Six easy ways to improve your physical and emotional health

Whether you are seeking therapy for depression, stress, relationship issues or mental health problems, or are just not feeling like yourself, look closely at your lifestyle for six easy ways to improve your moods.

What we do to our body and put into our body affects how we feel and our appearance. There is so much evidence now to support the fact that we can heal our bodies with our lifestyle, just as much as we can damage it.

With my clients, when they come to me for life coaching or hypnosis, one of the first things we look at is lifestyle and what can be changed to improve physical and emotional health. I use the acronym SCATED and this gives me an indication of the areas which may need some work.

It is important to remember that very few of us live a completely ‘clean and fit’ lifestyle in the peak of our fitness and eating ONLY clean foods every single day, week in, week out. All of us have unhealthy habits and it is about what you feel comfortable with. What brings you pleasure and what is causing you problems. For example, it could bring joy to one person having a glass of wine in the evening, but bring liver problems or mood swings to another.

We are all different. Know yourself. Know your pleasure points and whether they are causing you damage or doing you good. Some caffeine in the morning may be exactly what one person needs but to someone with ADHD, it could aggravate a cycle of agitation or create a roller coaster of energy highs and lows to someone with high anxiety. The key is knowing what causes you pleasure and pain.

So, look at these 6 lifestyle choices to know if there is any area which could help you snap out of a low point or if you are suffering with any mental or physical pain:

1. Sleep – we all know we SHOULD get an average of 8 hours sleep per night, but this is for the average person. Some people feel awake and refreshed after 5 hours and some people need 10 hours. If you are waking up exhausted or do not feel rested after your sleep, perhaps try to go to bed 15 minutes earlier per night. Alternatively, try to have no screens in bed (phone, kindle, laptop) to give you a better chance of switching off quicker.
2. Caffeine – most people like caffeine in the morning in the form of a coffee or tea. We also find caffeine in chocolate, coke and energy drinks. Caffeine is also in a lot of fitness gels and drinks to give a boost of energy. If you feel like you are having energy dips throughout the day or feel like you need high quantities of caffeine to get through the day, perhaps look at your intake and see if there is anywhere it can be reduced.
3. Alcohol – There is evidence that a glass of wine with a meal can be beneficial for your heart health but there is also a lot of evidence to say any alcohol can affect mental health (as well as weight) since it is a depressant and is calorific. You know yourself best and if this helps you unwind, go with it, but if you are looking for a reason as to why you are not sleeping well or why you are waking up feeling sluggish, perhaps look at your alcohol intake.
4. Tobacco – smoking is a habit which has many dangers as there are so many toxins and chemicals in tobacco. More recently the vaping trend has taken over and the nicotine in vapes can still causes some smokers to worry. If it is a habit that is affecting your lung capacity, your ability to exercise or feel vibrant, perhaps this could be one of the first things to stop or reduce.
5. Exercise – we are all told that we SHOULD aim to do 5 x 30 minutes of exercise per week but again, this is an average, and you should do what feels good for you and what fits into your lifestyle. This is about movement and that does not have to be a spin class or cross fit. You can do the gardening, walk the dog, stretch in your bedroom – just move your body. Exercise is one of the best ways to improve depression, get the endorphins going, improve your health and increase self-esteem. Even 5 minutes per day is better than nothing.
6. Diet – by looking into balancing blood-sugar levels, eating fresh, home-cooked foods and reducing eating too much junk foods, we can improve our physical and mental health significantly. Find what works for you. Find the balance that makes you feel good and aim to eat healthily most of the time. What we put into our body can aggravate problems but can also alleviate issues such as skin problems, digestive sensitivities, and allergies. Become aware of how food affects you.

Evaluate your lifestyle and see where you can make small changes. Baby steps in the direction towards physical health will reflect in positive changes in your emotional health. Sometimes our own choices and habits are what is causing us the most damage.