6 Self-Care Tips for Men

June 25, 2021

Categories: Live Healthy, Men's Health, Prevention, Your Wellness

Self-care helps us manage the stress of our fast-paced lifestyles. It also helps us maintain our physical, mental and emotional well-being. A healthy mind, body and spirit wins the triple crown in building resilience to handle anything life throws at us.

While self-care communications mostly focus on women, men need to take care of themselves, too.

What is Self-Care?

Self-care isn’t about being selfish. It’s about doing things that renew and refresh your soul and ultimately ripple outward to benefit your entire being. It’s not as woo-woo as it sounds.

If you live by the get-more-done-faster mantra, self-care may sound like an extra activity that won’t fit into an already packed schedule. But taking time to do things that make you happy and help you relax can actually make you more productive.

And if you’re not taking care of yourself, you can’t take care of others. In fact, mastering self-care impacts every aspect of your life.

Nurture Your Mind, Body and Spirit

Self-care goes beyond exercising and good nutrition. Your physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health need nurturing, too. Balance is key.

Reconnect with friends. Friendships are a vital part of mental and emotional health. As we get older and careers ramp up, social networks tend to shrink or get sidelined. Reconnect with your go-to guys, even if it’s just over a phone call or text chat. The bottom line: Talking with friends gives your overall well-being a boost.

Dive into hobbies. Rediscover a hobby you may have put on the backburner when life got busy. Puttering around with no agenda other than personal fulfillment is therapeutic. Not sure what you’re interested in these days? Think back to your childhood. What did you enjoy as a kid? Did you play an instrument? Were you mesmerized by woodcarving? Building things? Nothing is stopping you from trying again.

Maybe it’s time to launch a new hobby. Become a barbeque master. Learn a foreign language. Take up cycling. Whatever you find interesting, go for it. If you discover one hobby isn’t your thing, try another. The pursuit is as valuable as your success when it comes to self-care.

Go blue. Some studies suggest blue spaces, like bodies of water, can improve mental health and personal happiness, especially for those who struggle with stress and anxiety. Head to the nearest lake, stream or ocean for a blast of blue and a happiness boost. It’s a great excuse for a sunny beach vacation.

Write it down. Journaling can improve your mental health and cognitive abilities. It can rewire your brain to look for the positives in your life instead of latching onto the negatives. Journaling also helps you organize all the ideas and thoughts in your head, freeing up space in your short-term memory so you can be more productive.

Getting started is easy. Find something to write in, whether it’s an actual journal, a notebook, or a digital notepad. Then write down your thoughts, hopes, feelings and emotions, notes or anything else you want to write about. There are no rules.

Get moving. The stress hormone cortisol causes our fight or flight response. That’s handy when you’re trying to outrun a bear. But when daily stress keeps your cortisol levels pumping through your veins, it leads to anxiety, depression, sleep problems, weight gain and heart problems.

Exercise counters stress and reduces cortisol levels, while improving heart health. Running, walking, cycling, hiking, lifting weights or other exercise not only helps you look better, but you’ll feel better and stave off more illnesses, too. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

Upgrade your nutrition. You know how your body feels after eating a platter of fries and a half-pound cheeseburger versus a bowl of greens topped with a chicken breast. Listen to your body and give it the healthy nourishment it craves. Eating right helps your body fight illnesses and disease and keeps your metabolism humming so you feel more energetic and alive.

If you eat a healthy diet the majority of the time, you can still allow yourself a double cheeseburger or pizza occasionally. Self-care is all about moderation and good day-to-day habits.

Self-Care for the Win

These positive self-care steps will make you feel more confident, energized and fulfilled. And once you take time to incorporate daily self-care into your life, you’ll likely become more productive and happier. It’s a win for everyone.