Summer Mental Health Tips You Need to Try
While summer can be a hectic time, there are ways to make it a season of joy and happiness. These summer mental health tips will support overall wellness, both physically and mentally.
Keep reading to find out what supplemental health tips you need to try today to improve your wellbeing and make the summer one to remember.
Summer Mental Health Tips
Getting right to the point, here are summer mental health tips that are a great way to make this summer amazing. They can help you have fun while staying safe and keeping your mood high. Try them out and watch how wellness thrives in you and those around you.
1. Get the Right Amount of Vitamin D
During the summer, more direct sunlight and UV rays hit parts of the earth, leading to longer days and more intense light. This increase in light also boosts our vitamin D, which is an important nutrient involved in many processes in the body. This leads to a boost in mood during the summer. However, we need to get the right amount of vitamin D healthily. Too much sun can lead to detrimental diseases such as cancers and DNA damage, so if you’re looking for a boost in vitamin D, make sure you are taking in the sun early in the morning or later in the evening. That way, the sun’s rays are not as intense and damaging.
2. Connect With Family and Friends
During the summer, people have more time off. That is why it is a good time to reach out to the people you love and care about. Try to make the summer one where you connect more with your family and friends. Invite them over for lunch, go out to see a movie together, or simply hang out at a local park. Connecting more with the people around us is very beneficial to our overall health, making this a summer mental health tip that is essential.
3. Plan a Vacation
Along that vein of thought, since people have more time off, it might be fun to plan a vacation. Check-in with yourself and see if you’re up to planning a family trip or a friend’s get-together. It doesn’t have to be somewhere halfway across the world. Try to plan a beach day, a road trip to a nearby town, or simply a weekend getaway in a scenic part of town. If it’s not within your budget, DIY a vacation at home. Camp in your living room, stargaze in your backyard, etc. Make this summer one where you make unforgettable memories.
4. Be More Active
During the summer the days are longer, and this invites us to get more done in general. A good summer mental health tip is to be more active than usual in the summer. This is because it is easier to want to move when there is light outside. Naturally, our circadian rhythm will make us more active due to this increase in light. Try starting small, like planning evening walks, then work your way up to being more active all throughout the day.
5. Take Time Off
If possible, a great way to make the most of the summer is to actively take time off. Reach out to your job and try to plan a couple of days off. This will give you more time to be with friends, plan a vacation, or simply rest and reset. The summer is a great time to analyze the year and plan out what you expect for the remainder of the year.
6. Make a Bucket List
This one is a fun tip you can do anytime, but it’s very beneficial in the summer. Try to make a bucket list with things you want to do before the year is up. Summer marks about the halfway point of any given year and it is a good time to reevaluate and prioritize things in your life that you want to accomplish or try out. Your bucket list can be full of things like traveling to another country, trying out a sport you’ve never done, or simpler things like visiting that new tea shop or buying a new flavor cake. Make your bucket list as big or simple as you want.
7. Read More
This is a summer mental health tip that feels like homework but can be a habit that changes your life. Endeavor to read a bit more this summer. There is more time in the day, and it feels easier to fit in a bit of reading before the day is done. Read before bed, and this can improve your overall mood and relax the body. Try to make this a physical book, as reading on technology can activate your brain and reduce your quality of sleep. Reading in general tends to help us improve our cognitive function, memory, and imagination.
8. Learn Summer Safety
This cannot be stressed enough, as every summer there seems to be a new record-breaking temperature that threatens the lives of millions. Summer safety, as found in this guide here, consists of avoiding the sun during peak light hours, usually between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Summer safety is about using productive clothing, applying SPF to your body, and hydrating well. Make sure you learn summer safety to fully enjoy the summer in a way that protects you and your loved ones.
The Takeaway
Summer is a time of fun, sun, and mental health. These summer mental health tips are sure to boost overall wellness, both physically and mentally. Simple additions to the day can make all the difference in terms of health, mood, and happiness. Try them out today and stay safe this summer!
Remember that health comes from within, so eat healthy foods, exercise when you can, and take care of your mental health. Daily habits become the building blocks for emotional, mental, and physical health. Take care of your gut health too! Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here.
