In its most simple form, self-care is caring for yourself so that you may lead and maintain a healthy lifestyle. A survey completed by The Harris Poll on behalf of Samueli Integrative Health Programs shows that more than one in four Americans feel guilty when practicing self-care. You really shouldn’t.
Self-care isn’t about indulging. It is an essential part of maintaining and improving your overall health and reducing stress. As summer is around the corner, there are a few self-care practices you can implement into your summer routine that will also benefit your mental health.
In this article, we will explore self-care and why it is so important. We will also provide you with some self-care tips for the summer. By adding some small changes to your summer routine, you will be able to improve your overall mood and mental health.
What is Self Care and Why is it So Important?
The definition of self-care has evolved in the past few years. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has produced different definitions over the years. Most recently, WHO defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.”
As the definition is quite broad, we may question how to implement self-care into our daily lives. The International Self-Care Foundation created seven pillars to break down the different ways to practice self-care. The seven pillars include:
- Health literacy – this is the ability to obtain health information, how to process it and understand it, so you can make smart health decisions.
- Mental well-being – this is all about being self-aware of your own body. An example is completing a health screening test to check for diseases and any conditions you may be suffering from, such as blood pressure or cholesterol level.
- Physical activity – this means moving the body, such as walking, biking, hiking, or practicing sports.
- Healthy eating – eating the foods that will provide you with the best nutritional value for your body to function well.
- Risk avoidance or mitigation – avoid doing actions that will affect your body or your mental health in a negative way, such as smoking cigarettes or substance abuse (drugs or alcohol).
- Good hygiene – some examples include washing your body, hair, and hands, brushing your teeth, or practicing a skincare routine.
- Rational and responsible use of products, services, diagnostics, and medicines – knowing when having too much of a product or medicine will harm your body and avoid suffering from side effects from medication intake or an overdose.
Using the seven pillars of self-care is a good starting point to evaluate your own self-care practices and find ways to improve or add to your daily self-care routine. Many of these are part of our everyday lives, such as brushing our teeth. These routines have been so integrated into our lifestyle since we were young that we don’t even realize it is a form of self-care until we have become self-aware of them. Other examples include taking a daily shower and eating fruits and vegetables (or avoiding fast-food products).
There’s always room for improvement, and there are environmental factors we should consider and add to our self-care routines. We need to revise our self-care routines depending on the seasons. What may work in the winter months may not work in the spring or summer. As summer is upon us, we prepared self-care tips for the summer that take into account each of the seven pillars of self-care.
Self-Care Tips for Summer
Temperatures rise during the summer months. The sun gets brighter and hotter. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and the warmer weather and switch up or add to your self-care routine.
The following self-care tips for summer will help you enjoy the warmer season and the sunshine!
Set Digital Well-being Goals
We live in a world where we are constantly using technology or are connected to social media. It’s important to spend time outside of social media to avoid experiencing some of the negative impacts of technology. Some of the negative impacts include issues with anxiety or depression, decreased body image, envy, or low self-esteem.
By creating digital well-being goals, you can set up weekly goals for how much screen time you want to use. Another option is to set App Timers to restrict how much time you want to spend on a particular social media app. For example, you can set up your App Timer to only use Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok for 30 minutes or one hour daily. You can even set it up on your phone’s settings.
You can read more about how technology negatively impacts your life in our blog post: Tips for Self-Care and Managing Mental Health in an Increasingly Digital World.
Go Outside
Find activities that you can do outdoors. You can take a stroll at the park, the beach, or hit a hiking trail. Another option is to get a blanket and set up a picnic at the park or in your backyard. You can use the time to read a book or start writing or drawing in a journal.
The purpose of going outside is to enjoy the fresh air and enjoy the sunshine while gaining some vitamin D boost from the sunlight. According to a study in BMC Psychiatry, there is a correlation between low vitamin D levels and depression, mood disorders, and cognitive impairment. So, take advantage of the sunlight as it will help improve your mood and mental health.
Use Sun Protection
Remember to limit your outside hours between 10 am and 4 pm as the sun rays are strongest during those times. Use sun protection daily (no matter the season) to protect your skin whether the sun is shining or if the sky is raining.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using sunscreen with SPF 30, minimum. It should also be the last step of your skincare routine. If you’re unsure how much to use, you can use a ⅓ to ½ teaspoon to measure how much sun protection you need. Ensure you add it to your face, ears, chest, front and back of your neck, and hands.
You can take it up a notch by wearing a hat and sunglasses for an extra layer of sun protection.
Do a Self Stress Assessment
It is common for anyone to experience stress; however, when stress levels reach an all-time high, you run the risk of experiencing burnout. Ask yourself a few questions, such as:
- How did your week go? Was it better or worse than last week?
- What can I do to make it better? Have I been eating well? Have I been sleeping well?
- Am I having negative thoughts about work or family?
- Am I feeling frustrated? Am I not caring enough?
- Do I wish I had more time to plan or complete tasks?
Taking the time to reflect and take notice of any changes in your physical, emotional, and mental health will go a long way to adopting self-care practices to improve.
You can read more about burnout and how to prevent it in our blog post: How to Recognize Burnout and Care for your Mental Health.
Drink More Water
As summer temperatures rise, our bodies overheat and begin to sweat to cool down. As such, it is crucial to drink more water to stay hydrated during the summer. Every person’s individual hydration needs are different, but a good rule of thumb to shoot for is 8 cups of water each day. Try carrying a re-usable water bottle with you to work, school, or running errands to help increase your daily hydration.
Try a New Workout Routine
Summer weather opens up new opportunities to try new workout routines you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do, such as water sports. These can be done in or around the water. Examples include swimming, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, canyoning, water rafting, fishing, and surfing.
If water sports are not an option, you can try gardening, yoga, biking, hiking, or joining a local sports team. Get your body moving and enjoy the benefits.
Self-care is completely in your hands and should form part of your daily living routines. Practicing self-care will help you maintain good physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being. Add the above tips as part of your summer self-care routine to improve your overall mood and mental health.
