Photo by Peter Conlan on Unsplash
When people think about self-care, they often think about taking a warm bath and taking care of their bodies with a body scrub. But self-care is so much more than that. There are so many ways to take care of yourself. Today I share 12 ways to take better care of yourself.
Why is self-care so important?
It is important to take care of yourself because you need energy first before you can take care of someone else and can do your daily tasks. And self-care moments are also a great way to release your daily stress. If you take better care of yourself, you will notice you will feel better and you can handle more things. You feel stronger and healthier.
12 ways to take better care of yourself
Get enough sleep
A lot of people don’t get enough sleep every night because of several reasons. Some people can’t fall asleep because they are over-thinking everything. Or some people staying up too long watching Netflix. But when you don’t get enough sleep every single day, you will feel tired and irritated. So make sure you get enough sleep (around 8 hours a night). You will notice that you will feel better and more energetic.
Go to bed early and don’t use screens before you go to bed. The blue light can disrupt your sleep.
Eat healthily
We all know how important it is to eat healthily. We all know that our bodies need vitamins and minerals. But we don’t always eat healthily. Especially in summer and during the holidays, we eat more unhealthy things. And sure, eating ice cream every now and now is okay, but it shouldn’t be a weekly thing. You don’t have to say goodbye to pizza and other things you like, just try to eat it less often. Instead, eat a healthy salad.
Exercise
This is also something we all know how good it is for our bodies. But we don’t do it enough. We sit around 7-10 hours every single day on a chair or on the couch. 10 hours of the hours that we are awake!! Our body loves exercising. And you don’t have to run to the gym after reading this post. Even going out for a walk or a bike ride is enough. Or just put on your favorite song and dance to it.
Say ‘no’ more often
Sometimes we agree to things we don’t even want to do. We don’t want to say ‘no’ because we don’t want to disappoint them, even we already have 4234 other things to do. But try to say ‘no’ more often if you need more time for yourself or when you are already too busy. Not in the mood for an evening with your friends at the pub? Just cancel. If they are really your friends, they will understand. Everyone needs a moment for himself/herself every now and then.
Meditation
Meditation is for weird spiritual people, which is something that I hear sometimes. But meditations has brought me and many others so many great things. It can calm the noise in your head and make you feel more energetic. You don’t have to meditate for hours every single day. Just 10-20 is enough and everyone can take 10 minutes for themselves, even when that means you have to wake up 10 minutes earlier.
Keep a gratitude journal
We live on an automatic pilot and because of that, we miss a lot of things on a daily basis. When you start to keep a gratitude journal, you will become more aware of what is happening around you. You finally open your eyes to your surroundings. There are so many beautiful things happening on a daily basis, small or big. You start to focus on those beautiful things and start living in the now.
Slow living
Almost everyone is in a rush everyone single day. They wake up, have to hurry so they won’t be late for work. After work, they hurry back home and make dinner and eat it in front of the tv. Slow living is the exact opposite of this lifestyle. You really take time for things like cooking or grocery shopping. But instead, you will feel more relaxed instead of stressed. So take more time to do your daily tasks. I mean, who doesn’t want to feel more relaxed on a daily basis?
Do something you like
We have to go to work and do other things but sometimes we forget to do things for ourselves. Doing the things we like to do like reading a book or dance for fun. Just find out what you really like to do, just a couple of things, and pick one thing every single day. Just do it because it makes you happy.
Read a book
Reading is for everyone. There are so many different kinds of books. Reading books can take you to a different world for a while and let you forget about the real world for a minute, away from your daily problems. And reading a book also lowers your blood pressure and that is just one good reason to pick up a book and read it.
Take a moment for yourself
But of course, taking care of your body also includes taking a hot bath whenever you want. Drinking that glass of wine is also a form of self-care (unless you are an alcoholic). Buy a bath bomb and just relax for an hour in your bath.
Hang out with your friends
Of course, social life can also be a part of your self-care routine. Especially when you love your friends and they make you feel better. Talk about your problems, maybe they can help you or make you realize that you are worrying about nothing. Just go out for a few drinks or go to the cinema together. Hang out with your friends can really uplift your mood.
Go offline
Do you notice that you are not feeling great when you are spending time on social media? Maybe you are comparing yourself to others. If yes, go offline. Especially in times like these, people are constantly following the news. They want to stay up-to-date but it can also make you feel stressed because you are afraid. Go offline. If something makes you feel stressed, you have to stay away from it. That includes social media and watching/reading the news.