What can busy adults do to maintain or improve their mental health? The good news is that even those who have pressurized jobs or are juggling financial responsibilities can make headway with mental well-being. There are dozens of effective, practical ways to maximize the satisfaction you get from life. Joining a support group is a prime example that millions of adults have used to deal with addictions, personal losses, and major challenges.
8 Ways to Maximize Mental Health & Well-Being Pixabay
Other tactics for ramping up psychological well-being include extending a helping hand to someone who needs a cosigner on a college loan, keeping a daily journal of thoughts and feelings, getting a yearly physical exam for peace of mind, taking a stress test, meditating each morning, or evening, socializing with others, engaging in run recreational activities, and steering clear of addictive substances and behaviors. Consider these suggestions for boosting and maintaining mental well-being.
Join a Support Group
The national system of formal and informal support groups is extensive. Regardless of the kind of issue you face, there’s almost certainly a support group for it. If in doubt, contact a local social service agency and let them know what you need. They will be able to direct you to a local or online group that meets regularly. Some of the largest and best attended group sessions include those for alcoholism, gambling addictions, hard drugs, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), weight loss, anger management, and excessive spending.
Help Someone Get Funding for College
In many situations, the best remedy for an emotional lull or feeling of malaise is to do a good deed for another person. Serving as a cosigner on someone’s college loan application is a direct and impactful way to increase the applicant’s chances of getting money for school. If you choose to be an Earnest student loan cosigner for a friend, employee, child, or sibling, your help can change their lives forever. It can also give you a deep sense of satisfaction.
Keep a Journal
Journaling became a trend back in the 1970s, and it’s still going strong. The practice has all sorts of potential therapeutic effects. Some say that the mere act of writing down a few daily thoughts is an effective way of letting pent up emotions come to the surface. Others have discovered that regular journaling, which is close to making entries in a diary, helps them sort out their feelings and come to terms with negative events in the past. Diaries, in one form or another, have been around for centuries, so there’s probably a deep-seated reason that human beings find relief in putting their daily thoughts on paper.
Get an Annual Physical
Get in the habit of seeing a medical doctor at least once per year, no matter your age or state of health. Prevention is the goal, and modern medicine does a commendable job of identifying serious illnesses well in advance. If you don’t have a regular PCP (primary care physician), speak with a local social service agency to obtain a list of doctors who are accepting new patients.
Meditate Regularly
Meditation can serve as a stress release valve for the human brain. Some explore daily meditation after going through an intense emotional ordeal. Others find that the practice calms their nerves as they face and deal with serious physical illnesses. But you don’t have to be in dire straits to get benefits from meditating. Many spend between 15 and 60 minutes each morning or evening in meditative silence. Others chant, pray, contemplate, or focus on visual images while they put their minds at ease and let the worries of everyday life wash away. Meditation can be religious or secular. The primary advantage of regular sessions is that they can help minimize stress and bring a sense of calm to any person’s life.
Socialize
Maintaining contact with other human beings is good for the soul, mind, emotions, and body. Humans are social creatures by nature, which is why most adults voluntarily get together with friends, coworkers, and neighbors on a regular basis. Living a healthful life means having friends with whom you can talk and enjoy leisure time. Isolation tends to breed negative attitudes, less physical activity, and a sedentary existence. Make a point to join at least one club purely for the purpose of socializing with other members. In today’s online culture, in-person contact is more important than ever. Explore clubs and organizations that get together regularly for movie watching, dining out, bowling, playing games, going dancing, or discussing books.
Get Physical Recreation
The human body and brain are connected in more ways than most people suspect. Getting enough physical activity in daily life can go a long way toward creating a foundation of mental well-being and long-term happiness. Choices include sports teams, daily walks, occasional hikes, and swimming. Always clear exercise programs and other new activities with your doctor. Engage in commonsense recreation that is safe, inexpensive, and fun. In fact, enjoyment is a key ingredient that can help people stay consistent with whatever they do. Consider building a morning or evening walk into the daily schedule. Explore joining a neighborhood or work-based sports league or hiking on scenic trails each weekend.
