July 24th is International Self-Care Day, a celebration which stresses the importance of self-care to your health, especially as you age. Self-care is eating a healthy diet, getting lots of sleep and providing good things for yourself. In other words, taking good care of yourself and treating yourself kindly. If it helps to improve or maintain yourself physical, emotional or mental health, it is self-care.
What are some simple ways that you can take care of yourself?
- Start by creating a space in your home where you can relax and spend time on your interests. Make it comfortable by adding candles and pillows, a warm throw for the colder weather. Whether you like to read, draw, knit or meditate, this should be your sanctuary where you can retreat to when you need to be alone. Since stress is a major cause of many illnesses, having a place to be by ourselves and just think can lower our anxiety levels.
- Find ways to move around more. The word exercise can sound like work to so many but we can still incorporate more movement into our day by stretching while we do housework, being aware of our bodies as we move. Movement releases endorphins which increase our feelings of happiness.
- Become more aware of what you eat. Not everyone has time to make healthy meals several times a day but there are choices available for the days when you don’t have time or the urge to cook. Try yogurt with berries, a quick salad with flaxseed sprinkled over it, watermelon slices as a side dish to cold chunks of chicken or turkey. Healthy eating doesn’t need to take a lot of time.
Self-care is all about indulging more in the things we love to do that are good for us. Time spent looking after our bodies and creating with our minds, a more natural way of living. To read more about International Self-Care Day, click here.
