Staying mentally healthy

Many of us suffer with mental health problems and they can arise from "simple" things like stress, not enough social interaction, or not getting enough exercise. Staying mentally healthy is one of the most important things you can do for your brain in order to work on your mental health. Like many other conditions one of the best ways to care for your mental health is by preventing problems from occurring. Here are some of the best ways to properly care for your mental health:

Tip # 1 - Exercise Daily
Everyone hears the benefits of daily exercise but do we all listen? It is vital to our body's health in so many ways to make time to exercise each day. You should work on staying physically active each day even if it means you take the stairs versus the elevator at work. Strive to get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. Increased physical exercise actually helps to stimulate brain cells and it can also help you to create new brain cells and strengthen the neural connections. If you have physical limitations it may be a good idea to take up swimming and water aerobics so you can work on creating a healthy body and mind.

Tip # 2 - Push yourself to get out
No matter what age you are, you need to make friends and get out there. You shouldn't be a recluse and you really do not want to trap yourself inside without meeting your neighbors and others. Join a club where you can interact with others such as a book club or perhaps you can join a senior center where you play games with other seniors. You have to push yourself out of your comfort zone once and awhile to get out there and to make friends. Despite what you think, remaining social actually helps your brain as it provides you with a general sense of well-being and an uplifted attitude.

Tip # 3 - Make time to laugh
Laughter is one of the best medicines for your body, especially for your mental health. Taking time to laugh and share fun experiences with others will help you to feel at ease and to gain more self-esteem and self-confidence. You should also look for fun things you can do that will reduce your stress and help you stay positive. Try new things and experiences with others like going down a zipline, going river rafting and many other fun things. When you do this, it will help your mental health to remain positive.

Tip # 4 - Eat Right
One of the best ways you can focus on mental health is by eating right. You need foods that are healthy and nutritious. Look for a diet that allows you to have more vegetables and fruits in it. These vegetables and fruits will provide you with plenty of vitamins and minerals which will all strengthen your body and your mental health. Every once and awhile it's fine to indulge with things like cakes and cookies but just don't do this to your body everyday as asparagus and broccoli have many other powers to help strengthen your mental health.

Tip # 5 - Challenge your brain
Never let yourself become "bored". This means you need to look for different ways in which you can work on challenging your mental health each day. Try doing crossword puzzles or other things such as Sudoku and playing Bingo with friends. As you challenge your brain it will strengthen the synapses in your mind and this will allow your mental health to remain strong and active. Some people even go back to college in their 80's just to continue learning and keeping their brain active.