With milder temperatures, brighter days and nature starting to sprout, Spring always feels like a time of possibilities… a time of change. It can be a great time to reflect on habits that are pulling you forward, as well as the ones that are holding you back – a time to look at what you can do right now to become the best, happiest version of you.
Here are some ways you can Spring Clean your Wellbeing for the new season.
Get out in nature and move
As the world around us comes back to life, flowers start to bloom and leaves start to grow once more… getting out in nature can be incredibly healing and amazing for our wellbeing.
“In many studies, nature has shown to improve stress and anxiety symptoms. Nature gives people the chance to slow down. You can soothe a stressed-out mind by taking in the beautiful surroundings. Ultimately nature can enable valuable reflection with restorative properties to allow you to make better decisions.” Says hypnotherapist Malminder Gill.
If you don’t already, you could try a regular exercise routine, something that feels good to you. Regular exercise could help manage your emotions and increase your focus and energy.
Eat in season and for your Gut
If you’ve been hit by those horrid winter infections that have left you feeling fragile – you might need to give your gut health a boost (particularly when you’ve used anti-biotics.
“Spring is a wonderful time of the year to spring clean your gut. Ditch packaged and ultra-processed foods and get back to food as nature intended. This does mean spending a little more time preparing your meals from scratch, but the benefits are huge. When you clean up your diet and add in nutrient dense foods your energy levels increase, skin condition improves and you feel great! If you aren’t sure what foods are ultra processed/processed and why we need to get them out of our diet please take a look at my blog.
Make sure you include plenty of wholegrains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds in your meals every day to get a diverse range of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre. Fibre helps stimulate the bowels further giving your gut a good spring clean whilst feeding up the strains of bacteria we really want to support in the gut. Aim for 1-2 servings of fruit each day and 6-7 servings of veg/salad. This may sound a lot but is easier than you think especially with some healthy inspiration,” says Registered Nutritionist Evie Whitehead.
If and when you can, you could also try eating fresh fruits and veggies that are in-season. In season fruits and veggies can taste better and are better for your help. They can also help reduce your carbon footprint.
Be Mindful of your time
As the weather warms up, more events and meet ups start going on and it’s easy to say yes to so much – and then get overwhelmed. Remember the power of no and prioritise things that will nourish your mind, body and soul… you don’t have to do everything.
“Self-forgiveness can be as difficult, if not more difficult, than forgiving someone else. Guilt or shame are negative, heavy for the mind and can make us unwell. Finding a way to accept what has happened and probably find someone you trust to talk things through. More often than not, the mind can exaggerate or catastrophise situations and saying them out loud is the first step to accepting and forgiving yourself. Quite often it is not as bad as we first think!” says Mind Coach Alison Blacker.
Stay hydrated
Needless to say, when its warmer outside, you’re gonna sweat more so make sure to keep yourself hydrated as even just being mildly dehydrated can lead to fatigue, low energy and headaches.
“I recommend starting your day with hot water and lemon – this is a lovely way to wake up the entire gastro-intestinal tract, kick-starting digestion, gut motility and liver detoxification pathways, says Registered Nutritionist Evie Whitehead.
Cut out the mental clutter
Journaling can be a great way to get down on paper and clarify those thoughts that are rushing around in your mind… helping you to make sense of them, to work out how to prioritise them and also to understand them better. It can help you practice gratitude, to be mindful of that moment and focus more on the positive than the negative that might be dragging you down. “Gratitude activates reward circuits in the brain and increases the release of dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, all feel-good chemicals that enhance our perception of happiness, our sense of connection with others and our optimism. The more we express gratitude, the more we activate dopamine and the more likely we are to seek out things for which to feel grateful in the future,” says Sara Palmer Hussey.
Be Kinder to Yourself
Why not make a promise to yourself this Spring that you’ll be kinder to yourself?
The first way to do that is by looking at your self-talk… that inner voice of yours. Your inner voice combines conscious thoughts with inbuilt beliefs and biases and this creates your internal monologue. It has a big impact on how you feel and what you do. By being supportive, motivational and positive to yourself, this can make a huge difference to your confidence and the way you feel about yourself.
“Keep a check on your self-talk. We are very often very hard on ourselves and would never talk to a friend like we often talk to ourselves. Writing down our negative thoughts to change them from just going round and round in the mind. Next ask yourself ‘Is this true’, ‘is this really true’.” says Mind Coach Alison Blacker.
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