The current pandemic has brought in a series of new stresses to our already hectic lives. At times, the mixture of fear and anxiety about this new disease is certainly overwhelming to deal with. We do our best to power through it on most days, but it can get rather daunting at times. Therefore it is crucial that we all take better care of our mental health. If our mental health is at its optimal, our overall health and well-being will improve and our bodies will be better equipped to tackle all of the stress.
Our mental health immediately and directly affects all aspects of our daily life – our behavior, our capacity to focus and think, our ability to cope with occupational or personal stress. Strong mental health is all about being emotionally and physically strong in order to deal with any kind of stress and everything that life keeps throwing at us.
Let’s understand the four ways in which you can improve your mental health:
Sleeping Well – Underestimated but Crucial
Did you know? Over 40% of the population around the world doesn’t get 7-9 hours of sleep on a regular basis.
We all deal with many different kinds of sleep deprivation. A lot of it can be due to a range of issues including work pressure, strained relationships, unresolved conflicts, and so on.
The true power of good quality sleep is always underestimated. However, good sleep is absolutely necessary every single day and can make a huge difference to your energy levels, concentration levels and even your mood and even your immunity.
In order to bring a regular routine to the sleep cycle, it requires daily effort on your part. You could consider these simple, yet effective steps to better the quality of your daily sleep:
- Make sure to switch off your phone an hour before you hit the sack. Or at least put it on silent mode and strictly do not use it before sleeping.
- Ensure that there’s a gap of 2 hours between dinner and bedtime.
- Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Routine helps.
- Try to finish your moderate to vigorous workouts at least three hours before bedtime.
In addition to the above steps and following an overall healthy lifestyle, GNC Melatonin supplement can help! Melatonin is a natural substance secreted by the pineal gland in the brain for sleep. It helps control your waking and sleeping cycles.
So when our supplement is consumed regularly, it helps get your erratic sleep cycle back to normal and also ensures sound sleep. It’s also very easy to consume. For the best results, make sure you have it with cold water and have two servings daily.
Sound sleep and better moods will enable you to feel more relaxed and therefore keep improving your mental health every day! And always remember to consult a doctor before you consume any supplements.
Exercising
Stress is an unfortunate, yet integral part of our daily lives – even more so, during this pandemic. Even things like needing to sanitize each and everything around us constantly is time-consuming and exhausting over a period of time. We are inevitably, continually stressing about our loved ones and their health during this time of crisis. Even subconscious stress can cause a lot of daily distress.
Stress is one of the major causes of mental health ailments. Exercising helps combat or reduce the levels of this stress. Regular exercise and the resultant release of endorphins can help in the overall elevation of your mood as well as other bodily functions. Regular exercise helps build outer as well as inner body strength.
The combination of consuming the right supplements along with working out can help with higher energy levels, serotonin levels, and an increase in overall physical and mental fortitude. Always remember – a strong body = a strong mind!
Our GNC Pro Performance 100% Whey Protein helps with the recovery of the muscles that are worn out due to the workout. Speedier recovery can lead you to push harder and therefore become physically stronger. Our GNC Calcium plus 1000 mg with Magnesium and Vitamin D3 also aid your workouts. It’s simple: stronger bones = stronger body. Our GNC Natrol 5 HTP supplement is a simple capsule that works naturally by increasing your body’s own level of serotonin – a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in controlling appetite and enhancing your mood. And last, but not the least, our GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil with 900 mg of highly absorbable EPA/DHA Omega-3s and our range of Mutli-vitamins also help with recovery, mental sharpness, and focus.
If weighted workouts aren’t your thing, you can always explore Yoga in order to de-stress and in order to maintain optimum physical and mental fitness. A stronger overall body helps with the betterment of overall mental health.
Follow a Brain-Healthy Diet
Food is truly our savior in more ways than one! A combination of the right nutrients and supplements can make a world of a difference. For example: avoiding the starch, excess caffeine, fried food, excess alcohol, bad carbs and lethargy inducing fast food leads to better overall mental wellness.
Regular lack of the right nutrients can also affect mental health. However, eating right regularly can have long-lasting positive effects on your body as well as your mind. So you must opt as much as you can, for wholesome meals, healthy fats, more green vegetables, more fruits, good carbs, and low synthesized sugar. This will not only provide energy to your body but also add fuel to the brain.
Certain herbs and the Omega 3 fatty acids for example are crucial for brain strength. And since the body cannot make Omega 3, they need to be consumed via food and supplements. Our GNC Flaxseed oil capsules supply heart-healthy Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids and the GNC Herbal Plus Ginkgo Biloba Plus supplement helps increase mental sharpness and improve blood circulation in the brain and it also helps minimize issues such as memory loss, headaches and mood disturbances.
Nourishing your body correctly certainly elevates your mental health and you’re better equipped to deal with any curveballs the pandemic throws at you.
Combat Stress, Boost Immunity and Improve Mental Health
Stress clearly impacts your immunity and your mental health directly. And sometimes, the repercussions can be severe. Anxiety leads to stress and stress affects your immunity. And with anxiety levels skyrocketing during this pandemic, keeping anxiety and stress at bay, to the best of your ability, is very important.
Boosted immunity also leads to the body functioning at the optimum and this leads to you feeling better, overall. Immunity building also goes hand in hand with exercising and eating right. A combination of the right supplements and natural nutrients will hold you in good stead. We could recommend our wide range of GNC Multivitamins for women, men, and seniors.
Higher immunity = lesser chances of contracting ailments too! Better immunity will allow you to keep not just COVID, but the common cold, viral fever, digestion-related issues, and mental strain – all at bay! And lesser chances of ailments = lesser anxiety and better mental health.
These are simple, fundamental ways in which we can improve our overall mental well-being and keep getting stronger every day as we wrap our heads around this pandemic.
