Two Practices To Improve Your Physical and Emotional Health
Two major practices to improve your physical and emotional health are rest and morning routine
Rest
Rest is a hidden gem when it comes to personal development practice because usually rest is associated with being stationary whereas development should happen when you are moving. However, when resting is done properly, it can fill you up with physical and emotional energy and focus to exponentially increase your performance. If you are serious about achieving your vision, you have to seriously consider resting well. Invest in resting now.
Schedule rest into your day as something nonnegotiable. Carve out time in your day, week, month, and year for taking care of your body and mind. Bingeing on Netflix or XBOX until 2AM is not necessarily resting nor is scrolling through social media.
Sleep
One of the best form of resting is sleep. We are not getting enough sleep. And this has been a serious epidemic. Doctors recommend that we get about 7–9 hours of sleep each night. It may vary from person to person but we are not getting enough sleep. We lack in the hours of sleep but we also lack in the quality of it. Consider what is required to get a good sleep. Take a look at these 17 guidelines for inducing better sleep tonight.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/17-tips-to-sleep-better#14.-Rule-out-a-sleep-disorder
When you get good sleep at night, your body and mind will be at their optimal level. You will notice your concentration and productivity increase.
Exercise
Moving your body is another great form of rest. Rest is often mistakenly associated with being idle or static. But rest can happen with lots of sweat because your body and brain will be positively affected when you exercise. Consider doing 20–30 minutes of a cardio exercise daily.
Diet
A well-balanced diet will boost your energy as well as maintain the health of your body and mind. Don’t binge eat. Don’t be stressed over getting some carbs and a chunk of fat. You need them all! Eat healthy and delicious food. Love your body and allow yourself to eat flavorful and nutritious food.
Journal
You can reflect on your day as you journal. Write down what went great and what could have been better. Write down any negative emotions you might have. Write down any future dreams and plans you have. Things in your life will be in the right order when you write them down. Also, journaling is a great way to alleviate any emotional stress that’s been built up in your mind.
Socializing
Hanging out with your friends and loved ones will increase your emotional health for sure. You don’t even have to do anything special. Just be with them and fully devote your time to being with them. Don’t whip out your phone. Take the AirPods out of your ears. Give your whole attention to them and spend physical time with them. Be curious and make them feel important. Show them your appreciation and gratitude.
These five practices will help you get the rest you need. Keep up with getting good rest so your body and mind will be in the best shape. Besides rest, you should consider having a productive morning routine. Are you aware of how you spend your morning? Following a good morning routine is the best first thing you can do at the start of the day. Start the day right and the rest of your day will be on the right trajectory.
Your body and mind will be refreshed and well rested after a good night’s sleep. You are ready for the most productive and creative task in the morning. So invest your morning to improve your body and mind.
Morning Routine
The first thing to set up a good morning routine is to decide on what time you will wake up. If you have a class or work beginning at the certain hour, then you have to wake up earlier. How early should you wake up to do your morning routine? It depends on what you want to include in your morning routine. As a rule of thumb, try to reserve about an hour before you need to get ready for the day’s schedule. For example, if you have to get out at 8AM to be on time for your class or work and you need about 30 minutes to get prepared, then wake up around 6:30AM and do a one-hour morning routine until 7:30AM.
After your wake up time is set, you need to consider having a night routine. In order to have a great morning, you need to have a great night. In other words, you need to get good rest in the night regularly. You can’t expect to have a great day without having a great sleep the night before. Get 7–8 hours of sleep, if you can. The quality of your day will be drastically different if you have enough sleep. If you decide to wake up at 6:30AM, then you need to go to bed around 10:30PM to get solid 7 hours of sleep.
What do you do during the morning routine?
In your morning routine, consider incorporating the following:
- Physical Exercise
- Emotional Cultivation
- Spiritual Practice
- Professional Development
Each item should be done for 20–30 minutes. So if your morning routine is for one hour, then select 2 or 3. You can also just select one and do it for one hour. It’s up to you! But I recommend that you don’t cram all four into your one-hour morning routine. I think it’s better to do two things for solid 30 minutes each rather than cramming all four things in one hour.
For more details on these four items, read the next article.
Conclusion
In order to improve your physical and emotional health, you need to rest well and have a productive morning routine. Get a good night’s sleep, exercise, eat nutritiously, journal and hang out with friends and family.
In the next article, we’ll delve into how you might implement each of the four morning routine items.
