Author Kelly McGonigal offers inspiring, enlightening, and practical knowledge on the myriad mental health benefits of physical fitness in The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage.
Search a database of free workout videos of all types, difficulty levels, and durations at Fitness Blender.
Read about the critical importance of sleep for your mental health in this article from Harvard or in the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.
Aim for a consistent 8 hours per night. My handout, How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep, summarizes the most significant things you can do to improve your sleep.
It helps to create a bedtime routine. Don’t eat a heavy meal before bed, but if you are hungry, have a sleep-friendly snack. Listen to one of these sleep podcasts to help you doze off, or a playlist of sleep-inducing music, such as this or this.
Talk to your doctor if you believe you might have a sleep disorder.
Learn about the critical role nutrition plays in mental health in this article or this video. If you need help learning how to eat well, consider a highly acclaimed book such as Dr. Michael Greger’s How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease, listen to a podcast on nutrition, or follow an informative YouTube channel such as HealthNut Nutrition.
Download my Six Pillars of Self Care handout.
Local massage therapist Nick Peterka, LMT interviews experts in a variety of fields on all aspects of health and wellness from dermatology to chiropractic care on The Self Care Mission Podcast.
Find a local wellness practitioner on my referrals page.
Local therapist Sarah Peyton’s book Your Resonant Self offers tools for building compassionate self-awareness. Dr. Kristin Neff has created books, workbooks, exercises and guided meditations on Self-Compassion. Find them throughout her website, or listen to her TED Talk.
Understand the concept of Emotion Regulation. Find several DBT skills, tools and worksheets to aid you.
Learn about the benefits of meditation for mental health. A meditation app can help you get started.
Need a laugh? Watch silly videos from Bad Lip Reading, Bored Shorts, or laughter yoga. Find comedy playlists at TED, Comedy Central, Comedy Central Stand Up, Laughter Therapy, or Dry Bar Comedy.
To warm your heart, feel-good YouTube channel Soul Pancake has playlists for Joy, Love, “Need a good cry?”, and Creativity.
For inspiration and motivation, TED has playlists for rethinking success and failure; fighting impostor syndrome; why practice makes perfect; understanding your inner potential; learning from your mistakes; decision making; looking for the helpers and creativity.
Watch footage of cute animals to give your brain an oxytocin boost.
And don’t underestimate the power of finding or creating a music playlist that boosts your mood. Bonus points if the songs make you want to sing along or dance!