10 Psychologically Healthy Daily Habits, and How to Apply Them to Your Life

In the same way that it is our job to protect our body and keep it healthy, it is also up to us to protect our mental health. There are many small daily things that, if done every day, help us to have a good psychological state.

There are many actions that, if done daily, keep our brain healthy, protecting our mind and our mood from emotional and cognitive problems, such as memory lapses, attention problems and mental disorders.

Below we will discover 10 psychologically healthy daily habits related not only to the cognitive field and the absence of mental disorders, but also make us enjoy good social relationships.

10 psychologically healthy daily habits, and how to apply them

We all know that health is not a mere physical issue. Both organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and government health agencies emphasize that health is a state in which there is physical, mental and social fulfillment. In the same way that we must protect our health, avoiding taking substances that are harmful to our body and protecting ourselves adequately in situations that require it (e.g., putting on a helmet when riding a motorcycle or wearing a mask on the street), we must also incorporate daily habits. psychologically healthy.

Just because psychological health is not what we first see when we look in the mirror does not mean that it does not have an impact on our way of perceiving ourselves and relating to others An emotionally overwhelmed person who is not able to regulate their emotions and whose brain is not very intellectually active is a person who is more vulnerable to various psychopathologies, both mental disorders such as depression and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. To avoid this, we can incorporate the following psychologically healthy habits into our daily lives.

1. Keep the brain active

The more time our brain spends inactive, the harder it will be for us to start. To avoid this, it is essential that in our daily lives we incorporate activities that require a little mental effort, no matter how minimal. Even if we are on vacation or enjoying retirement, it is very important to prevent the brain from stopping Because, if we do so, when we have to go back to work or want to enjoy something minimally intellectual, it will be a real odyssey.

You don’t have to complicate your life or rack your brains a lot to keep your brain active. It is enough to resort to traditional entertainment such as chess, checkers, card games or even petanque. Any game where there is a little strategy can work very good to make us think and keep our minds active. We can also resort to individual entertainment, such as sudoku, crossword puzzles, reading or writing.

2. Set goals and get organized

A psychologically healthy habit that we should all incorporate is to set short, medium and long-term goals. In the case of workers and students this is especially important Because, by structuring our work and study routine, as long as we fulfill it by achieving the small goals that make up the big objective that we have set for ourselves, we will avoid situations such as, for example, having to work intensely at the last moment.

Although we may perform intensely at the last moment, it is best to plan the tasks, preventing us from becoming overwhelmed before having to hand in a job or study for an exam because we have not known how to manage ourselves. The stress felt in these situations, although it keeps us awake and focused on the goal we want to achieve, can damage our mental health and for this reason, to the extent possible, we must organize our objectives.

Planning goals and organizing routines is also a powerful psychological ally for people who are already retired. Because what organized their daily life, their work, they no longer have, they run the risk of the days flying by, not knowing what to do and entering a situation of apathy and depression. For this reason, when we reach retirement, it is very important to set goals of any kind, whether it is learning a language, improving in a sport or learning to paint well.

By completing the small steps that lead us to our goals in each of these hobbies, we can better organize our time, feeling that we are productive and that we have not lost our usefulness or performance.

3. Get enough sleep

Getting enough sleep is a factor that protects and promotes psychological health There are people who need more sleep than others, but generally most of us need to sleep between 6 and 8 hours. Sleeping too little makes us feel mentally tired, putting us in a bad mood because we are not able to do our daily chores properly, while sleeping too much makes it difficult for us to concentrate and we are “soggy” all day. You have to know how to find the right balance to enjoy ideal psychological health.

4. Be assertive

The habits that promote good mental health are not only cognitive and physical, but also social. Assertiveness is the ability to say what we think but in a socially appropriate way and without violating the rights or sensitivities of others, but asserting our own Being assertive is a habit that protects us from being in a bad mood and suffering from mental disorders, in addition to improving our social relationships and identifying which ones are not worth it.

Within this assertiveness is the ability to know how to say “no”, especially when people ask us for more things than we can and want to do, both in work and personal contexts. Promising more than one can end up overwhelming us on the one hand, because we feel that we are sacrificing our desires for others, and it can also make us look bad because we can say “yes” to things that are outside our capabilities and, therefore, do it evil.

