Life has its ups and downs, but it is the way we handle them that matters. It is okay to experience sadness and other emotions, but maintaining a positive outlook can positively impact your overall health and wellness.
Fortunately, there are natural ways to improve your mental well-being and boost your mood. As a long-term care provider in Colorado and Missouri, Vivage believes in a holistic approach to care. In combination with traditional medicine, we enable individuals to improve their quality of life naturally, treating not just the symptoms but the root cause of the issue.
In an effort to help others achieve their overall health and wellness, we are sharing some natural mood boosters!
Get Your Body Moving
Exercise is a great natural mood booster. When you exercise, whether it is moderate or high intensity, your body releases endorphins, the “feel-good” hormones. These endorphins “are manufactured in your brain, spinal cord, and many other parts of your body and are released in response to brain chemicals called neurotransmitters (Web MD).”
Along with reducing stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression, exercise can also help your body process and rid itself of the stress hormone known as cortisol. By replacing these stress hormones with the feel-good hormones, exercise has proven to be an essential part of enhancing wellness and boosting mood.
If you are looking for ways to implement more physical activity into your lifestyle, try one of these ideas:
- Go for a walk around your community or neighborhood
- Take a yoga or tai chi class
- Try water aerobics
- Go for a trail ride with your bicycle
Stimulate the Senses with Aromatherapy
Our senses are how we perceive the world around us. What we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell impacts how we feel. Did you know that aromatherapy and your sense of smell can be used as a natural mood booster?
Essential oils have been used to provide numerous benefits for many different ailments, but one of the simplest ways of utilizing these natural mood boosters is by diffusing them.
Oils such as lavender, rose, and ylang-ylang are great for promoting relaxation. Grapefruit, lemon, and peppermint essential oils have been known to lift a person’s mood.
While each essential oil provides its own set of benefits, individuals can take advantage of aromatherapy by mixing and diffusing different oils together.
Practice Meditation and Gratitude
Using meditation to reflect and realize what you are grateful for can quickly enhance your mood and put you in a more positive mindset. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that mindfulness meditation reduced anxiety and symptoms of depression after an eight-week period. By adding gratitude into the practice, individuals in other studies also showed improved or boosted mood.
To get the most out of this natural mood booster, try keeping a gratitude journal and document what you are grateful for in your life. The morning is the perfect time to do this. By checking in with yourself and reflecting on the positives in your life each morning, you are setting your day up for good vibes and positivity!
Stayed Connected with Friends & Family
We all need socialization and interaction - especially when we are feeling down or upset. A quick way to boost your mood is to connect with a trusted friend or family member and talk through your problems or emotions. Even if you do not want to discuss what is bringing you down, simply conversing with someone you feel comfortable with can boost or improve your mood.
It is okay to feel sad or down from time to time, but it is important to pick yourself back up. Knowing how to make yourself feel better and boosting your mood is an essential part of self-care and enhancing your wellness.
To learn more about the holistic care we offer at our long-term care communities throughout Colorado and Missouri, contact a member of the Vivage team or visit our website.