When you are on board of an airplane, the flight attendant always instructs you to put your oxygen mask on yourself first, before assisting others. The meaning of this is simple: if you run out of oxygen, you won’t be able to help anyone.
The same principle works in our everyday life: if we run out of energy, we won’t be able to take good care of others as much as we want to. Very often, we place ourselves last, while raising children, trying to achieve career success, volunteering, or helping friends.
Today, we want to offer you six simple ways to start practicing self-care regularly, making it a habit that in the long run will improve your mental and physical health, productivity and performance, so that you can make a positive impact on the lives of others around you.
1. Practice Mindfulness
Try to do that every time you make a decision, from grocery shopping to navigating relationships. Being mindful means making healthier and non-compulsive choices: devour a banana instead of a hamburger, save some money instead of endless shopping, forgive that person instead of holding grudges, and etc. Try focusing on your emotions (Ex: anger, joy, sadness), intuition (what your gut advises you), and on how your body feels at that specific moment. Be non-judgmental, and the rational decision will follow. Implementing consciousness will help you be present in every moment of your life, while reducing your anxiety and stress by up to 38%.
2. Start Meditating
Even 5-10 minutes of meditation a day may help suppress gloomy thoughts and turn your focus on gratitude. It also improves concentration power and productivity. You can be 10 times more focused after meditation than prior to it. Those, who participated in the famous 8-week program "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction", increased their overall well-being together with learning skills, ability to regulate emotions, and perspective taking.
On top of that, practicing meditation may help you become less self-absorbed: the length of the ritual will give you a chance to look at your past or current actions from a distinctive point of view.
3. Read More
Somebody said once that reading a book is like making a new friend or finding a mentor. Set aside about 15-20 minutes a day while dedicating that time to enjoying publications. If it's a great book, you may even lose track of time and forget about your everyday worries since interesting plot distracts and alleviates stress. In addition, reading provides you with knowledge and this is your power: your vocabulary expands, you better understand different aspects of life and sharpen your logical abilities.
Reading keeps the brain active, so spending time with a book not only makes your more intelligent but also fights and prevents mental diseases. As well, as going to the gym keeps muscles strong, skimming through the books does the same to our brains. Reading a detective story and trying to find out who's the killer expands critical and analytical skills, which helps us in making tough life decisions.
4. Going to Bed not too Late
Having a set sleeping schedule is a key to everything in life. Going to bed early will most likely make you waking up ahead of time too, which means no rush in the morning and getting more things done. Some people need 7-8 hours of sleep and others 5-6. We are all different and finding your balance is important. I, personally, feel alive if I am asleep for 9 hours a day. Thus, activate your alarm to your preferences and enjoy your nap time. Some studies show that lack of sleep may cause RNT (repetitive negative thinking) and make you less emotionally responsive, yet getting enough of it coops with stress, reforms creative cognitive process and decision making. Also, sleeping well and enough assists with problem solving - your brain offers more choices in order to sort out the issue.
5. Schedule "Me Time"
Consider taking a bubble bath, go for a walk, enjoy your favorite hobbies - accomplish anything that makes YOU happy. This “Me Time” betters your relationship with yourself since you better understand your personality, and also with others as you become more well-rounded and interesting. A study, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, shows that working around other people ruins creativity flow. More privacy and a chance for your thoughts to wander help in boosting your imagination.
6. Enjoy a Matcha Tea Ceremony
Being at matcha rituals teaches how to relax, observe, and be present in the moment. As ceremonies are done in silence, it's a splendid opportunity to unwind and ease stress. Packed with antioxidants, matcha reduces worrying and anxiety, increases memory levels, improves concentration, and lifts up the mood. Besides that, L-theanine contained in matcha provides relaxation without feeling drowsy - its effects are similar to meditation. Some pharmaceutical researchers also claim that green tea fights the flu, which we all need during cold winters!