5 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Practice Self Care
Self-care is the first thing that slips when things get busy and yet it is the very foundation of stress resilience at any age or stage of life! It’s like the decision not to put enough lifeboats on the Titanic and we all know how that went. Think of self-care as your lifeboat. It will take you safely to shore, keep you well above water and stop you from drowning in life’s chaos.
But what exactly is self-care? That is a brilliant question as far too often we get self-care wrong. Really wrong and it makes everything worse when we do. It is frequently confused with its sister, self-indulgence. They share similar traits but they are distinctly different beings. Self-indulgence is a quick fix, a quick hit of dopamine that feels good at the time but creates problems long term especially when practiced regularly. Self-care is generally harder at the time, it’s not always what we want to do at the time but we feel great afterward and when we practice it regularly we start to feel good all the time. Self-care becomes easier over time.
Here's some of the easiest ways I know to practice self-care on a daily basis!
Prioritise 3 regular meals a day that you sit down for. Not on the run but sit down and make time for. Too often we skip meals leaving our energy levels up and down like a yoyo. We also tend to crave and eat foods that are high in sugar and carbs but low in nutrients when we are very hungry which is self-indulgence.
Eating on the run means we aren’t digesting anything properly and often not even registering that we are eating leaving us unsatisified.
Drink more water. This is so very basic but we forget. As a rule it’s 35ml per kg of body weight so it will be more than you are drinking now. Every cell in your body needs water! And lots of it to function well. Being hydrated supports energy levels, flushes out toxins, keeps our skin looking good, stops us mistaking hunger for thirst and the list goes on. You will definitely pee more but after a week or 2 it settles down. So go chug some water right now!
Prioritise your sleep. Turn off Netflix, put the phone down and get yourself a nightly routine that will help you sleep. Screens at night are indulgent and ultimately disrupt sleep and keep our brains wired. Sleep is essential to function properly. Being chronically sleep deprived is like drunk driving behind the wheel of a care and studies show that it increases our stress hormones, leads to craving high sugar and high carb foods as well as an increase in weight. Sleep is the ultimate in self-care.
Drink less alcohol. Ok so I lose so many people on this one but it is so indulgent. Yes you get relaxation at the time but the cost can be great. It disrupts your sleep, keeps your liver busy so it can’t detox everything effective and sidelines it for later, it disrupts digestion, creates anxiety long term (heard of the term hangxiety?), leaves you tired and wanting more because we build up a tolerance to it. I could go on but that should be enough to substantially cut back on the self indulgent habit of a ‘relaxing’ drink. Instead build stress resilience so you don’t need a drink to unwind. Once you stop the habit you’ll be surprised at how much better you feel. It is absolutely one of the things I see the biggest results with in clinic. Yes, just cutting out alcohol can change someone’s health.
Fun through play is essential. Ok so this one doesn’t seem obvious but honestly finding a few minutes everyday to do something silly and have a laugh can change everything. It lowers stress levels, gets you out of your own head, helps you connect with people, brings back joy and allows you to return to the carefree days of childhood. Honestly, take some time to chill without screens, have a laugh and a muck around. You can play tiggy with the kids or try rollerskating, get the hula hoop out, try to juggle or challenge yourself to something you’ve never done before like sing Karaoke. Skies the limit but go give it a go!
I bet after all that you are stewing on the self-indulgent part haha! Of course. It’s like being told you can’t have your favourite toy. I’m not saying NEVER self indulge. We’re human and the odd indulgence is actually self care but be cautious it doesn’t become a daily habit that replaces self care. And make sure it’s a quality, not quantity, indulgence. Binging on indulgent food or alcohol ain’t going to do you any favours. But the occasional sweet treat or beer isn’t likely to take you back to square one.
So off you go and find some self-care you can practice daily. It’s not hard but you need to practice self care daily for it to make a difference. Care enough about yourself to feed your body properly, water it well, let it rest and breath so it can do continue to cope with all of life’s messiness!
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If you are struggling with self care and in PERI MENOPAUSE then I have the perfect program for you! You can access details about The Sparkle Method by clicking here!