasons, our lifestyle is one of the major contributing factors to our mental problems.
So how can you ensure your mental well-being in the face of such a demanding lifestyle? Let’s look at 6 simple yet effective daily habits that can improve mental health.
Table of Contents
1. Stay Connected With the Planet
The first thing you need to understand and strongly realize is that we are an extension of this planet. Our physical body comprises the five basic elements, also known as “panch mahabhutas” in Hinduism. These elements are:
- Water, which constitutes around 70% of our body and represents all the fluid in our body.
- Earth, which represents the solid aspect of the body like the bones, organs, connective tissues, etc.
- Air, which is associated with the respiration process and the circulation process in the body.
- Fire, which is associated with the warmth and energy in our bodies. And,
- Ether or Akash(Hindi) or Space, which basically associates with the empty space in the body.
So, it is essential for us and our lives will be more fulfilling if we maintain a connection with this planet. We’re not designed to sit in a closed space and spend our day indoors. We derive energy from nature and everything around us.
Sun is the source of energy for almost all life on this planet so it’s essential that we rise with the sun and spend some time under the morning sun.
Take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the grass and Earth, let yourself connect with this planet. Maybe in your garden or in a park nearby.
The mornings are buzzing with life. You’ll see animals and birds, who’ve had an early start to the day, securing their storage of nuts and seeds.
For some life forms, their entire natural lifespan is literally in this single day. Imagine how much they’ll experience during that time and how tiny their footprint is, but just as significant and worthy as each one of us’s.
The mornings are overwhelming in the best of ways and starting it by being in nature and by being in contact with the Earth is the best way to begin your day.
In case you live in an apartment without a private garden or public park nearby, create a little garden on your balcony or terrace by planting in pots.
How you want to do it is completely up to you but find a way to be in nature, preferably in the early morning as it sets the tone for the entire day.
2. Meditation
Meditation originated in ancient India, where Hindu and Buddhist monks practiced it to achieve spiritual enlightenment.
It has now become popular in the western world in recent years because of its ability to help people manage stress, improve mental health, and improve their overall well-being.
People of all ages, religions, and cultures practice meditation today, and it has been widely recognized as a powerful tool for improving physical and mental health.
There are several benefits of meditation and it’s not necessary that only people suffering from some form of mental illness have to do it.
We should all incorporate this in our daily lives as it will help us increase focus and concentration in everything we do, plus it will maintain a certain level of calm in our bodies.
When we’re feeling low, we get lost in the negative thoughts and feelings that are dwelling in our inner selves. And that is all we can think about all the time. Meditation helps cut out negative thoughts and provides a better sense of clarity.
Stress is one of the major contributing factors to most mental health-related problems and meditation has proven to help ease stress by improving the overall mood and relaxing the body.
Since meditation is about focusing your thought on a specific object or thought, it helps us realize the importance of little things in life and how blessed we are to have this life as human beings.
It helps us cultivate a sense of gratitude in ourselves, and appreciation for the things that we have in our lives.
There are tutorial videos available on YouTube which could be a good starting point to learn how to practice meditation, but the overall idea is to focus the mind on a specific object and maintain that focus which will eventually help you achieve a sense of calm and clarity.
Start out by practicing 10-15 minutes a day and then, as you gain confidence, increase the duration once you learn how to practice it properly.
3. Use Your Body
When we were an evolving species, our ancestors were hunters and gatherers who used to roam around the planet in search of food and shelter and used their bodies throughout the day.
If we look back just 50 or 100 years ago, the average human used his or her physical body roughly 20 times more than it does today as most people were employed in physical work.
And that is one of the reasons they used to fall a lot less sick than we do today.
The number of deaths could be more and the life span might be shorter in some cases but that was due to the lack of adequate health facilities, but in general, people were healthier compared to today.
One of the main reasons is that the use of the physical body was much more in those times. Nowadays we’re restricted to our homes as most of our time goes on the internet.
The on-field work we used to do has now been replaced by desk jobs. The sports we used to play are now replaced by online games.
Imagine you have a car, and you don’t drive it regularly. You polish and clean it regularly but don’t take it out for a drive. The engine and other components are bound to be rusted.
The same is the case with our body, if we don’t use it physically then something or the other is bound to fall out of place.
We have hormones in our body that are like software, and when we stop doing physical activities then that impacts the proper secretion of hormones, and eventually, one body part or the other will stop working properly.
Endorphin is a hormone that promotes a good mood and when we exercise, the production of this hormone in our body increases which eventually results in reducing stress levels and improving our mood.
Additionally, if we’re playing a sport that involves being in a team or if it’s a group activity then it increases its production even further.
Since any form of exercise involves burning a lot of calories, it helps us sleep better at night as we get tired. It helps with both sleep quality and sleep duration. Plus, it regulates our body weight when done for a longer period of time regularly.
And who knows you might make some social connections that may last a lifetime and change your life.
