In the hustle of modern life, self-care often takes a backseat. We prioritize work, social commitments, and numerous responsibilities, neglecting the very foundation of our well-being—ourselves. However, nurturing ourselves is paramount for leading a fulfilling and balanced life. Here, we explore 4 impactful ways to elevate your self-care routine, fostering holistic health and happiness.
1. Prioritize Sleep
Quality sleep is the cornerstone of self-care. A good amount of sleep helps you focus throughout the day, as your body accomplishes numerous tasks while you’re sleeping. For example, wound healing, digestion, and brain cleaning through a liquid called liquor cerebrospinalis. This liquid removes dirt and foreign bodies from your brain while you’re sleeping, but if you don’t get enough sleep, this process is hindered.
That’s why you should aim for 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted rest each night to recharge your body and mind. Many think, “I would, but I do not have time!”
First of all, do you really not have time? Or do you binge-watch a series instead of sleeping? Not giving your body enough sleep is just another way of neglecting yourself. You know sleep deprivation is an old torturing method? Do you think you deserve to be tortured? That might sound drastic, but so are the consequences your body will experience after years of lacking sleep. Try prioritizing your sleep over other activities, bit by bit. You will learn to value good sleep once you experience its beneficial effects.
If you actually don’t have time or struggle to go to bed earlier, try to establish a constant sleep schedule. Create a calming bedtime routine and optimize your sleep environment for ultimate relaxation. In other words, try to make the sleep you get the best it can possibly be. If you find ways to increase your sleeping time, do it.
Of course, these strategies aren’t reserved for those who don’t have time. Optimizing your environment and bedtime routine are overall helpful strategies for better rest, which everyone can and should incorporate. They can also help you to be more excited to go to sleep, even if that might sound strange at first.
Overall, sleep is something you should spare time for. It affects your overall efficiency and quality of life, enhances mood, cognitive function, and overall vitality, making it a non-negotiable aspect of self-care. Otherwise, you could navigate into a negative cycle: not sleeping enough, therefore working less efficiently and then sleeping even less because you have to work longer as you are not able to accomplish your tasks in the scheduled time due to decreased concentration. Is it actually a good night of sleep you need to find some time for, or should you find some time for everything else?
2. Nourish Your Body
Food is probably the overall hardest theme, as everybody is different. But you can probably say that you should fuel your body with nutritious foods that nourish both your physical and mental well-being.
Prioritize unprocessed foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants – micronutrients that are substantial for your body to function in a healthy way. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day and limit consumption of sugary drinks, caffeine, and alcohol.
Hopefully, you already read our other post, „Starting to Crawl,“ and practiced being mindful by reading very thoroughly. We use the words prioritize as well as limit. Food is no „black and white“ or „all or nothing“ topic, nor is that what your body needs. In fact, our body does not need the same thing every day. What our body needs is strongly dependent on its current state. This state is influenced by many factors which are out of our control. What we can control is what we fuel our body with. And the way to know what our body currently needs is to listen.
Cutting out your favorite food because it’s „unhealthy“ will not benefit your mental well-being. In fact, this will leave you craving that food even more. You’ve probably experienced desperately wanting what you can’t have; that’s just what happens to all of us, and it happens with food especially. This means you need to find balance.
Balance is a crucial and fundamental principle of life and it also indicates that there is nothing that is overall good or overall bad. Everything needs its counterpart to work the way it’s supposed to. Especially when it comes to food, there is no good or bad in the food itself, it’s the amount.
If you find yourself eating over the necessary amount of foods, this is your sign. Go on to self-reflection and find the reason you spend your time eating without being hungry. Most often, the reasoning behind is way deeper. In some cases, you might just be bored. Drink a glass of water or try to find some healthy snack ideas that you like. Maybe find some you dislike so you start disliking snacks and stop that completely (This was a joke). Just remember, enjoy your treats but pay attention to portion sizes. Also, practice mindful eating. This way, you can savor each bite and cultivate a healthy relationship with food.
