Heading- School often teaches how the brain controls the body; the body’s ability to control the brain is considered less often. This article discusses the correlations between fueling your body and fueling your mind.
“Have you eaten today?”
Such a simple, nagging question has never been so important.
It’s all too common for teenagers to skip a meal or good night of sleep in favor of meeting teachers’ and coaches' time-consuming demands. However, the consequences of these decisions can be more harmful than we realize due to their delayed impact on the body and normalization among youth. Teens need to stop deprioritizing opportunities to fuel their developing bodies and minds. Below, this article will explain how to recognize and prioritize the importance of sleep, nutrition, and mental needs while still keeping up with the demands of everyday life.
Sleep
Whether from parents assigning a bedtime or naptime at daycare, everyone learns the importance of sleep from a young age. Despite this, a good night’s sleep is often the first thing that today’s teens choose to sacrifice in favor of hours filled with endless homework, time with friends, or even mindless social media scrolling. Although it can seem easy to skip out on catching some z’s in the moment, sleep deprivation can be harmful. For example, staying up to study for a test may inhibit your performance more than cutting a study session short to get more sleep. The effects of sleep deprivation stretch beyond the next day though; this article by Sleepfoundation.org says that sleep deprivation can worsen issues with long-term mental health. Many disorders such as anxiety and depression are accompanied by insomnia, the inability to fall asleep and stay that way. Insomnia can worsen the severity of mental disorders, which can compound the lack of sleep. Therefore, it is important that you get adequate sleep, as studies have shown it can reduce the severity of symptoms tied with depression and more.
Once you identify the relationship between sleep and your mental health, it’s time to improve the quality of your sleep. One of the best ways to improve the quality and amount of sleep you receive is to create a sleep schedule and stick to it. When sticking to a schedule, your body is able to anticipate sleeping patterns. Not only will this improve your quality of sleep over time, but it will also make it easier to get out of bed in the mornings. Getting plenty of rest extends outside of your bedroom as well. It is important to use your time wisely during the day to get work done that would otherwise keep you up at night.
Nutrition
Just as sleep is emphasized from a young age, most children learn about the food pyramid in grade school to encourage healthy eating. As we grow older, it’s important to make sure that this lesson does not lose significance. Not everyone has a positive relationship with food, but your body needs to receive the nutrition it requires to thrive day-to-day. Recently, it has come to light that there is a link between nutrition and mental health. Poor nutrition is not directly linked to mental illness, but there are many studies that conclude that well-balanced meals can improve long-term mental health as well as physical well-being.
Although many people skip meals, either out of convenience or due to a more complex negative relationship with food, eating three meals a day is one of the most basic necessities. If you aren’t already eating at least three meals a day, try setting time aside each day for a meal, even if you only eat a small snack at the start. If you already eat meals consistently, try to focus on eating things that support your lifestyle. For example, athletes need extra calories to support their training habits. While a healthy relationship with food is valuable, be sure to avoid the negativity of diet culture, which is centered around unrealistic body expectations rather than healthy habits.
Mind
One of the most direct ways to combat mental health is to keep up with your mental needs. In order to pursue mental well-being, set aside time for things such as stress reduction, self-care, and even therapy. Stress reduction can be as simple as making time for things you enjoy such as reading, yoga, sports, friends, pets, and more. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a break to do something enjoyable. As for self-care, treat yourself! It’s easy to get bogged down by a hectic schedule, but making time to relax is arguably just as important as schoolwork or jobs. Finally, consider seeking out counseling. For some, the topic of therapy is taboo, as they may think of it as a weakness. In reality, a therapist is a tool available in order to help you learn to cope with mental illness. Rather than allowing therapy to be a last resort for hitting rock-bottom, consider exploring its use as a tool for mental growth and discovery.
Conclusion
If you want to take initiative toward improving mental health, excellent! Take a moment to frame your priorities; this article wasn’t written to be one massive undertaking of self-improvement. Start small and remember that improvement isn’t linear. Some days are better than others when it comes to mental health. Just know that you’ve tried your best today, and tomorrow is another chance to grow.
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