By: Chris Phillips

As a society, we often place emphasis on physical health when we talk about being healthy. Physical health is incredibly important to your overall well-being, but so is mental health. Mental health doesn’t just focus on mental illness. It references the overall well-being of your mind and a healthy mind means a happier person in general. How do you stay mentally healthy?

Get Plenty of Sleep

Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep to operate at their highest level. Anything less than seven hours decreases a person’s ability to concentrate and increases chances of developing mood problems. If you are constantly moving and working when you’re awake, even if you get a sufficient amount of sleep, you could still feel tired and drained. Plan some down time to just lie around and do nothing.

Focus on Your Hobbies

Do you like to read? What about play cards? Go hiking and explore nature? Whatever it is, make sure you incorporate it into your weekly schedule. You need fun to balance the stress of working and life in general. Set aside some time every night to just unwind with whatever your favorite hobby is. How does the old saying go? All work and no play, right?

Stay Social

Communicating with your friends, family and other people in your life will give your mental health an enormous boost. Talk about your day with your husband or wife. Call your parents and tell them what’s troubling you. Ask a stranger about the weather. Humans are social creatures who want to be connected to others. Feed your need to be social and raise your mental health.

Exercise and Eat Healthy

Physical health plays a role in your mental health because your brain needs the right vitamins and minerals to stay healthy and you can ensure you get these vitamins by eating healthy. Exercise will help you reduce fat, build muscles and improve sleep. A better night’s sleep can only improve your mental health. It’s also said exercise will release chemicals in your brain to give you an instant mood boost.

Don’t Get Overwhelmed

You have a lot on your plate at work, at home and anything else you may be involved like church, clubs or school. You don’t have to do every favor or take on every task asked of you. It’s okay to say no from time to time. At the same time, you don’t have to face everything alone. You have a social support system and they can help you with any problems that arise. Do you need somebody to pick up your kids from school? Just ask! You don’t need to do everything alone.

Every person has a different life and a different stress level, but we all need to maintain a healthy mental state or we could find ourselves unhappy and overly stressed. Incorporate these tips into your life and watch as your mental health and overall happiness grows.