Our best mental health tips

jodie2839
Sep 8
5 min read

What works: protect your mental health and prevent problems

Protecting our mental health is easier than you might think. We can all do it every day, and with simple activities that help us feel good, we’re better able to cope with life.

Each of these tips has been created to help us look after our mental health. Importantly, each one is backed up by evidence from research, including the Mental Health Foundation’s ground-breaking study.

Trying new things can sometimes feel uncomfortable, but they usually get easier the more we practise them.

1. Get closer to nature

We all live with worries and fears, uncertainties, losses that leave us sad and pressures that make us feel stressed. Nature can have a really calming effect on us.

We have been living around other animals and plants for thousands of years. Some people say nature helps them feel calmer, more hopeful and less alone. Our research found that going for a walk was UK adults’ favourite way of coping with stress during the pandemic in 2020.

In Japan, some people do “forest bathing”, which may improve their mental health. So going to a forest or wood and experiencing the different smells, sounds and textures may really help.

To get the best out of nature’s healing effects, try tuning your senses to what’s around you – the trees, plants, birds and animals, for instance, and water such as ponds or the seashore.

Take a deep breath and see how you feel. The idea is to get connected with your natural surroundings.

Find out more about mental health and nature, including Thriving With Nature, a guide produced by the Mental Health Foundation and wildlife charity WWF.

2. Get more from your sleep

Anyone who has struggled with sleep will know what a difference it makes to our bodies, minds and ability to cope with life.

We all have times when we sleep badly, and some of us live in situations that make a good night’s sleep impossible.

For many people, sleep is often the first thing that suffers when we're struggling with our mental health.

Adults need between 7 and 9 hours' sleep a night, including enough dreaming sleep and enough deeper sleep.

If you’re struggling with your sleep, think about trying a few simple changes.

For example:

Develop a relaxing bedtime routine to help you start winding down before you actually go to sleep
Avoid TV and mobile screens, alcohol and caffeine before bed. This will help you fall asleep and stay asleep. You could also avoid vigorous exercise before bed.
Go to bed and get up at around the same time every day, including weekends.

For more suggestions, try this guide to sleep and mental health. It includes information about potentially helpful apps and getting professional help if self-help isn’t working for you.

3. Keep moving

Our bodies and minds are connected, so looking after ourselves physically also helps us prevent problems with our mental health (it works the other way around, too).

Moving our bodies – with sport, gardening, dancing, cycling, walking the dog, cleaning or going to the gym, for example – are great ways to improve our mental and physical health.

Exercise releases “feel good” hormones that reduce feelings of stress and anger. It also helps us feel better about our bodies. It can improve our sleep too. If it involves other people, like being part of a team, a class or a group we see regularly, that can also boost our mental health.

We don’t have to be professional athletes, or sporty, to get the benefits of being physically active. From walking to dancing and basketball to the gym, the best exercise is simply the one we enjoy.

4. Eat healthy food

Food and drink affect our bodies, brains and mood – for good or bad.

Sugary snacks and drinks can give us a temporary “high” or sense of comfort that can feel irresistible. But they soon leave us feeling exhausted or jittery. Caffeine in coffee, tea, or so-called energy drinks can also have this effect.

A balanced diet with lots of vegetables and fruit is essential for good physical and mental health.

How we eat is also important. Having meals with other people can help to grow relationships – with family, friends, partners, and colleagues. This is really important in protecting everyone’s mental health and preventing problems.

5. Be kind and help create a better world

If you have ever felt lonely, you will know how much it helps to have even a small connection with someone else.

Exchanging a smile or friendly words can be comforting and lift our mood.

Research shows that being kind is good for both sides. Being kind can boost our mood, help us feel more capable, strengthen our connections with others and even make us cope better with stress.

If you don’t know where to start, you could try small but meaningful acts of kindness, such as offering a smile or a few kind words to another person. You could make their day but also feel better for it - friendly connections with others are vital for our mental health.

6. Be curious and open-minded to new experiences

We can all get stuck in familiar ways, like how we spend our time and what we think about ourselves and the world.

This can be self-fulfilling, with our expectations influencing what actually happens, for good or bad. For example, we might say to ourselves: “Things never get better” or “I’m useless” as a response to what others have said to us.

It can help to notice these thoughts and try out new ones, such as “I can change things for the better” and “there is so much I can do”.

Life can feel more interesting, lively and rewarding when we are open to trying new experiences and experimenting with how we do things.

It could be as simple as what we have for breakfast or the route we walk with the dog. It could also need some planning, like an adventure holiday. We might find a new place that it turns out we love, discover a talent we didn’t know we had or meet someone new and important.

7. Plan things to look forward to

Life throws all sorts at us, and during hard times, we may feel hopeless and not have the energy to plan for the future.

Things to look forward to, including fun activities, can help us cope with difficult situations.

Making plans for things we enjoy can increase our sense of hope, which is important for our mental health. Our plan could be for anything from small pleasures, like a cup of tea or your favourite TV programme or dance class, to a trip with family or friends, or seeing your favourite film, sports team or singer.

Whether it’s a small or a big one, the important thing is to plan it.

Decide what you’ll do, when and with who and, if needed, book it. It’s important to follow your plan – and repeat.