5. Express yourself creatively

Art has been the tool of emotional expression since time immemorial Since prehistoric times, humans have expressed themselves with cave paintings on the walls of caves and, throughout history, great painters, sculptors and, in short, all types of artists have excelled by exposing their inner world with all types of artistic representations. We can do exactly the same.

Regardless of what technique we use and what our talent is, Expressing yourself creatively is a constructive and very original way to keep our psychological health in good condition Whether with sculpture, painting or even macramé, we can keep ourselves busy while letting our imagination work, activating our brain and feeling how we create something that represents how we are, something totally personal and irreplicable.

6. Have a healthy diet

We cannot have good mental health if we eat poorly. The brain needs a varied and balanced diet to function both cognitively and emotionally, for this reason we cannot forget about nutrition. Foods from all food groups should be incorporated, such as vegetables, fruits, fish, meats, cereals, legumes and dairy products. It is also important to control portions and ensure that the diet incorporates 50% carbohydrates, 30% fat and 20% protein.

Among the nutrients that make our brain function better we have omega 3 and 6, B vitamins (B6 and B12), folic acid, tryptophan, iron, calcium and magnesium. All of these nutrients are found in natural, unprocessed foods, and practically any lifestyle in which the Mediterranean diet is incorporated has the demand for these substances met.

Tryptophan deserves special attention since it is the precursor of serotonin and melatonin, neurotransmitters that are directly related to mood and the sleep cycle. Among the foods that contain tryptophan we find lean meats, egg yolks, dairy products, fruits such as bananas and pineapple, whole grains, dark chocolate and legumes.

7. Stay physically active

It is a classic “healthy mind in a healthy body”. Exercising not only puts us in physical shape, but also mentally, helping us to have adequate cognitive abilities and a good mood. In other words, practicing regular sports helps us have good memory, attention, protection from depression and other mental disorders, in addition to keeping us emotionally well and being less susceptible to mood swings.

The ideal is to practice some sport between 3 and 4 times a week, although something as simple as walking for about 30 minutes a day is enough to benefit our psychological state in the long run. It should be said that practicing more or less intense exercise contributes to the secretion of endorphins, which induce us to enter a state of well-being and pleasure, something that will certainly keep us in a good mood and make us see life in a better way. positive.

8. Disconnect for a while

In a society in which we are asked to be connected at all times, it seems that disconnecting daily, even for just a little while, is impossible. However, this is not only something that is possible, but it is also a necessity.

In order to relax and prevent our brain from collapsing, it is very important to reserve a moment a day no matter how brief it may be, to leave our mind resting, without stress.

We can do this in many ways, as many as we can think of. Whether lying in bed listening to music, watching our favorite television show, taking a bubble bath or meditating, we can disconnect from the stress out there, whether caused by our family or work. The mind needs a little rest otherwise it cannot work or perform properly

9. Connect with nature

Many people ignore the benefits that nature brings us. Despite the fact that we have been living in cities for centuries, human beings are still an animal connected to nature, especially forests and the countryside, although this is also applicable to the beach and lakes. Whatever our favorite natural environment is, any of them will help us have good mental health.

If we are lucky enough to live near a mountain or in the countryside, we cannot miss the opportunity to take a walk there since nature gives us calm and protection against psychological problems. If, on the other hand, we are not so lucky, we can resort to the alternative of walk through a park or green area, visit a botanical garden or a natural museum

10. Take care of relationships

Taking care of personal relationships on a daily basis is something that few know how to value, but that we should all take into account. We may take it for granted that our friends, family, and partner will always be there, even if months go by without us speaking to each other due to simple carelessness and laziness. Big mistake. Although this does not happen as much with the family, the truth is that with friends there is a real risk of it happening and A relationship that was previously as if we were brothers becomes that of two practically unknown people

For this reason, we must dedicate a daily minimum to rekindling our social relationships, especially if we do not live close to our loved ones. It is not necessary to talk to everyone every day, but you do need to dedicate a minimum of attention to them. regulate each of the people who are part of our personal contact list For example, we can start Monday talking with a friend, Tuesday with our brother, Wednesday with our parents…

Although the ideal is to meet in person and do something together, distance can make this task difficult. Fortunately, new technologies keep us connected and bring us closer to those who are very far from us, with which we can make video calls or simply chat to remind those people who are still our loved ones that we do not forget about them and that we want to keep Long live the flame of affection and friendship.