Avoid Addictive Substances & Behaviors
There’s no faster way to put your mental health in jeopardy than to get caught up in the web of addiction. Note that many of these problems refer to substances like alcohol, hard drugs, and cigarettes. Numerous behavioral traps are just as dangerous. They include excessive gambling, spending, and risk taking. The simplest tactic for dealing with the potential downside of all such activities is prevention. If you have never smoked or used drugs, don’t begin just to go along with the crowd. There’s nothing to be gained by adding tobacco or liquor to your life if you currently don’t indulge. The same is true for hard or soft drugs, whether they’re legal or not. Unfortunately, it’s extremely easy to become addicted to harmful behaviors and substances, but quite difficult to break out of a lifestyle of addiction.
Long days of work, lack of sleep, and stress at the office can be the most common factors that make you feel tired. However, feeling “tired all the time” (TATT) without known reasons can be an indication of an underlying health issue that needs immediate attention.
Finding the exact cause of the lingering tiredness can be the first step toward solving the symptom.
Health conditions that cause fatigue:
1. Anemia – Anemia is one of the most common causes of fatigue. A person who has anemia does not have enough red blood cells in the body, causing symptoms such as tiredness, dizziness, feeling cold and crankiness.
Most often, anemia is caused by iron deficiency. Hence, the condition can be best resolved by including iron-rich foods in the diet and use of iron supplements.
2. Sleep Apnea – It causes the body to stop breathing momentarily during sleep. The condition can affect the quality of sleep and hence make you feel fatigued.
For milder cases of sleep apnea, lifestyle changes such as losing weight or quitting smoking can help solve the sleep disorder. In more severe cases where there is an obstruction in breathing, surgeries and therapies can help.
3. Diabetes – A person who has diabetes has changes in blood sugar level, which can cause fatigue. A patient who is already on diabetic medication can also experience tiredness as a side effect of the medication.
Early identification and taking the correct treatment is the key to managing diabetes. Losing extra weight and having a healthy diet also help in the treatment.
4. Thyroid – Thyroid diseases can be due to an overactive or an underactive thyroid gland. In people who have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), the metabolism slows down leading to symptoms such as lethargy and fatigue. In people with an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), the metabolism speeds up leading to fatigue and difficulty sleeping.
Right diet and lifestyle choices, along with medications, can help in thyroid management.
5. Infections – A person can show symptoms of fatigue when the body is fighting a viral or bacterial infection. Infections ranging from the flu to HIV can cause tiredness.
Along with fatigue, other symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, shortness of breath and appetite loss can also accompany the infection. Treating the symptoms and taking adequate rest helps in faster recovery.
6. Food allergies – Fatigue may be an early warning sign of hidden food allergies and autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease. Identifying the allergen using a food allergy test or through an elimination diet can help in allergy treatment.
7. Heart disease – If you feel exhausted from an activity that used to be easy, then it is good to check your heart health, as fatigue can be an indication of underlying heart disease.
8. Depression/ anxiety – Fatigue can also be an indicator of a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety. A combination of medication and psychotherapy can help relieve symptoms.
Lifestyle causes
Apart from serious health conditions, certain lifestyle habits such as dehydration, poor diet, stress and insufficient sleep can cause exhaustion. Having a well-balanced diet, regular exercise and routine sleep can help solve fatigue caused by lifestyle habits.
Picture this: you’re burning the midnight oil, studying or binge-watching your favorite shows, all at the expense of a good night’s sleep. Have you ever stopped to think about the toll it takes on your body and mind? The consequences can be more serious than you might realize.
Not getting enough sleep can translate into a multitude of issues, including weight gain, lack of focus, tiredness, a haze of confusion, and even depression. If you too are encountering similar issues lately then chances are you have a sleep debt.
