The importance of healthy habits for psychological balance

Mental health is an aspect of our lives that does not just exist “in our heads”: it is intimately linked to our way of relating to the world and to others, and also to our own body.

In other words, the mental state that we can have at a given moment is not something isolated that arises by itself in our consciousness generating discomfort. or well-being, but largely depends on how we interact with what surrounds us and with the activities we carry out, such as routines healthy. Therefore, in this article you will find several examples of how healthy habits promote a correct psychological balance.

• Related article: "Mental health: definition and characteristics according to psychology"

How do healthy habits influence our psychological balance?

These types of habits that contribute to our physical and mental health are also essential to achieve a psychological balance that allows us to live happily and in peace with ourselves.

1. Structure our day to day

Healthy habits, applied to our lifestyle on a regular basis, give our day structure, regularities in our weekly schedule. For this reason, they allow us to organize ourselves and have each of our days or between weeks structured, something that

helps us focus our attention on other things that are novel and that they do require us to make an effort to decide what to do at a given moment.

Knowing what activity we should carry out and what to expect each day will help us to be clear about our daily planning, it allows us to focus on the important problems or needs that arise during the day without worrying about the routines that we already know that we do they work. And that prevents us from wearing ourselves out psychologically by always having to doubt about how to use our available time.

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2. Sleep well

Sleeping is one of the most important activities for any human being, since it allows us to rest at night and recharge the energy necessary to face a new day.

Good sleep habits are based on having a fixed time to go to bed; thus the brain gets used through the milestone to progressively “turn off” at the same time in the evening or at night.

Getting about 7 or 8 hours of sleep every night helps us prepare physically and mentally. In addition to that, it makes us less susceptible to stress, anxiety, problems concentrating and therefore prevents us from being in a very irritable state.

• Related article: "10 basic principles for good sleep hygiene"

3. Eat well

Healthy eating habits also have an obvious direct impact on our mental health and our search for psychological balance.

Eating well makes us less likely to adopt a sedentary lifestyle (due to the lack of energy that food deficits cause in the body) and that prevents us from developing psychological mood disorders.

Some of these alterations may be depressive symptoms and alterations associated with social isolation and the lack of stimuli and activities that excite us.

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4. Do exercise

Exercising on a recurring basis helps us disconnect from obsessions and intrusive thoughts that sometimes assault us unexpectedly and negatively affect our mental health.

The caloric intake, sweating and the release of endorphins and hormones of all kinds into the bloodstream that enables the Intense physical exercise generates a feeling of well-being once it is finished, which contributes very positively to our health mental.

In addition to that, the relaxation and disconnection that sports activity makes possible helps us to acquire other points of view about our problems and allows us to assess them from a different perspective and without always falling into the same style of thinking negative.

• Related article: "The 10 psychological benefits of practicing physical exercise"

5. stay hydrated

As with food, good hydration habits are another of the most that exist to achieve a balance both in the body and in our health mental. If there is a lack of water in our body, our stress levels skyrocket and our brain goes into “emergency” mode, something that has a negative impact on our emotional balance.

Scientific research has shown that maintaining optimal levels of hydration improves both physical health and a person's good mood and prevents various psychological disturbances.

6. Socialize

Human beings are social animals, which means that we need the company of other people to be happy in our day-to-day life and to develop normally.

Socializing helps us to see things from other points of view and this allows us to have a perception of things that is richer in nuances, which helps us not always fall into very simple explanations of what happens in our lives and that can generalize us discomfort.

Some of the recurring ideas that we may have in our heads and that other people help us overcome may be, for example, believing that one is not worth achieving nothing in life, blaming ourselves for everything bad that happens to us or, on the contrary, having a too high vision of ourselves that does not correspond to the reality.

7. The importance of free time

Free time is essential for anyone, since it is the period in which they can disconnect from the worries or demands of everyday life at work or at a social or family level.

Having activities with which to enjoy in free time such as hobbies or hobbies of all kinds helps us to fulfill ourselves as people, It allows us both to rest from day to day and to regain strength for the next day of work.

Some of the favorite activities that we can put into practice in our free time are both sports such as social ones and also hobbies such as watching series, painting, reading, watching movies, playing board games or video game.

8. intellectual activities

There are many intellectual activities that test our cognitive abilities and help us improve our mental agility, something very useful for cope with the demands of everyday life without stress.

The daily practice of activities such as reading, studying a language, doing a sudoku or doing all kinds of activities that require a certain intellectual effort are also among the healthy habits that can improve our health mental.

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Are you looking for professional psychological assistance?

If you want to start a psychotherapy process, we invite you to contact us.

In Psychology and Psychotherapy Miguel Ángel We can assist you in person or online.