The Power of Self-Care: How Taking Time for Yourself Can Improve Your Health

Self-care is an important part of anyone’s day-to-day activities, but it’s often something that gets pushed aside in favor of other priorities that often take over.

However, despite this, self-care is something that should be actively worked on in order to improve your health and well-being. Not spending enough time on yourself can end up leaving you less of the person you could be, and that you end up giving to others. How are you expected to give to others when you’re pouring from a cup that’s only so full?

In this guide, you’ll learn more about the power of self-care, why it matters, and how you can take time out for yourself this year.

Why is self-care important?

Self-care is important for a number of reasons. When you’re looking after your physical health by eating well and exercising, the same effort should be made for your mental health. After all, the two are so closely interlinked that if one is compromised, the other will surely follow. Here’s why self-care is so important for yourself and for others who perhaps are neglecting it.

Stress reduction

Reducing your stress levels is definitely beneficial to your health. Stress, after all, is one of the more dangerous emotions you can feel because it can do a lot of damage to your physical health, as well as your mental well-being.

The more stress you have, the more you’re likely to fall into ill health, and often enough, it can lead to a lot more significant health problems too.

A bit of self-care here and there can be a great way to help reduce stress and manage it effectively, so it’s not impacting your health. Getting health insurance is definitely something you want to get, in order to protect yourself should you ever get signed off or let go from work due to stress.

Improved mental health

The frequency with which you give yourself a bit of self-care can make a dramatic difference to how you feel mentally. Improving your mental health is important, and it’s something that can make a big difference to your quality of life too.

Mental health is often spoken about as being something we need to speak up about, but often than not, it’s not really taken seriously. A bit of self-care can really help to improve your overall mental wellbeing, especially if you regularly treat yourself to it.

Better relationships

A better mindset is going to lead to better relationships as a result. The more you’re able to improve your relationships, whether it’s between family members, friends, or work colleagues, the better you’ll feel in yourself.

However, those relationships can only get better when you start looking after yourself. Family fallouts or friendships being forgotten about can often be down to a lack of self-care on yourself. Neglecting your own health and mental well-being is not going to be helpful when you’re trying to make time for other people.

Increased productivity

Productivity is something that’s often required in the workplace, but also within your personal life. Being productive, whether it’s running errands or working on a new hobby, all helps to a more fulfilled life.

Productivity, though, can take a bashing when you’re not giving yourself some relief from what can often be described as being the more mundane tasks and habits in life.

With that being said, consider what self-care activities help boost your feelings of motivation and productivity.

Example of self-care that you can incorporate into your life

There are many examples of self-care that you can incorporate into your life, and perhaps what makes self-care so unique is that what you consider self-care can look completely different to someone else.

For example, one person might enjoy fly fishing as their form of self-care, whilst another likes getting their hair and nails done. There’s no right or wrong form of self-care – so long as it’s legal.

With that being said, here are some helpful examples of self-care that you could look to incorporate into your life this year.

Take a new exercise class

A useful way to help improve your self-care is to take up a new exercise class. Exercise classes are great because they come in a lot of different styles and formats, depending on what you like or dislike. It could be a session of hot yoga, for example, which has risen in popularity over the years, or partaking in a sports club activity like soccer or basketball.

There are endless forms of exercise out there, which is why you should look at all the different options available in order to find exercise that you actually enjoy. Too many people nowadays will partake in classes they were recommended to do, but in fact, don’t enjoy doing them.

Have a relaxing bath or shower

A relaxing bath or shower is a great way to help look after yourself when it comes to forms of self-care. It’s probably one of the most typical pastimes a person can have, which is why you should definitely give it a try, especially if you’re someone who is fairly quick in their showering.

Bathtime isn’t everyone’s preference, but once you’ve added some bubbles to the mix and perhaps an essential oil or two, it can make a big difference to how luxurious and relaxing it can be.

Throw in a good book or listen to a podcast, and you’ve got something to enjoy for at least twenty or thirty minutes if you can stand to lie down for that long.

Take breaks at work

Taking breaks at work is important because it can help to reset the brain and give your eyes and mind a rest that they often so deserve. Working hours can be long, and if you end up sitting at your desk all day, it’s likely going to impact your health both physically and mentally.

It can also hinder your productivity if you’re not taking five minutes away from the desk to simply make a cup of coffee. With that being said, try to be proactive in taking breaks at work. Avoid spending hours at the desk at a time, and always take your lunch away from your desk, too.

Listen to music uninterrupted

Music is a great way to relax, and again, it can often sound different from one person to the next. Relaxing music to some might be indie pop music, while to others it’s classical or R&B.

If you’re needing a little bit of self-care every now and then, curate yourself a playlist that you can enjoy in those moments where you want to sit back and relax. Perhaps enjoy it with a nice cup of tea or a glass of wine?

Read a book

For the bookworms out there, a form of self-care for you would be reading a book for an hour or so. It’s easy to get lost in books, and if you’re not someone who regularly reads, you might find it hard to do so.

However, that’s often down to the type of genre you’re interested in and whether you like reading a physical book or if you’ll benefit more from reading a book via a Kindle or audiobook.

Get a massage

Who doesn’t like a nice massage to ease the tension that might be sitting in your body right now?

While not everyone likes a Swedish body massage, there are plenty of other options to get stuck into. From foot massages to ones that solely focus on a specific part of the body, like the face or head.

Self-care is something you should prioritize for yourself, so make more time for it in your life this year.