Practical tips to improve your mental and physical health
The New Year is a time of new beginnings.
The idea of New Year’s Resolutions goes back to the Babylonians 4,000 years ago, when they celebrated the New Year in March, planted crops, and held a 12-day religious festival where they promised their gods to pay their debts and return borrowed objects.
Today, the New Year looks much different. People proclaim that they are going to try to start going to the gym more and eat healthier or that they’re going to reduce their stress, travel more and stay more organized.
But most New Year’s Resolutions never last because starting small is essential.
Mental health:
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness and one in 20 experience serious mental illness.
And it doesn’t take much research to understand why. We are constantly bombarded by tragedy on the news, we are constantly comparing ourselves to other people on social media; most of us only get evenings and weekends to spend time with family and do activities that give our lives meaning and we face unreasonable pressure.
By the time we get home from work, so many of us find ourselves sitting on the couch and watching television. No wonder time is moving so fast.
“There are many things that are impacting people since Covid,” said Dr. Ronald Brenner, chief of Behavioral Health at Catholic Health. “A lot of burnout, a lot of difficulty coping with the day-to-day stress, after the stress that was triggered by Covid.”
Dr. Brenner said that increased commute times due to traffic and increased work due to staffing shortages are stressors he’s been hearing about from the public.
It’s essential, Dr. Brenner said, to try to find a balance between all the different aspects of life, work, family, relationships and happiness.
“I think people really don’t have anybody to take to that the trust or that they can bring their problems too,” Dr. Brenner said. “That leads to more isolation and more depression and more anxiety. One of the resolutions for the new year should be to improve, if you need to, your social relationships, activities and things that bring you pleasure like hobbies that have been abandoned and need to come in the picture, because they really protect you against burnout and against stress. So opening up, having a priest to talk to, having a rabbi to talk to, having a good friend to talk to… needs to be done.”
Physical health:
Mental and physical health go hand-in-hand.
“Fitness is a great production of happiness and endorphins,” Dr. Brenner said. “If you get on the treadmill, if you run, if you work out a couple of days a week, it makes a huge difference. There are studies that show taking even 4,000 steps a day can make a huge difference in your life. Putting some effort into eating a healthier meal when you’re there at the table makes a huge difference.”
Trying to exercise or eat healthy in an attempt to lose weight is a more difficult feat than it may seem. Losing weight takes time, and especially in today’s age of instant gratification, many people will give up if they don’t see immediate results.
“The number one resolution is, ‘I’m going to lose weight’, but I think the resolution should be ‘I’m going to eat better and get more exercise, and the weight reduction will come with that,’” Dr. Brenner said.
Sleep hygiene is also very important to one’s mental and physical health. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, sleep deficiency is linked to many chronic health problems, including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity and depression.
“Sleep hygiene is paramount in happiness and well-being,” Dr. Brenner said. “Try to get between seven to eight hours of sleep. Eight hours is ideal. It’s very difficult for people to do it because of a bad habit or just plugging themselves in front of the T.V. and not doing more to get tired at night, maybe some more exercise in the morning, more walking during the day… and alcohol is a detrimental factor. Many people think they should have a pretty heavy drink at night or some beers… it does produce some sedation at the beginning, but it destroys your REM sleep.”