Wondering what is sleep debt?
People from 13-18 years of age need 8 hours of sleep, whilst adults beyond that age will require at least 7 hours of snooze.
Sleep debt is a collection of the total hours you haven’t slept or traded your sleep for something else. Sleep debt keeps piling up as a person falls short of the total hours of sleep recommended for an adult, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And when you keep letting go of your sleep for other activities, the body adapts to the new normal and effects start to reflect on the energy levels, which deplete.
“However, like every other debt out there, this too has a repayment option,” Dr. Kunal Kumar, medical director of the Sleep Center at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, told Livestrong.
Below are some expert-vetted ways you can pay back the sleep debt. (Courtesy: Livestrong and Sleepfoundation)
Just like financial debt, imagine sleep debt as a debt you owe to your body. It needs to be repaid. The good news is that catching up on sleep is indeed possible.
Maintain a set sleep schedule: Overhauling the sleep schedule is a pretty difficult task to achieve, and it’s best to do that gradually. Create a set sleep schedule by making some small changes to your routine. Instead of making abrupt shifts in your bedtime or wake-up time, adjust them gradually by 15 to 30-minute increments.
Minimize your gadget usage: Wind down activities and minimize electronic usage before bed to promote better sleep. Relax and prepare for quality sleep by dimming the lights and setting an alarm for 30 minutes to an hour before bed.
Reshuffle your sleeping arrangements: Are you finding it hard to get a good night’s sleep due to excessive sweating? Well, here’s a handy solution: consider upgrading to a cooling mattress or opting for cooling sheets. These innovative sleep essentials can help regulate your body temperature, and keep you comfortably cool throughout the night, ensuring a more blissful slumber. Memory foam pillows can work wonders in relieving neck and back discomfort in case you are struggling with backache.
Improve the bedroom environment: Create a sleep-friendly bedroom environment by adjusting the temperature for comfort, and blocking out disruptive lights, or noises that might disturb your restful slumber. And if your mattress, pillow, or sheets are worn out or no longer providing the support you need, consider treating yourself to new ones.
Omega-3 fatty acids are known for a range of health benefits, from promoting brain and heart health to reducing inflammation and protection against several chronic conditions.
In a new study, researchers found that omega-3 acids, especially the type found in foods like flaxseeds, walnuts, chia seeds, canola oil and soybean oil, can slow down the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
It is a debilitating nervous system disease that gradually worsens over time and can be fatal. The condition results in a loss of muscle control and affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the baseball player who was diagnosed with it.
The initial symptoms of the disease include muscle weakness, difficulty in walking and hand movements. The symptoms can slowly progress to difficulties with chewing, swallowing, speaking and breathing.
The exact cause of ALS is not known. However, around 10% of people get it from a risk gene passed down from a family member. It is estimated that more than 32,000 people in the U.S. live with the condition.
In the latest study, researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Massachusetts evaluated 449 people living with ALS in a clinical trial. The team assessed the severity of their symptoms, the progression of their disease, along with the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood, for 18 months.
The study suggested that alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a type of omega-3 found in plants, is particularly beneficial in slowing the progression of ALS. The participants with the highest levels of ALA had a 50% reduced risk of death during the study period compared to those with the lowest levels of ALA.
Researchers also found a reduction in death risk in participants who had eicosapentaenoic acid, the type of omega-3 fatty acid found in fatty fish and fish oil, and linoleic acid found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.
A previous study conducted by the same team suggested that a diet high in ALA and higher blood levels of the nutrient could reduce the risk of developing the condition.
“In this study, we found that among people living with ALS, higher blood levels of ALA were also associated with a slower disease progression and a lower risk of death within the study period. These findings, along with our previous research suggest that this fatty acid may have neuroprotective effects that could benefit people with ALS,” said Kjetil Bjornevik, the lead author of the study.
