As I have been recovering from my tonsillectomy, this blog, written by Sheila Olson, was presented to me for publication on BarreBarreBella. It hits home. I was not exactly healing well and I had barely cut down on my workout routine from before the surgery. The very beginning of the article addressed what I was doing wrong and what I have been doing incorrectly for a while. Sleep? Who needs that, right? Wrong. Although recovering from a tonsillectomy, which is usually reserved for small children because they heal faster (smaller blood vessels, healing is faster because the are still growing), I was still going full-tilt. So this blog hits home for me and I am grateful for Sheila’s words at the moment that they arrived. Please take this to heart and take care of yourselves. For more of heMs. Olson’s sage advice, go the FitSheila.com.

Don’t Sell Your Health Short: Tips for Including Self-Care in Your Everyday Routine

Being diligent about getting regular physical exercise and eating right doesn’t necessarily mean you’re taking good care of your overall health. People often overlook those important activities to support their physical, mental, and spiritual health. Ignoring any one of them means you’re doing yourself a disservice and failing to make the mind-body-spirit connection. Self-care should address every aspect of one’s overall wellness. It sustains you in ways that exercise, by itself, cannot. Here are a few examples to help you begin thinking in terms of self-care.

A Good Night’s Sleep

In today’s “get-to-it-faster-and-do-more” world, sleep sometimes takes a back seat. That’s a common mistake, and it’s self-defeating: losing sleep means you’re losing energy, mental focus, and the ability to fight off illness. And you can’t skimp on sleep for four or five days and hope to get caught up and start from scratch over the weekend. You need a good seven to nine hours of good, restful sleep every night, not just once in a while. This is one self-care action that should always be at the top of your priority list.

Quiet Time

Day-to-day living is hectic, and stress takes a mental and physical toll on you. Everybody needs some downtime, a period of quiet rest and contemplation to process experiences — both good and bad — and keep our lives in some perspective. It sounds cliche, but ignoring opportunities to do restful things — whether it be a nap, a walk in the woods, meditating, dreaming, or gardening — can leave you feeling run down and overwhelmed. The brain needs time to sort things out, free of non-stop stimuli from the media, internet, and people who make demands on our time. Do yourself a big favor — take time to relax every week.

Make Time for Playtime

Just as the brain needs time to rest, your body and soul need time to play. It’s important to your physical health to exercise, but your spirit needs to be nurtured by activities that bring you joy. It could be whatever you wish there was more time for, things you swear you’ll do on vacation but never seem to get around to during the week. For some people, it’s reading and getting caught up on all those books that stack up on you but never get read. Golf, tennis, biking, and hiking are important leisure-time activities for many people who relish that feeling of deep contentment that it provides. Relaxation and play are essential to one’s overall health, and they’re important enough that you should reorder your weekly schedule to accommodate them.

Making Time

For people who lead busy lives (which is most of us), there’s a tendency to feel that sacrificing self-care is necessary though regrettable because there’s money to be made and work to keep pace with. Instead, try rethinking your schedule so that enjoyable activities become part of your everyday routine. For instance, try waking up 30 minutes early in the morning just to spend time reading, journaling, or going for an early-morning walk or run. Maybe it means using a few lunch hours each week just to listen to your favorite music or sit quietly in a nearby park. Anything that makes you feel good and restores mental energy is worth an hour of your time.

Exercise and Addiction Recovery

Regular physical activity has been proven effective at helping people who are struggling with drug or alcohol addiction. Exercise stimulates neurotransmitters in the brain that make you feel good, lift your mood, and enhance a sense of overall well-being. If working out in a gym isn’t a possibility, consider participating in a team sport, take a group class, or dial up a workout video on YouTube a few times a week. Remember, your body is still healing from the effects of addiction, so don’t overdo it.

Remember, neglecting self-care can undermine other efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle. Exercise and eating well are important, but so are quiet reflection and time spent enjoying a favorite activity. Try looking at it as part of a well-rounded routine for staying healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually.

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