Five Ways to Wellbeing
1. Connect
2. Be Active
3. Take Notice
4. Keep Learning
5. Give
Five small, simple steps to improve your mental health and wellbeing.
By adopting these actions, you could increase your life expectancy by 7.5 years.
These five steps have been researched and developed by the New Economics Foundation.
It’s clear that social relationships are critical for promoting wellbeing and for acting as a buffer against mental ill health for people of all ages. It helps build a sense of community.
With this in mind, try to do something different today and make a connection:
- Talk to someone instead of sending a text or email.
- Say hello to your neighbour.
- Join a local group.
- Ask how someone’s weekend was and really listen when they tell you.
Regular physical activity is associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups. Exercise is essential for slowing age-related cognitive decline and for promoting well-being.
But it doesn’t need to be particularly intense for you to feel good - slower-paced activities, such as walking and cycling, can have a benefit too.
Build exercise into your everyday life:
- Take the stairs not the lift.
- Go for a walk at lunchtime.
- Organise a work sporting activity.
- Have a kick-about in a local park.
- Do some ‘easy exercise’, like stretching, in the morning.
Being aware of what is taking place in the present directly enhances your well-being and savouring ‘the moment’ can help to reaffirm your life priorities.
Reminding yourself to ‘take notice’ can enhance strengthen and broaden awareness. Heightened awareness also enhances your self-understanding and allows you to make positive choices based on your own values and motivations.
Take some time to enjoy the moment. Here are a few ideas:
- Get a plant for your workspace.
- Practice some relaxation techniques.
- Take a different route on your journey to or from work.
- Visit a new place for lunch.
Continued learning throughout your life enhances self-esteem, confidence and social interaction.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the opportunity to engage in work or educational activities particularly helps to lift older people out of depression.
Why not learn something new today? Here are a few more ideas:
- Rediscover an old interest.
- Sign up for a course.
- Read the news or a book.
- Research something you’ve always wondered about.
Individuals who report a greater interest in helping others are more likely to rate themselves as happy.
Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in wellbeing.
With that in mind, why consider volunteering for a local organisation like Mind or get together with your friends to fundraise for a charity.
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