This mental health guide has worked for many people. Fortunately, it can work for you if you’re over 40 years, too.
The modern people spend a lot of their time at work. That is why it so happened that most of the stress and emotions are directly related to our professional activity. We have prepared a guide for you to take care of your mental health if you are over forty years old. Don’t be afraid, it’s never too late to start. Moreover, we offer truly simple and affordable recommendations.
1. Sleep Right to Get Melatonin
The first thing you need to start with is to sleep. The qualitative sleep enables the body to function normally throughout the day and makes it easier to deal with stress. After forty years, you need to sleep at least 7 hours. It’s vital to go to bed at 22.00-23.30 so that at midnight you are already in the phase of sleep.
Thus, melatonin will be produced in the body, which is responsible for youth and saturates the body’s cells. It is believed that if a person receives melatonin less than 4 times a week, he or she increases the risk of various diseases, both mental and physical.
Buy a blindfold so that the smallest light source does not awaken you in the middle of the night. If you have trouble falling asleep, then pick out a supplement that fights this problem. Give preference to those that include melatonin.
2. Choose Only “Healthy Fuel”
Observe proper nutrition. A healthy diet is the foundation of your health. Junk food leads to destroying of not only physical but also mental health!
A lunch break is what all employees are waiting for. But you need to learn how to get a lot of benefit from it. You shouldn’t revel in coffee in the hope that it will increase your performance and invigorate your brain.
A healthy lunch is what makes your brain work. It’s possible to draw an analogy and say that it is as a fuel for the car. If you fill a car with non-quality fuel, then the ride will be complete indignation, not a pleasure. The same applies to our body, instead of sandwiches or pizza, it is better to eat a handful of nuts. If you have the opportunity to cook food for work, then cook porridge, fish/chicken and vegetable salad. Instead of coffee, you can drink green tea, which also contains caffeine. Thus, your body will receive the necessary amount of useful elements to start the brain activity.
3. A Sport Like a Spa
If you are not yet involved in a sport that has a relaxing effect on the body and mind, then it’s time to change it! At least once a week, you need to do more than just work out in the gym or fitness. You need an activity that helps to relax. To do this, consider swimming, yoga or dancing.
Although the best option is to practice yoga. It will not only affect your body but will also help you learn to control your consciousness, rid your mind of stress and become more restrained. If you practice meditation, then all the stressful situations will seem less difficult. Do you have friends who do yoga and meditation? Remember how they look and how they behave. Without a doubt, they have a healthy look and don’t pour out their emotions. Add at least an hour of such activity per week and you will become a completely another person.
4. Breaks Relieve Pressure
Plan all your work breaks to avoid feelings of depression. Almost every person begins to worry when he or she is under prolonged pressure. Short breaks can remove this pressure. For example, you can take a five-minute break at the end of each hour. At this time, you can perform a breathing technique, restore your body or just exhale and sit for 5 minutes inactive. It would seem that nothing will change in these 5 minutes, but in fact, you will switch to other things and thereby get yourself out of pressure.
5. Identify Your Pain Points
When you know what situations annoy you at work, you can prevent them from occurring. Once you give yourself a clear understanding of the reason for your bad emotions, you can see the picture in a new light. Let’s look at an example.
Sometimes you have to translate various texts. In the end, you get a lot of criticism in your address. Although you rarely need to do this kind of work, the one thought about it can ruin your mood and cause stress for several days. In this case, everything is very simple. Just seek help from a company that specializes in translation services, for example, at the Word Point. If you get criticism even after the work is done by professionals, then you will understand that the problem is not with you and your knowledge. The problem is with the person who criticizes your work. If this happens, then just let go of this fear and understand that it is completely not your problem.
6. Transform Negative to Positive
The inability to positively perceive life negatively affects mental health. And life without positive emotions, in general, can lead to pathological changes in the psyche.
So start changing your thinking from negative to positive. Stop daily feeding yourself with negative information, stop criticizing colleagues and situations. Learn to enjoy the simplest things: a lunch break, a new store near your office or simply because your boss is in a good mood today.
7. Be the CEO of Your Emotions
The ability to manage anger and negative emotions is a vital factor for good mental health and an indicator of your emotional intelligence. Negative emotions are able to change our mind and body, provoking psychosomatic diseases. Therefore, it is important to learn to control your emotional state. Choose for yourself an adequate way to express your negative emotions (to speak,to breathe, to draw).
8. Just Here and Now
Take a couple of minutes to monitor your feelings every day. Learn to “be” here and now. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to focus on thoughts about the past or on planning for the future, rather than experiencing the present. Mindfulness practice is a great way to do this. The conscious effort that you direct to realize what is happening in your inner world is very important for your mental health.
9. Be Able to Ask for Help
The life path of each person is thorny, and people around can help you. If you don’t get the help you need right away, keep asking until you get it. So you can avoid unnecessary stress and emotions. Use the cases when someone can help you, the constant hope for your strength wears you out on a physical and mental level.
10. Smile Like a Panacea
And lastly, do not forget about the smile. It’s not so difficult to “hang” a “politeness smile” on your face and smile at a colleague who asked you a question. This way you will cheer up your colleague, and then you’ll feel that the working atmosphere is not so annoying. If you do this for a week, you will notice serious changes in the team and perhaps take a look at your colleagues without irritation and the desire to leave home as soon as possible.
Preservation, strengthening, and prevention of mental health is of great importance for a healthy lifestyle of every person. Your psycho-emotional state determines your quality of life, physical condition, and position in society. That is why neglecting mental health is not the best option. Use this guide and be the best version of yourself!
Author Bio:
Lucy Hatcher is a professional writer who is currently working in the company The Word Point. Lucy is always full of new ideas as she loves to write. She always seeks to find new opportunities for career and professional growth. Therefore, it is not difficult for her to write an interesting article on any topic.
Email: lhatcher515@gmail.com