So, make this a regular habit to do any form of physical activity. You can start with going for a walk and then gradually progress to other things that you like for instance, a yoga class, working out in the gym, or a group fitness class.
Evaluate yourself after a couple of weeks or so and you might surprise yourself with how effective this can be.
4. Engage Yourself in the Activities of Your Liking
All of us have a creative side, it doesn’t have to be artistic but there are certain things that we enjoy doing. For some of us, it could be singing, dancing, sketching, kitchen gardening, knitting, cooking, blogging, coloring, DIYing stuff, or building something.
It could be anything but there is something for each one of us that we enjoy doing. You need to figure out what it is for you and engage yourself in that activity on a regular basis.
There are numerous benefits of engaging in such activities that we don’t realize and they significantly contribute to improving our mental health.
When you start doing something that you like, it immediately boosts your mood and reduces that feeling of sadness.
And when you’re done with it, no matter how big or small it is, you get that sense of accomplishment that you’ve achieved something. It will release good hormones in your body that will improve your mood.
When you do this on a regular basis, you’ll have a collection of things that you’ve done in the past and it will lift your mood every time you see that or show it to someone else. It’s like a medicine that you can take again and again without having any negative impact on your body.
And it will push you to do it every day, it will give you that sense of purpose to get out of bed and work on something that you really like.
And after a while, you’ll see that doing this activity regularly over a continued period of time will have done wonders for you which even the strongest medicines have failed to do.
5. Listen to Good Music
There’s a whole different science of music that we’re yet to fully understand but at some level, we all understand that music has a very vital role to play in maintaining a good mood, relaxing our body, and avoiding stress. We tend to forget all the stressful things in life when we groove to the music of our choice.
Let’s look at an interesting fact, think about every dream you’ve ever had, can you recall hearing music in any of your dreams? Chances are, the answer is no in most cases unless you’re a musician who listens to music for most of the day.
Surprisingly, research reveals that only approximately 5-6% of all remembered dreams include music. This is because music activates your entire brain which is very hard when you’re asleep. So listening to music is like giving your brain a full workout.
Music is also used as a treatment for brain damage as new research shows that music can actually repair brain damage.
And it is believed that music can be used for neurogenesis, which is the generation of new brain cells. So it is quite evident that music significantly impacts your brain and mental health.
We all listen to music while working out in the gym or while going for a run.
This is because music is good at helping with pain by activating sensory pathways to compete with pain pathways so we tend to feel less exhausted and are likely to enjoy that activity and continue doing it for a longer duration.
Music has an overall calming and relaxing effect on the body and helps in reducing cortisol, which is a stress hormone. But it can also depend on the tempo and the type of music you’re listening to, melodious music has a calming effect whereas fast-paced music might increase anxiety levels.
So it’s important to be mindful of the type of music you want to listen to.
But including music in your daily routine can be a very simple and effective way to improve your mental health.
The good thing about music is that you don’t need to carve out time for it, you can listen to it while you do household chores, commute to work, or exercise.
And who knows, after a while, you may even want to consider taking up an instrument or singing.
6. A Well Balanced Diet
Our brain constitutes around 2% of the total body mass whereas the amount of energy it consumes is around 20% of the total body needs. It is a highly metabolic organ and uses a lot of energy because it’s always active even when we’re asleep.
Just as high quality and expensive fuel lead to the better performance of a car, similarly, the kind of fuel you’re consuming governs the functioning of the brain and other parts of the body.
Foods that have the right mix of nutrients form the building blocks of the hormones and the cellular structure of the brain. Certain types of foods become the basis of the hormones in the brain, such as foods that are high in omega-3, vitamin B, iron, zinc, magnesium, etc.
Serotonin, a brain chemical also known as the happy chemical responsible for regulating our mood, good sleep, digestion, etc is produced in the gastrointestinal tract.
The fruits and vegetables we eat are rich in antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties and are responsible for maintaining good mental health.
Whereas, if you consume junk food that is processed, fried, or full of sugar then it can make you feel fatigued and irritated.
So it’s important that you consume foods that include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Because it’s not just about what you eat, but also about what you don’t eat.
Wrapping up!
The world has changed so fast in past few decades and so has our lifestyle. And we tend to ignore our overall health in this fast-paced digital world which is leading to a rise in many mental and physical health issues.
It has become very common for people to struggle with problems like stress, anxiety, and depression and it will greatly impact the quality if we don’t take timely steps.
We’ll have to be very mindful of our lifestyle because nothing in life will make sense if we don’t have good health.
And it is not something that can be achieved overnight, it requires constant effort and changes in the daily lifestyle.
So take the first step towards better health by incorporating these things into your daily life, analyze yourself after a few weeks and you’ll be surprised to see the positive impact on not just your mental health, but your overall health. Namaste!
Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for any kind of professional advice, and you should not rely solely on this information. Always consult a professional in the area for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any decision.
Leave a Reply