Slip, slop, slap of course, but getting some sunshine each day in the early or later hours of the day can have wonderful effects on your mental health. Vitamin D has long been known for its positive effects on your bone health, but low Vitamin D levels have been linked to depression. With new studies suggesting that by increasing your levels of Vitamin D through healthy and safe exposure to sunshine you may dramatically increase your feel good hormones.

There is a strong connection between the food we eat and how we feel physically and emotionally. Eating lots of ‘junk’ or refined foods, or high sugary foods leads to big crashes in blood sugar later on, which can cause feelings of tiredness, lethargy, angriness, and depression.

We are born into one lucky country that has access to clean water every single day. Make the most of it and stay hydrated, drinking between 1-2 liters per day depending on the weather, your body weight, and your activity level. Filtered water is the most preferred option takin out all the bad chemicals that can be found in our everyday tap water.

Every felt anxious or short of breath? It is amazing just how quickly you can restore a feeling of calm by taking a few deep breaths. Breathing down into the pit of your tummy helps to relax the whole body and nervous system. Simply sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, breathe in slowly and deeply for as many counts as you can, hold for a pause then breath out slowly and calmly, trying to expel all the air and a little extra. Repeat this four or five times.

Our bodies were made to move! Daily exercise is crucial to a health mind and healthy body. It doesn’t have to be high intensity or pushing your boy to the absolutely limit, especially as rest is just as important, but getting the heart rate up or taking a few extra steps each day all adds up. Even is exercise is hard for you, there are lots of good things you can do to start, such as taking the stairs instead of the lift, getting off the bus one stop earlier and walking the extra 500 meters, or even just doing 20 star jumps each hour. A 20 minute walk can change your mood drastically, so it’s just about getting started.

Every one is different and each person needs a different amount of rest but between 7-8 hours for males and 7-9 hours for females is optimum. Sleeping too much can have similar affects as sleeping to little. The amount of sleep you have is just as important as the quality of sleep you have. To increase your sleep quality, try these few tricks; turn your phone and electronics off at least one hour before bed, create a bed time routine, such as a warm shower or bath followed by some reading, keep your room as dark as possibly, avoid heavy meals or snacks near bed time which may keep you digestive system working overtime, avoid caffeinated beverages after midday, and meditate before bed time.

A lot of people pay good money for a personal trainer or a doctor for many physical aliments, but don’t pay money or take the time to look after their emotional and mental health. It is all connected and when we feeling our best emotionally and mentally we can also achieve and create much success in the other domains of our lives. If you are feeing a little overwhelmed with anything in your life, feeling a little down, anxious, angry or scared, you don’t have to continue feeling that way. Empowered Existence is here to help through psychotherapeutic interventions. Please click the link to find out more about psychotherapy and getting the right support for your mental and emotional wellbeing.