Daily Tips For Improving Your Mental Health

Start The Day Right

“Anxiety is often worst in the morning, so try to avoid activities that trigger stress levels before you’re ready. For example, I never open my emails until I’m up, showered and have had a coffee. That way I can’t be hit by a stressor that could make me feel less ready to take on the day.” – Dr Jane Leonard, Aesthetic Practitioner at Harley Street Emporium

Exercise Is Key

“The benefits of exercise on mental health are well acknowledged. Put simply, the act of moving releases endorphins – feel-good hormones – and helps you feel more energised and focused. This doesn’t mean you need to sign up to a gym, though, even walking rather than taking a short tube ride, or taking the stairs rather than the lift can have a marked effect.” Erin Berman, Wellness & Lifestyle Expert at Nectar Sleep

Practise Some Public Transport Breathing Exercises

“The commute is the perfect time to tune into your breath and how it affects your body. When we are stressed our breathing becomes shorter and shallower. Implementing some meditative breathing techniques can make you feel much more relaxed. Start by taking deep, full breaths and exhaling slowly out of your mouth. This will make a huge difference to how stressed you feel.” – Sarah Romotsky, Director of Healthcare at Headspace

Let Go Of Negative Words & Phrases

“Dwelling on problems tends to sink people into negativity. Is your speech or thinking full of words like ‘never’, ‘none’, ‘no’, ‘can’t’ and ‘don’t’? The first step is to catch yourself being negative and make a conscious effort to turn your thinking around. It takes effort to build new habits. Instead of saying, ‘I can’t,’ look for the possibilities. Open your mind to find solutions.” – Ryan Jackson, Success Coach  

Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Sleep

“There’s a close link between sleep quality and the quality of your mental health. If you’re burning the candle at both ends and not allowing your mind and body time to relax, you can get into a vicious cycle. Feeling exhausted is likely to accelerate feelings of anxiety, and this in turn will impact on your ability to sleep peacefully. Make sure to have a night-time routine, aim for eight hours kip a night, and invest in a decent mattress which promotes restful sleep.” – Erin Berman, Wellness & Lifestyle Expert at Nectar Sleep

Switch Off From Tech

“In today’s always-on digital world, it’s easy to think you need to be available 24/7, to check emails in the evening or even on holiday. Our Wellbeing Index revealed that 67% of HR professionals say ‘leavism’ – working outside contracted hours – is a real issue at their workplace. Establishing clear boundaries, particularly when it comes to technology, is essential to switching off. Put on the out-of-office reply, turn off your work phone and don’t pack your laptop when you leave the office.” –Richard Holmes, Director of Wellbeing at Westfield Health 

Make Daily Lists

“Write a quick gratitude list of ten things that you are immediately grateful for. When we start to appreciate the little things around us that we take for granted like our health, being able to eat good food, interacting with others, our mood shifts to an attitude of appreciation and then we feel more connected and able to accept things as they come.” – Tara Mestre, Women's Wellness Coach 

Live In The Moment

“Instead of thinking about what’s happened in the past, or what’s ahead in the future, simply enjoy the moment. Really savour the present time through all your senses – touch, hearing, sight, smell, taste. Or focus on your breathing, in and out. Fill your mind with what’s in the ‘now’ and there’s no room for worries or concerns.” – Ryan Jackson, Success Coach 

Take A Lunch Break

“My team practises a few different things to ensure positive mental health in the office. As our work is desk-based, I encourage my staff to go outside as much as possible. Even if it's just a walk to the shop or standing outside for 10 minutes to get some fresh air and recalibrate.” – Kat Foster, Acquiro Digital 

Find Your Anchors

“These are the tools you know you can keep coming back to every single day at any given time, to bring you back to a more grounded, anchored and centred place. To find them, ask yourself: What makes me feel grounded in my life? Perhaps it’s meditation, cooking, seeing friends, walking, exercise, journaling or praying. Whatever it is, find these things out for yourself and choose your top five. These will now be your tools you can keep coming back to – your anchors will restore you to a more aligned and balanced place.” – Nicky Clinch, Transformational Coach 

Positive Imagining

“Do you worry about the future? Anxiety is the only emotion we feel about something that hasn’t even happened. If we can create a fantasy of bad things in the future that make us feel bad in the present, why not use our incredible fortune-telling powers to create some positive outcomes? Visualise good things happening, positive results, great success. Good feelings make you confident in achieving good results.” – Ryan Jackson, Success Coach 

Fuel Your Body with Nutrients 

“Your mood can be effected when your deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. For example, vitamin B12 is linked to improving mood and sleep, so make sure you support your body for all the requirements it needs as certain deficiencies can be reflected in your mood.” – Dr Jane Leonard, Aesthetic Practitioner at Harley Street Emporium 

Try Positive Affirmations

“Affirmations are a powerful way to maintain a positive and peaceful state of mind. It’s a positive statement that you say to yourself to improve your mental state. They can help short-term for a quick mental and emotional state uplift, and for long-term self-empowerment, strengthening self-belief. Ideally an affirmation is stated first thing in the morning upon waking up to support a positive mindset for the day and can be repeated any time throughout the day as a motivational reminder.

How to create a simple positive affirmation:

1. Always state in the present tense, e.g. ‘I am’

2. Add positive words personal to you to complete the statement, e.g. ‘strong’ or ‘calm’

Positive affirmations are said as a statement of fact and truth, and when repeated often they start to rewire the brain and create new empowering self-beliefs.” – Jane Bliss Sorrell, Transformational Coach & Life-Alignment Mentor 

Check In With Yourself Daily

“Get into the habit of checking in with yourself every single day. This is often called a practice of self-enquiry. I like to do this through daily journaling, but you can do it mentally as well. Just ask yourself the following questions, then really and truly listen carefully for the answer: How am I doing today? How do I feel physically, emotionally and mentally? What do I need today to take care of myself: a nap, a rest, a walk, exercise, food, friendship, connection, play time? What can I commit to, to make sure I am taking care of my needs today? The more you practise asking yourself these questions, the better you’ll get at it. You’ll learn more about yourself, learning to trust your instincts.” – Nicky Clinch, Transformational Coach

Judge The Action, Not Yourself 

“We all have failings in life, but there’s a huge difference between saying ‘I failed at this’ and ‘I’m a failure’. Try to avoid placing labels on yourself if they encourage you to feel bad about yourself. We don’t really have motivation; we have momentum – and momentum can work both ways. We can have the momentum to sit on the couch and binge Netflix, or we can have the momentum to get to work and give it our best. We want to tell ourselves stories that keep the momentum. ‘I failed’ implies a one-time thing we can learn from and go on to do better – it keeps the momentum high. ‘I’m a failure’ implies that you will always fail, which is likely to be followed with the thought, ‘Why even bother?’ This keeps the momentum low.” – Dave Cottrell, Mindset Coach at Mindset by Dave