This post is in collaboration with Kalms.

Over the last couple of years we’ve experienced unprecedented change. We’ve gone from living according to routines we’ve cultivated over years or decades to facing whole new challenges as we learn to navigate remote working, furlough and sharing space with our loved ones 24-7, periods of isolating alone and then trying to ‘get back to normal’. That’s a hell of a lot to deal with, so it’s no wonder more and more of us are asking Google for ‘self-care’ tips!

Self-care includes all the steps we can take as individuals to manage stress in and take care of our health and wellbeing.

Self-care includes all the steps we can take as individuals to manage stress and take care of our health and wellbeing. Sounds simple enough, but when you’re busy looking after yourself is often one of the first things to go out of the window, usually because it feels like an indulgence. Unfortunately though we don’t have unlimited capacity for stress, and if you stop looking after yourself you’re not going to have as much energy and you might find that your tolerance for challenging situations goes down.

In honour of self-care week 2021 I’ve teamed up with Kalms to share five ways you can practice self-care TODAY and have more energy for life.

Get Outside and Get Moving

Something I’ve learnt about myself over the last couple of years is is that I’m at my best when I spend time outside in nature. If I’m feeling overwhelmed or anxious then getting outside and being amongst greenery will almost always help me feel more centred and a lot calmer.

Whether it’s a quick walk at lunchtime or a workout in the park, exercise encourages the production of endorphines, chemicals that make us feel good and that counteract the release of the stress hormone cortisol. What’s more exposure to natural light provides a boost of Vitamin D, which supports mood regulation.

Check out this post for lots more on what time outdoors is so amazing for you, and this post for why running is awesome for your mental health.

Make Sleep A Priority

Did you know that sleep is our emotional regulator? Every moment of every day we’re faced with emotional signals and sleep provides us with the mechanism to understand what those signals mean and helps us process them so that we can regulate the tone of our emotions and our response. If we’re not getting enough sleep then we don’t have the opportunity to process our emotions and that in turn affects our mood.

However, when we’re stressed getting the sleep we need can be a challenge. Valerian root-based remedies such as Kalms Night can be used to promote a refreshing and restful night’s sleep, whilst Kalms Day help to relive stress so we can find the balance we need to thrive.

Download The Day

In their 2010 paper Wood et al. suggest that there’s a strong relationship between gratitude and wellbeing and that this link might be both unique and causal. How cool is that?!

One of the easiest ways to practice gratitude is by journaling or listing what you’re grateful for. It’s quick and easy, you don’t need anything fancy and it can quickly become something really enjoyable that has an amazing impact on your life. Here’s my advice for how to start a gratitude journal. Download my free Week of Gratitude workbook here to get started with your practice.

Connection

Connection is one of the most basic human needs, in fact a lack of human connection can be more harmful to your health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure (House et al, 1988). Soclal isolation isn’t just bad for our physical health, it can also be extremely damaging to our mental health.

Connection is one of the ways that we cope with stress. You know the phrase ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’? The act of speaking to someone about what’s bothering us is a great example of the power of connection, likewise the act of touch can have a very real impact on how we feel, just think about how you feel after a hug! We are social creatures who operate best in groups, we crave and rely on interaction with other people! Something as simple as a text or a phone call can make a difference, especially if it then leads to in person connection.

Rest Hard

There’s an equation that is central to all the work I do (and how I live my life) - stress plus rest, divided by awareness, equals energy. If we want to live well in the world we need to rest as hard as we work - it’s essential self-care!

Rest doesn’t have to mean sleep (although that’s my favourite sort of rest), it’s simply time where you unwind from the demands of life. Claudia Hammond, author of The Art of Rest, describes rest as something temporary, restful and restorative and might include going for a gentle stroll between work commitments, meditating, reading a book or moving in a way that feels good. Even making a cup of tea could help improve our mental performance and cognitive function.

Read more about how to harness rest here.

How do you practice self-care? Let me know in the comments below!

This post was in collaboration with Kalms. All opinions are my own.

Kalms Day is a traditional herbal medicinal product used for the temporary relief of; symptoms associated with stress such as mild anxiety and irritability exclusively based on long standing use as a traditional herbal remedy. Kalms Night One-A-Night is a traditional herbal medicinal product used for the temporary relief of sleep disturbances, exclusively based on long standing use as a traditional herbal remedy. Both contain Valerian Root. Always read the leaflet.

Available instore and online at Boots, Superdrug, supermarkets, and pharmacies nationwide and online retailers such as Amazon or directly from www.kalmsrange.co.uk. Kalms One-A-Night RRP £5.63 for 21 tablets. Kalms Day RRP £9.35 for 200 tablets.