21 Small Habits That Can Improve Your Mental Health
At Mental, our mission is to embed mental health into everyday life. You know, the way it happens naturally. That means no preciousness or pandering. Only practical, proven advice that can make every day a little bit easier.
Which brings us to this list of 21 small habits that can make a big difference in your mental health. When you need a quick pick-me-up, refer to this list. Better mental health starts now.
Daily Habit #1: Get Excited to Get Calm
Ball of nerves? In one study, people who told themselves “I am excited” before anxiety-inducing activities were more relaxed and confident than those who said “I am calm.” Thinking of anxiety as excitement may be less stressful than purposely trying to destress.
Daily Habit #2: Think in Third Person
Feelings matter, but sometimes they don’t represent reality—in a way that can be not great mentally. How to be objective? Considering stressful events in the third, versus first, person, reduces anxiety, per a study.
Daily Habit #3: Take Notice in Short Bursts
Meditation not your jam? Try 10- to 30-second “mindfulness bursts” throughout the day. Stop what you’re doing and simply focus on a sight or sound around you. This purposeful concentration can help ease stress or halt hamster-wheel thoughts.
Daily Habit #4: Just To-Do It
Before bed, take five minutes to write down tomorrow’s to-dos, and be specific. People who did this fell asleep significantly faster, per a study, than those who journaled about stuff they’d already completed. Lack of sleep can lead to worse mental health, so get hay’ing. (Need an assist? Try a sleep patch.)
Daily Habit #5: Shower Your Way Sleepy
Switch your morning shower to evening. You might just fall asleep faster. A warm, 10-minute shower, an hour or two before bed, got people snoozing quicker, per a study review published in Sleep Medicine Reviews. Plus, better-quality ZZZs!
Daily Habit #6: Tub It Up
Better yet, make it a bath. A study published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicinefound that, compared to showering, bathing by tub for two weeks led to significantly less stress, fatigue, anger, and anxiety. Just 10 minutes a soak!
Daily Habit #7: Journal in a Sentence
Journaling is proven to calm nerves, helping you think clearer and lessening must-be-in-charge fears. You needn’t go all manifesto on your worries. Writer Akanksha Bhatia pens one-sentence notes to her anxiety that she posts on Instagram. “I use it as a way to vent at the end of the day.”
Daily Habit #8: Scare Away Anxiety
Watch a scary movie and feel calmer? Yep. Sounds counterintuitive, but studies suggest that horror movies can be cathartic, and that scaring yourself in a safe place—when the shark or ghost isn’t really going to get you—can serve as a coping mechanism.
RELATED: “Horror Movies Saved My Life”
Daily Habit #9: Embrace the Cold
Getting the chills isn’t usually a good thing. But when you’re experiencing anxiety that seems to be heading toward panic, cold can help regulate your system. Washing your hands with cold water, or running an ice cube over them, can lower your heart rate and calm you down.
Daily Habit #10: Borrow a Kid’s Stuffie
What am I doing with my life? What’s the point of my job? What’s the meaning of EVERYTHING? Got existential fears? (We do!) Grab a teddy bear. A series of studies in Psychological Science confirms a teddy cuddle can soothe this anxiety.
Daily Habit #11: Bond with Fish
Head to the pet store and gaze at an aquarium. Watching tanks with more fish can boost your mood, per a study in Environment & Behavior. As one of the authors put it: “In times of…crowded urban living, perhaps aquariums can…provide an oasis of calm.
Daily Habit #12: Pop the Tension
Busting up a sheet of bubble wrap relieves stress. Per a study in Psychological Reports, people felt significantly calmer and more energized after popping sealed-air capsules. After all, bubble wrap is the original fidget tool.
Daily Habit #13: Control the Flames
Emotionally reactive…who, you? Next time you’re about to explode, don’t speak. Instead, breathe in deeply, then exhale twice as slowly. Or leave the room for a minute (tell the other person you’ll be back, obvi). These calm-down moves can be true relationship-savers. Find out how overreacting affects you at home, with friends, and at work.
Daily Habit #14: Dish Out Some Calm
Dish-washing as relaxation? Yup—if you do so with intention. Per a study in Mindfulness, focusing on the soap smell, warm water, and tactile feel of the dishes decreases nervousness.
Daily Habit #15: Cover Your Stress
If you don’t get the hype around weighted blankets, you might be using one that’s too light. One study found a significant reduction in anxiety with 30-pounders. But it really comes down to proportion: Experts say to choose one that’s about 10 percent of your body weight.
RELATED: 15 Best Weighted Blankets for Mental Health
Daily Habit #16: Jump, Jump
Speaking of blankets: When you feel overwhelmed, you may just want to crawl under the one. We approve. But a burst of intense exercise also can chill you out. Doing jumping jacks for a few minutes helps move the physiological switch to the “less” side of stress.
Daily Habit #17: Give It a Read
Bibliotherapy, a.k.a. therapeutic reading, soothes the psyche. Research from the University of Sussex found that, compared to a bunch of relaxation methods—music, drinking tea, taking a walk—reading was tops at stress-reduction. In just six minutes, it slowed heart rate and eased muscle tension.
Daily Habit #18: Lift Weights and Mood
Strength training significantly reduces depressive symptoms, per JAMA Psychiatry. The best part: It doesn’t matter how often or how much. One theory: Weights require focus. Mindfulness by lifting? Sign us up.
Daily Habit #19: Swap Thoughts
Everything’s going to suck. I won’t be able to handle it. When anxiety takes over, your thoughts can go to extremes. Try this cognitive behavioral therapy technique: Acknowledge that the situation may be tough, but also that you’ve got skills: This might be hard, but I’ve made it through hard times before.
Daily Habit #20: Make Affirmations Cool
Need a little pick-me-up each morning but find affirmations cringey? Do what mental health advocate and beauty influencer Christina Grasso does: Write a message on your mirror in lipstick (red, naturally). Do it at night, and you’ll wake up to a positive-but-not-too-earnest pep talk to yourself.
Daily Habit #21: Let the Tears Flow
For mental health author Achea R. Redd, self-care can be a massage. But it’s also “having a good cry when you are sad,” she says. “True self-care is attuning to what you or your body needs in the moment.” When the tears come, let them.
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