Fuel/five: 5 ways to keep your mental wellbeing in check

1) Keep moving

As our Movin’ March campaign proves, we feel passionately about the positive effect physical activity can have on your mental health, particularly during lockdown. It’s very easy to fall into unhealthy habits, so try to make time every day to move - it helps to clear your mind and keep your body fit. Moving doesn’t need to be strenuous, it could be as simple as light walk or doing some gardening, what’s important is that it makes you feel happier, less stressed, more optimistic and more focused.

2) Look after your body

Similar to our first point, physical and mental health are closely connected, so try to do things that will keep your physical health in check and often your mental health will follow. Try to reduce your caffeine intake and instead drink more water, eat three healthy meals a day, and make sure to get enough sleep. We all know these things already, but they are simple tasks we can all control that have proven benefits.

3) Take time to relax

With many of us working from home it’s very easy to be ‘on call’ all of the time, but it’s important to still try to separate your home and work life. The best way to do this is to set clear boundaries by scheduling lunches away from the computer and limiting the amount of work you do in the evenings. Use this spare time to do what you love to do most, that could be a hobby, time with friends or family, or simply watching TV. You could even learn a new skill!

4) Stay connected to people

While the pandemic has kept us from seeing many of our loved ones for long periods of time over the last year, it’s important to maintain healthy relationships with those close to you as this helps our mental wellbeing. Thankfully modern technology means we’ve never been closer to our loved ones while apart. So, pick up the phone to a family member, schedule a video call with your friends or simply comment on a co-worker’s social media post, whatever works for you.

5) Don’t stay glued to the news

The daily news cycle is often filled with negative stories, and this constant bombardment can leave us feeling anxious about the world. It’s important to try and break away from that cycle, so try to reduce the number of times you watch or read the news every day and think about turning breaking news alerts off on your phone. Instead, try to limit to checking the news twice a day and use trustworthy sources, not social media.