6 ways that actually work! Improve your Mental Health

What is Mental Health? How should we treat it?

Mental health includes mental, emotional, and social well-being. It affects how we feel, and interact with other people. The state of mental health goes beyond the mere absence of mental illness. It is vital to your general health and overall quality of life. Not only physical health but mental health is becoming less taboo to talk about openly and accept mental illness.

So when it comes to being mentally healthy, don't be unenthusiastic; it is essential to take care of your mental health to get the most out of life. Let us see some ways that are highly effective to take care of your mental health. Making small changes to the way your lifestyle doesn't cost a lot of money or take a lot of time. Some general tips can add value to your life. So why not start today itself?

6 ways that actually work to improve mental health

1. Stay active and exercise: 

A regular workout can boost your confidence and helps you in staying focused, sleep, and feel better. Staying active and including exercise as part of your daily tasks is vital to keep your brain and your other organs active and add essential benefits to improving your mental well-being. Regular exercise can release "endorphins," which help us feel happy and look better, increase attentiveness, and improve our sleep.

2. Respect yourself:

Find some time for yourself, to do things that you enjoy and expand your outlooks. For example, you can enroll in a dance class (if you like), and learn music or a different language.

It is really important to maintain your physical health because it will directly affect your mind. When it is about your mental health, a healthy diet and drinking plenty of fluids can increase your energy levels. Unhealthy foods, smoking, alcohol, and some medicine can also cause you to feel low.

3. Stay around good people: 

People who have big families or a lot of social connections tend to be better than those had the support of a network. Do activities with family and friends where you will make new friends, for example, in clubs, or with groupmates. It’s better to meet people in person rather than interact on phone calls. However, it's not always feasible. You could also contact them or drop them a message and plan meet-ups accordingly. Always stay open for communication!

4. Sleep Enough

Enough sleep can be a significant factor in mental well-being: If you take enough rest, you’re capable of handling anxiety, can deal with issues, and can stay focused on positive thoughts. To know the total amount of rest you require, then listen to your body. Your body can tell if you're getting enough rest if you are not feeling tired throughout the day. It's easy to say that we could achieve more by cutting down on sleep, but it could actually be more challenging to complete tasks.

5. Take a break and relax for some time: 

Try to include the practice of meditation in your break times. Set up regular time slots to do meditation, not only does this do other things you love. What are you passionate about? It's a great way to combat anxiety. If you're doing something that makes you happy, it most likely means your stress is released.

6. Prioritize your goals and set priorities:

• Decide what should be done right now and what can be postponed.

• Be able to say "no" to new tasks whenever you feel that you're doing too many things.

• Keep a track of what you've achieved at the end of the day, and do not worry about what you've failed to do

• Giving time to others in your professional or personal life will make you feel more confident about yourself.

A Conclusion:

You read the above 6 ways that can help you take care of your mental health. If you include these habits, mental issues will no longer be part of your life; they should be treated simply and not make it so difficult. You can read this famous book A GUIDE TO MENTAL HEALTH & PSYCHIATRIC NURSING written by R Sreevani. Still, if you feel like you cannot cope ups with the mental stress, you must reach out to a professional counselor. 

Avoid these foods on an empty stomach

Eating healthy food has become a trend these days. No doubt it is really a good thing to follow a healthy diet. We all know what is best for our health and what is not. There is a lot of information available on the internet. But, in the pursuit of eating healthy and staying healthy, we eat anything anytime. In the process of being healthy, we need to be aware of what to eat at what time. In this article, you’re going to know about those foods that should be avoided on an empty stomach.

Foods that should avoid on an empty stomach:

Sweets

We generally go after desserts and chocolates when we are starving. We quite often expect that desserts contain the important sugars which wouldn't simply be satisfying yet will really help with supporting the energy levels as well. But desserts are thought of as one of those foods that shouldn’t take on an empty stomach.

Fermented milk products

Most of us include yogurt and other milk items in our breakfast with oats or even in the smoothies we drink. Which no doubt keeps you full but truly isn't great for the body. We have fermented milk products because of their valuable probiotic properties and lactic acid in them. But yes, we should avoid them because the hydrochloric acid overwhelms the lactic acid from these milk items. This is the reason why we should avoid milk products on an empty stomach.

Tomatoes

There are many health benefits of Tomatoes. They are good for the skin and for overall health. But tomatoes have tannic acid, if we eat them on an empty stomach, it can cause acidity. That is why experts say tomatoes should not be eaten on an empty stomach.

Bananas

Bananas are another food that should avoid. It has potassium and magnesium. But if we’ll eat them on an empty stomach, potassium & magnesium levels in the blood will spike. And this can cause heart-related issues.

Spicy food

Spicy foods can really be amazing for your taste buds. But at the same, it is not the right choice to eat on an empty stomach, especially when you are hungry and have not eaten for quite some time. Spicy food can damage the gastric mucosa in your stomach. This can cause many negative impacts on the stomach.

Coffee

Drinking coffee on an empty stomach can trigger the secretion of hydrochloric acid in your stomach. Not only this, it can badly affect you, you can feel a burning sensation in your heart. Coffee can be the best option to cut down our sleep and tiredness, but please do not prefer it on an empty stomach.

Puff and Pastries

Puffs and pastries contain yeast that can irritate the inner lining of the stomach if you eat them on an empty stomach. Not only that the process of proliferation of yeast can cause indigestion.

Kindly avoid these foods on an empty stomach. You can replace these items with some good options like a morning detox drink, Fruit Juices, and healthy and light breakfast options like Idly, and Dosa.

6 Healthy Habits to follow Every day

We all want to stay healthy and live longer. But our current lifestyle is making us unhealthy. To improve your health and turn it into a healthy lifestyle, challenge yourself to follow these 6 Healthy habits to follow every day. 

1. Drink Water on an empty stomach

If you want to live a healthy life, start drinking water first thing in the morning. It will help in cleaning your bowels. After long hours of sleep, water hydrates your body and helps the body parts to work more efficiently. This practice will also help you lose weight. Try to drink 2.5 liters of water per day. You can also get enough water by having fruits and vegetables.

2. Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise can improve your muscle strength and boost your stamina. Exercise carries oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and helps your cardiac system work more competently. And when your heart and lung will be healthy, you have more energy to challenge daily tasks. 

3. Do not skip Breakfast

Doing breakfast is important for many reasons. It kickstarts your metabolism and helps you from overeating. If you don’t want to have a heavy breakfast, just keep it light and protein-rich. Eat anything which you like eggs, fruits, etc. But do not skip breakfast anyway. 

Look out for Breakfast Ideas

4. Eat healthy throughout the day

Eating healthy means trying to include green veggies and fruits in your diet. Say a big “No” to oily snacks and sugary drinks. You can have chicken or fish with lots of greens. This is not just enough, to maintain a healthy diet, you need to keep control of your portions. This practice will help you a lot in maintaining a healthy weight.

5. Avoid Stress

Stress could be a major concern for mental health. It’s important to take care of physical as well as mental health. Avoid stress to lead a healthy life. If this concern is not taken care of, you might face many health issues. Do not think too much, keep your mind relax. The best practice to avoid stress is Meditation. Meditate twice for 20 mins a day. 

6. Sleep

One more thing that should be taken care of is Adequate Sleep. Sleep for 7 to 8 hours, and try to go early to bed. So that you can able to cover 8 hours. This will help you a lot to stay the energetic whole day.

Hope these 6 Healthy habits to follow every day will help you.