5 Ways to Better Yourself this Fall

The beginning of a new season is the perfect time to change up your self-care routine. This fall you might consider rearranging your day-to-day activity schedule to create a fresh routine that doesn’t make your week feel repetitive. Practicing these activities a few times a week can help you become a better version of yourself, whether that means reducing your stress and anxiety, creating more self-confidence, making yourself slow down or becoming an overall healthier person. A weekly routine is intended to keep you organized and help you accomplish all of the tasks that are important to you throughout the week, so it’s imperative that you stick to it!

• Exercise 

The weather is changing and it’s easy to fall out of your summer workout routine that was driven by warm weather, shorts and bathing suits. It’s important to make sure that you’re still practicing a healthy workout routine. Whether you join a class, have a self proclaimed gym routine or workout at home you should always be looking for exciting ways to better yourself. 

A great addition to your workout routine this fall is yoga! If you practice it already try more challenging poses or different environments, like your office! If you don’t already practice yoga, try picking up a class, practicing it at home with interactive videos or going on a retreat. It will be a great addition to your current workout routine or a great way to start one up!

• Sleep 

Your best bet to having an enjoyable and productive morning is based on an effective sleep schedule. Maintaining healthy sleep hygiene can create the foundation you need to fall asleep with ease and stay asleep throughout the night. There are 3 main practices that can help promote a better night’s sleep:

First, according to The National Sleep Foundation, keeping a consistent sleep schedule is important to your body’s internal clock and helps maintain better quality sleep patterns. Set an alarm on your phone that will remind you when to get into bed at night and when to wake up in the morning.

Next, pre-sleep activities are also very important to creating healthy sleep patterns. Try to stay away from stimulants and depressants such as digital screens, caffeine, sugar, nicotine and alcohol about 4-6 hours before bed. 

Lastly, your sleep environment also affects your sleep quality, which is why you should make your bedroom as peaceful as possible. The components that easily disrupt sleep are light, noise, temperature and comfort. Therefore, you should avoid outside light by using darkening curtains, sleep with the tv off and the door shut, use a fan or a heater depending on the season and make sure your mattress, comforter and pillows are to your liking.

• Meditation

Meditation is a very beneficial, however many people find themselves unable to achieve or find time to practice it. According to Headspace, meditation can positively impact stress, anxiety, compassion, focus, mood, etc. The goal of meditation isn’t to completely empty your mind but rather to focus and see thoughts more clearly. Meditation can benefit the outlook and ways in which you see and handle your problems. 

Many people who are new to meditation and some who have been practicing it for a while find it challenging to make it a daily practice. As a result, it has been determined that frequency is more effective than duration. Therefore, if you’re struggling to practice meditation try practicing it for 10 minutes a day, 7 days a week rather than 70 minutes, 1 day a week. 

• Work

An important step to bettering oneself that is often overlooked is work environment. The average American works 42.5 hours per week, or 8.5 hours per day. When spending such a large amount of time in the same environment each week, you should make yourself aware of your workplace habits.

Desk Setup: Enjoying your workspace is conducive to your productivity and frame of mind. Decorating your desk with pictures, plants and knick knacks can create a workspace where you’re happy to be everyday. 

Posture and Sedentary Positions: In the digital age, a majority of careers require sitting at desks and performing tasks via laptops or desktops. Sitting for long periods of time throughout the day can hinder your posture by creating unnecessary slouching and back pain. It can also encourage fatigue, weight gain, stress and anxiety, etc. Try to avoid these symptoms by taking regular breaks, going for walks and stretching at your desk. 

Digital exposure: Those same careers that promote poor posture and sedentary positions, promote excessive exposure to digital screens. It’s common to experience symptoms such as eye-strain, retina damage, headaches, etc. when spending approximately 8 hours a day in front of a screen. In order to combat these symptoms, you should limit screen-time or take frequent breaks, use screen filters like night-shift and consider wearing blue-light-filtering glasses. 

• Socialization 

Remaining social and conscious of those around you is necessary for a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle. According to Medical News Today, socialization serves as a large source of your happiness and longevity. Whether you reach out to friends and family regularly, strike up a conversation with a coworker or join a club; steady socialization releases neurotransmitters that protect you now and in the future. The neurotransmitters that social activities release can reduce stress, loneliness, anxiety and depression.

Author: Sewall House