{"id":384,"date":"2022-05-24T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.istratus.com\/blog\/?p=384"},"modified":"2022-06-02T12:11:23","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T16:11:23","slug":"make-your-mental-health-a-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/day-planner\/make-your-mental-health-a-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Your Mental Health A Priority"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May is Mental Health Awareness month. At iStratus, we specialize in helping you simplify your life through our 6-in-1 app. But did you know that we are big fans of self-care as well? That&#8217;s right. One of our favorite ways to use the app is to schedule our exercise, our meals, and even our downtime. Now, we are going to share 10 mental health self-care tips to help you make your mental health a priority.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>1. Get enough sleep<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most people need around eight hours of sleep per night.\u00a0 Consider going to bed and waking up at the same time each day to help regulate your body\u2019s natural sleep rhythm. If you have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, consider changing the environment.\u00a0 Add a white noise machine.\u00a0 Close your shades to make the room darker.\u00a0 Turn down the temperature or add a fan.\u00a0 Do whatever it takes to get to sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>2. Eat healthy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eating nutritious foods helps your body to function at its best.\u00a0 Make sure to include plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet. One of the ways we use the iStratus app to help with this is by tracking our food.\u00a0 Especially the last meal of the day.\u00a0 We found that certain foods made sleeping more difficult.\u00a0 Now we avoid those foods before bedtime.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>3. Exercise regularly<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exercise releases endorphins, which have mood-boosting effects.\u00a0 A moderate amount of exercise is the key to maintaining mental health and well-being. Keep in mind that even a relaxing 30-minute walk can help.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t think you have to get a gym membership, buy fancy spandex outfits, or invest in a coach. Nope. All you need to do is go for a walk.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>4. Take breaks\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, take a few minutes to yourself to relax and rejuvenate.\u00a0 Take a hot bath, read your favorite book, or take a walk outdoors. In our last post, we wrote about meditation.\u00a0 Spending a few minutes of your break to meditate might be just what you need.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>5. Connect with loved ones<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spending time with loved ones can help reduce stress and promote positive mental health.\u00a0 Whether you stay in touch via text, social media, or in person, quality time with those you care about is crucial for a healthy mind. And might we suggest you avoid those energy vampires.\u00a0 You know the ones who suck the energy right out of a room.\u00a0 You deserve people who lift you up, not tear you down.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>6. Do something you enjoy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make time for activities that make you happy.\u00a0 This could include hobbies, listening to music, playing sports, or anything else that brings joy into your life. Not sure what you love, start being adventurous, and try new activities until you hit exactly the thing for you.\u00a0 It might surprise you. Underwater basket weaving, anyone?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>7. Volunteer<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helping others has been shown to improve mental health and overall satisfaction with life.\u00a0 Find a cause that is important to you and consider giving your time to make a difference. We recently met a lovely lady at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.charityconnect.us\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charity Connect<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> who pairs people with the charity that makes their souls happy. If an organized volunteer position doesn&#8217;t suit you, look around.\u00a0 Find someone who needs your help.\u00a0 You might be surprised to find the number of people who are just dying for an extra set of hands to help with handyman work, grocery shopping, or mowing the lawn.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>8. Reduce stress<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stress can have a negative impact on mental health.\u00a0 Identify activities that help you relax and make an effort to incorporate them into your daily routine.\u00a0 This could include yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises. It could also be singing, dancing, or even just saying no to some of the things that are overwhelming you.\u00a0 Remember, you are worth it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>9. Seek professional help<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are struggling with mental health issues, don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to a mental health professional for help.\u00a0 Therapy can be an extremely effective way to address mental health concerns and promote wellbeing. If you had a sore throat or a fever, you would go to the doctor. Mental health is health.\u00a0 It&#8217;s okay to seek help.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>10. Take care of your physical health<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Physical health and mental health are interconnected.\u00a0 Make sure to schedule regular checkups with your doctor and get adequate exercise and rest.\u00a0 By taking care of your physical health, you are also taking care of your mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mental health month is only one-twelfth of the year.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t let it be the only time you make your mental health a priority.\u00a0 You deserve to be taken care of.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><i>Live life and roll well with iStratus. Take care of your mental health and <\/i><i><a href=\"https:\/\/istratus.com\/\">download the iStratus app today<\/a>!<\/i><\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May is Mental Health Awareness month. At iStratus, we specialize in helping you simplify your life through our 6-in-1 app. But did you know that we are big fans of self-care as well? That&#8217;s right. One of our favorite ways to use the app is to schedule our exercise, our meals, and even our downtime. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/day-planner\/make-your-mental-health-a-priority\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Make Your Mental Health A Priority<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-day-planner","category-time-management"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":394,"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions\/394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/istratus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}