The Importance of Caring for Yourself

When was the last time you put caring for yourself at the top of your priority list? How often does it make your monthly, weekly or daily to-do lists?

So many of us spend so much of our time and energy taking care of the needs of those closest to us that we somehow forget to care for the person who is with us all of the time- ourselves!

It is essential that you take care of yourself in every way possible. You can do that by incorporating some very basic self care strategies into your life. Here we look at a few ways that you can start caring more for your health and well-being right now.

Get Enough Sleep:

Sleep is such an essential part of being healthy. It makes it possible to cope with stress, to be productive and in general to function effectively on a day-to-day basis. When you are well rested you are able to face all of your responsibilities and tasks with more energy and vitality.

If you are not able to get enough sleep at night then take a power nap to re-energize yourself.

Proper Nutrition is a Priority:

A poor diet affects not just your physical health but your mental and emotional health as well. Studies have shown that stress hormones have a tendency to cause a person to put on weight. If your diet is unhealthy then your body knows that it does not have the right amount of nutrients for the brain to function at its optimum best.

The key to eating healthy is to plan ahead. If you have a hectic schedule then always have healthy snacks on hand. Examples of these include carrot sticks, whole grain crackers, fresh fruit and granola bars. These helps to prevent trips to the vending machine or the closest McDonald’s.

Exercise Regularly:

There are lots of forms of exercise. Find one that works for you and one that you enjoy doing.

Try walking, hiking, biking or playing ball with your kids in the yard. Exercise should not be a chore but should be fun. Even doing ordinary household tasks counts as exercise. Incorporate as much physical activity into your life as you can. Walk to the store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, vacuum and rake leaves. Even 30 minutes of exercise per day can maintain your overall level of health.

Connect with Other People:

A significant aspect of taking care of yourself is to develop as well as maintain supportive relationships with family members and friends. You need to put effort into cultivating lasting relationships with those you can trust, those you can communicate with effectively and those with whom mutual support is a given. There are many ways to do this.

Share with others; do volunteer work, join groups. Most of all spend quality time with the people who mean the most to you.

Connect with Yourself:

Caring about yourself begins with having a healthy respect for yourself as well as exhibiting self-awareness.

What this means is that you have to stop being your own worst enemy. Become aware of the times that you berate yourself and put yourself down and then replace those thoughts and words with positive, self affirming and empowering ones instead. In order to connect with yourself you need to do nice things for yourself as well. Be kind, loving and thoughtful to yourself.

Go have a massage, buy something special for yourself, go see a movie or go enjoy some laughs with friends. Be good to the most important person in your life – you!

Becca