Interestingly, much of what health psychologists teach (deep breathing, mindfulness, stress reduction, etc.) works for everyone. Our fast-paced life and increased dependency on technology often results in disconnection, stress and lack of sleep, which all wreak havoc on our health. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take today to begin living a healthier life.
Here, two health psychologists offer tips for living more happily, peacefully and mindfully.
- Breathe deeply. Diaphragmatic breathing is slow, deep breathing into our bellies.” It is an important stress management tool and great because it’s free, can be done anywhere and at any time. “What’s really cool these days is that there are smartphone applications that can guide you through deep breathing and help you to practice properly.”
- Give and get a hug. Human beings need touch. It “soothes and calms us,” It brings down that reactive arousal system that can get activated when we feel threatened in any way and especially in stressful situations. And hugs don’t have to be just of the human type — dogs and cats count too.
- Be mindful. Forget about that mounting to-do list, the fight you had with your best pal, or your Facebook update or Twitter account. Take time out to get back to the present moment. Withrow uses this exercise to help patients be more mindful. Doing this helps pause worrying and refocuses attention on the present moment..A lot of our thoughts are like the acronym for FEAR: false evidence appearing real. If you can learn to be mindful of your thoughts and think more objectively, it can have a positive impact on your behavior and your life.
- Stop the cruel talk. What’s one way you can start being kinder to yourself? Learn to be more self-compassionate. People in other cultures who are not financially wealthy have more social support and are nicer to themselves and each other. Why? Because of the thoughts and beliefs they have about themselves. That negative thinking about one’s self is a contributing factor to a lot of depression and anxiety. Depression is often anger turned back onto one’s self.
- Create your own family of choice. You cannot control the family you’ve been given. But you can create your own. Find friends and even older people who can act as parental figures for you.
- Love yourself and then love your neighbor. In their pre-flight instructions, flight attendants demonstrate how to use the oxygen mask if needed, and tell passengers to put on their own mask first before helping others with theirs. The same applies to self-care.
- Take care of your physical health. Recommendation for physical activity (including aerobic exercise and strength training) is 90 minutes a day. That might seem overwhelming for most. But the good news is that 20 minutes three times a week or ten thousand steps a day is enough to help you increase longevity.
- Take back control. There are a lot of things in life that we have no control over. But the key to healthy living is focusing on what your thoughts and reactions — the things you can control. It can be empowering to focus on what you can control and then let go of the things that you can’t.
- Make sleep and healthy eating priorities.Getting enough sleep is vital to your mental health and physical wellbeing. A healthy average is seven to nine hours a night. Making sure to eat regular, nutritious meals is also important.
- Find someone you can confide in. You don’t need millions of Facebook friends or even hundreds of in-person ones. According to research, you just need one trustworthy friend you can confide in to live longer and recover faster from illness.
http://www.countmeblue.org/86-10-tips-on-healthy-living.html
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