5 Ways to Celebrate National Wellness Month

August is National Wellness Month and we should all strive to celebrate it as best as we can. This month focuses on promoting wellness-centric habits such as self-care, stress management, and adopting healthy routines. Everyone can benefit from trying these habits, so we have compiled a list of five easy ways to celebrate National Wellness Month.

1.    Drink More Water

Water may be the source of all life, but most of us rarely drink as much as we should. Water performs many vital bodily functions such as lubricating your joints, transporting nutrients around your body, and regulating your mood. For this reason you should strive to drink a few glasses each day.

So exactly how much water do you need to drink per day? Mayoclinic recommends 3.7 liters per day for men, and 2.7 liters per day for women. However, this amount could be higher or lower depending on your overall health, environment, and daily activity levels.

2.    Get Enough Sleep

We spend approximately a third of our time sleeping. This alone should illustrate sleep’s vital importance in our lives. However, those of us with hectic schedules or poor discipline often forgo sleep in favor of other activities.

Whether it's staying up for another two hours to finish a series on Netflix or burning the midnight oil to complete a project, some of us will use any excuse to avoid hitting the hay. However, this can be damaging to both your physical and mental health.

People who don't get enough sleep often experience memory problems, daytime drowsiness, and irritability. On the extreme side of things, poor sleep has also been linked to the development of dementia

The National Sleep Foundation states that adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, so you should set your sleeping schedule accordingly. If you experience insomnia or poor sleep quality, you can try practicing better sleep hygiene. This includes tasks such as:

• Avoiding screens before going to bed.
• Avoiding caffeine in the evening
• Setting up a quiet sleep environment
• Setting your bedroom thermostat between 60^oF and 67^oF

3.    Disconnect from Social Media

It’s no secret that most of us are hooked on social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram. There’s a world of content just waiting to be explored and it’s easy to get stuck scrolling down your feed endlessly for hours.

While this exploration can be fun, it can also be mentally exhausting. Exposing your brain to such a wide range of information for hours each day can overload it. In addition to this, some people might begin feeling upset about their lives after seeing their friends’ highlight reels.

It’s easy to forget that social media posts rarely represent peoples’ day-to-day lives, so it’s worth disconnecting from it all temporarily. Consider closing your social media accounts or deleting these apps from your phone for a month.

This will give you time to enjoy life and discover yourself without external influences. Once you feel refreshed and rejuvenated, you can reopen your account and catch up on what everyone else has been up to.

4.    Start Yoga

September may be National Yoga Awareness Month, but there’s no reason you can’t start doing it in August. Yoga is one of the best wellness activities you can perform because it gives your mind and body a workout.

This practice is thousands of years old and has helped millions of people manage stress and keep their bodies flexible into old age. So consider enrolling in a Yoga class and taking a huge step towards long-term wellness.

5.    Learn to Meditate

Meditation is another ancient practice that calms your mind and enables you to live in the moment. Studies have found that meditation is one of the most effective ways to combat stress and improve your mood.

There are many different types of meditation to choose from, so you might feel overwhelmed by the choices available. However, we recommend starting with Mindfulness Meditation because it is easy to get into and can be performed just about anywhere.

Celebrating National Wellness Month the Right Way

The health and self-care routines mentioned above are an excellent way to celebrate National Wellness Month. So try keeping up with these habits until next year and see how much your wellbeing has improved.

XOXO