3. Move Your Body
Physical activity is essential for maintaining optimal health and vitality. Find joy in movement by engaging in activities you like, whether it’s dancing, hiking, martial arts, or practicing yoga. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week to boost your mood.
This can also help to reduce stress as you can fully dive into your sport and escape your day-to-day for the time being. Of course, moving your body will improve overall fitness and can also be helpful in enhancing your overall sleep. It will help you to get to bed earlier if you‘re having problems falling asleep.
Movement does not necessarily mean intense sport. When you’re starting to move your body, you can start with whatever you want. At the end of the day, it doesn’t even have to be a sport. It could be walking, grocery shopping, going for a walk in the park, or if you have pets, taking a slightly bigger round when taking them out can already help. And starting with small changes will let you gently get used to improved moving.
For those claiming not to enjoy sports, you might even start to see the fun in moving. You’ll be more open towards other activities if movement is a set part of your routine. Keep in mind, you need to find your own path, but that does not mean avoiding everything you dislike! You still need to challenge yourself and try. Stop taking the easy route! In the end, we’re trying to improve and that always indicates some kind of change. The only thing you really need to do is to not give up before trying. Before trying to find the right sport or movement method for you. Also, this is not necessarily an expensive way of improving; you can start most sports on your own.
Remember, movement is not just about achieving a certain physique (even though it’s totally fine and reasonable if that’s your goal). Movement is about nurturing your body and enhancing your health and well-being.
4. Establish Boundaries
You might recognize that we progressively get to the harder tasks. Setting boundaries is a powerful yet very tough act of self-care that preserves your energy and protects your heart. Learn to say no to commitments that drain you or compromise your values. Instead, prioritize activities that align with your goals and beliefs. Communicate your boundaries assertively and respectfully.
Nonetheless, even if you need to communicate, never mistake this with allowing yourself to disrespect or harm someone else in any way. It’s extremely important to always stay on a respectful level when talking to others. This way, no one can shame you. If someone does, that’s your sign to drop them immediately. That is not someone you want in your life, that is rather someone that took their self-improvement in the wrong direction by throwing it in the trash, dumping engine oil on it, and lighting a fire out of it. Someone that respectfully communicates their boundaries should never, repeat with me, never be shamed for it. You are allowed to have boundaries; they are not just natural but essential. They represent one of the highest forms of self-care: self-respect. The people you should keep in your life are the ones that will understand and value your boundaries, as well as be thankful for you to communicate them.
Establishing boundaries will also be beneficial in the long term. Imagine you never communicated your boundaries to someone that is always crossing them. You will never be able to accept this forever, which will lead to the relationship breaking eventually. Remember, no one is capable of knowing you’re not OK with their behavior unless you tell them. Trust me, most people are thankful to know because they care for you and your well-being as well. So have faith in the ones you love and the ones that love you.
Start with forming clear objectives in terms of your boundaries. To actually defeat them, you need to know them.
As in communicating them, there is no in-between; you’re either saying something or you don’t. The actual problem often lies in trusting others to stay with you, to accept you, to still value you. Or, does it come from you not wanting to stay with you, to accept you, to value you? That’s where you should start working on. Recognize that you deserve to prioritize your own needs and desires. Believe that you deserve to prioritize your own needs and desires. This is the first step to actually cultivating healthy and honest relationships with others, and with yourself, that will bring you forward in life. Your energy, spiritual and physical, deserves to be protected.
In the end, incorporating these four practices into your self-care routine can profoundly enhance your well-being and quality of life. Remember that self-care is not selfish but essential for nurturing your physical, mental, and emotional health. By prioritizing self-care, you will empower yourself to live authentically and thrive in more aspects of life. Start putting yourself first. Think of a baby’s first tantrum—isn’t that a true act of self-care? Demand what you’re entitled to, like a baby during its first tantrum.