6 Important Tips for Self-Care

In a fast-moving society we live in, we tend to be occupied with different responsibilities in our lives that we somehow forget to take proper care of ourselves. When it comes to self-care, both our physical and mental health should be taken care of. If we do not put aside time to prioritise our wellbeing, we could end up overworked and burnt out. In this article, I will be sharing some of the things we can do to ensure that we are taking good care of our health.

1. Getting Quality Sleep

According to Orzeł-Gryglewska (2010), sleep deprivation can lead to a deterioration of our overall wellbeing and performance to complete daily tasks. Additionally, many studies have shown that being sleep deprived impacts our emotions as well. Ensuring that we get quality sleep is one of the most important aspects of self-care as it allows our bodies to recover from daily activities and recharge for the following day. It is also often recommended to sleep at least 7 hours and to also sleep earlier.

2. Eating Healthily & Staying Hydrated

Another significant aspect of self-care is ensuring that you are eating healthily. The types of food we consume can have various effects on our health. Healthy eating can help reduce the risk of falling sick and allows us to feel healthier. Although our guilty pleasures may often be viewed as unhealthy, it is important that we indulge once in a while so that we are also able to enjoy our favourite foods. Having a balanced diet is essential to self-care. It is also recommended that we drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. Staying hydrated helps our body in many different ways. As our bodies are 57% to 60% water, being hydrated helps to regulate body temperature, maintain blood pressure and provide oxygen (McIntosh and Cross 2019). Thus, we should always try to stay hydrated.

3. Exercise

Going for a short run or just a simple walk in the park is helpful to our wellbeing. Exercise can help us to de-stress because endorphins are being released when we work out. Furthermore, we are also able to get fresh air and appreciate our surrounding scenery which can also boost our mood. Alongside eating healthily, exercise also provides us with health benefits that improves our vitality.

4. Taking Breaks

The responsibilities we take on in our lives often lead us to burn out. Therefore, taking much needed breaks is very important for self-care. Ranging from going on a vacation to just having an entire day to yourself, taking breaks can help us to recover from being burnt out. Small breaks in between tasks can also do wonders for daily routines.

5. Learning New Skills

Putting aside spare time for ourselves is one of the key elements to self-care. Being able to learn new skills can help to bring a different pace to our current daily routines. It also gives us a sense of achievement during the learning process and we can be proud of ourselves for having picked up something new. Learning new things is a part of self-improvement as well and it allows us to explore the things we have wanted to do, but have not had the time to do so.

6. Doing What We Love to Do

This is a major factor to self-care. Whether it is watching movies, videos, playing games, playing an instrument or what not, it brings great joy to be able to do the things we love to do. It helps us to relax our minds and sort of provides a form of escapism from reality for a short period of time. Freely doing what we love without any worries is definitely a self-care blessing.

Although the points highlighted in this article are more generic self-care tips, it can be a good starting guide to follow if you are newer to the self-care routine. Different people may have their different methods of self-care. Do note that there is no shame in setting aside time for yourself to recharge. Having a healthy body and a healthy mind can help us carry out our responsibilities better and more effectively. Start thinking about self-care today.

References

McIntosh, James, and Karen Cross. 2019. “15 Benefits Of Drinking Water And Other Water Facts”. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/290814.php.

Orzeł-Gryglewska, Jolanta. 2010. “Consequences Of Sleep Deprivation”. International Journal Of Occupational Medicine And Environmental Health 23 (1).