10 evidence-based tips to improve your mental-health
instantaneously when you need to take care of yourself.
1. Practice your breathing
the RIGHT way
When? When you’re feeling
overwhelmed, stressed, or
angry.
How? Breathe in for 4 seconds.
Hold your breath for 4
seconds.
Exhale for 4 seconds.
Hold your breath for another 4
seconds.
Why it Breathing rhythmically gives
works: you control over your
heartrate.
Duration: 2 minutes per day.
3. Solve a puzzle
When? When you need some
distraction.
How? Try to finish a sudoku,
crossword, or any other
puzzle.
Why it Fixing puzzles releases
works: dopamine in your brain, but
more importantly, it helps you
relax and be in the present.
Duration: 15 minutes per day.
5. Create a to-do list
When? When you need to create
structure in your life (and in
your mind).
How? Try to set objectives that
follow the SMART goal
guidelines. Setting SMART
goals helps you to develop the
focus and motivation needed
to achieve the goals on your
to-do list.
Why it Studies have shown that
works: making specific plans for
unfulfilled goals eliminates
the negative effects of
interruptions on productivity.
Duration: 10 minutes per day.
7. Drink enough water!
When? When you are feeling moody
and unenergetic for no
apparent reason.
How? Aim to drink at least 2 liters of
water per day to stay well
hydrated and keep your mood
high.
Why it Our brains are very sensitive
works: to a lack of water, which
results in a significant drop in
mood.
Duration: 5 minutes per day.
9. Journal at the end of
every day
When? At the end of every day, right
before going to bed.
How? Write about what happened,
what's on your mind, what
made you happy, or what's
been bugging you all day.
Important tip: Resist the urge
to edit. This is for your eyes
only, so don’t be too
conscious about what you’re
writing and how you’re writing
it.
Why it It’s a form of therapy that you
works: can do on your own. It
improves your memory and
self-awareness. It can even
increase your productivity. No
wonder why many successful
people are known journal
writers.
Duration: 5 - 30 minutes per day.
2. Go for a walk in a
park or a forest
When? When your mind is swarmed
with negative thoughts.
How? Make it a habit to walk for an
hour at least twice a week.
Long-term stress-relieving
and mood-boosting benefits
come from consistent walks.
Why it Being in nature, or even
works: seeing images of nature
reduces our fears and
anxieties. It also increases our
pleasant feelings.
Duration: 120 minutes per week.
4. Write down 5 things
that you’re grateful for
When? When you need to boost your
mood.
How? Simply write about things that
make you happy. These can
be the smallest of things (the
bus wasn’t late today!) or
something on a much bigger
scale. Take time to reflect at
the end of each day and think
of a situation or experience
you are grateful for.
Why it We can train ourselves to
works: notice the positives by
practicing gratitude.
Duration: 5 minutes per day.
6. Perform an act of
kindness
When? When you want to increase the
happiness of those who you
care about.
How? Make someone smile (give a
compliment, tell a joke…), or
make someone’s day easier
(help them with their
groceries, pick up something
they dropped…)
Why it Performing an act of kindness
works: increases your own
happiness.This phenomenon
is referred to as the “helper’s
high”, and it’s one of the
strongest reasons why an act
of kindness can increase your
mental health.
Duration: 1 - 30 minutes per day.
8. Practice positive
affirmations the right way
When? At the start of every day to
find a positive state of mind
How? Find a quick five-minute
affirmation video on YouTube.
Listen to it on your morning
commute or while you brush
your teeth in the morning.
Why it It gets your mindset right
works: before the workday and helps
you focus on cultivating the
emotions that you want to
experience that day. A study
in 2010 found that individuals
who utilized self-affirmations
experienced reduced
symptoms of anxiety and
depression.
Duration: 3-5 minutes per day.
10. Smile
When? When you don't know if you've
laughed today or not.
How? Think of the funniest thing
that has ever happened in
your life.
Why it When we’re happy, we smile –
works: but it can also work
backwards. Smiling releases
dopamine, endorphins, and
serotonin in your brain, which
are directly linked to
happiness.
Duration: 2 minutes per day.