5 Tips for Promoting Women's Mental Health

Gabriela D. Acosta is the community manager for the University of Southern California online MSW programs, which offers a mental health social work concentration. She is also passionate about social justice, diversity workshops, and community development.

5 Tips for Promoting Women's Mental Health

Women face stressful situations every day, but how they handle them depends on the state of their mental health. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, emotionally healthy people have control of their thoughts, feelings and actions; they have positive self-esteem and good relationships, and can keep problems in perspective.

"Good mental health isn't just the absence of mental health problems. It's about having a sense of balance in your life time alone and time with friends and family, work and play, rest and exercise. It's about taking care of yourself body and mind," advises Susan Kornstein, MD, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publication "Women's Mental Health: What it Means to You."

To improve your own mental health, try following these five tips:

1. Learn to cope with stress.

Everyday stress can take its toll on women's bodies as well as on their coping skills. Stress can come from many sources, both positive and negative: losing a job, death of a loved one, getting married and being promoted. Your body produces stress hormones, which can lead to headaches, high blood pressure, sleep problems, sexual difficulties and other problems.

One way to cope with stress is to not take on too many commitments. An overloaded schedule can lead to anxiety and depression. Also, try learning relaxation techniques such as meditation, massage, muscle relaxation, yoga and Tai Chi. Additionally, recognize the impact of negative thinking, and try to turn negative thoughts ("I can't do this") into more positive ones ("This may be difficult, but I'll tackle it one step at a time").

2. Connect with others.

Make sure that most of the people in your life are positive and supportive; pessimists, critics and complainers can deplete you. Seek out friends and family members who affirm your worth and who support and listen to you. Look for friends at the gym, book club, women's organizations and spiritual community who may be able to help you. Positive relationships can increase your self-esteem, reduce your stress and help you cope with crises.

3. Eat the right foods.

What you eat may also affect your mood. Have you ever felt sleepy after eating greasy take-out burgers and fries? Do you feel refreshed after eating a green salad or sauteed vegetables? The right foods keep the central nervous system functioning. Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and seafood (if not vegetarian), and minimize processed, refined foods to boost your mental health.

4. Keep moving.

Exercise can create beneficial brain chemicals call neurotransmitters and endorphins, and lessen immune system chemicals, which can cause depression. Exercise can also boost your confidence as you meet your goals and feel better about how you look. Working out can help you cope with depression and anxiety in a positive way. Exercise also doesn't have to be restricted to going to the gym or running; it can be as simple as yard work, walking around the neighborhood or doing housework.

5. Get enough sleep.

If you don't get enough sleep, your immune system may decrease and your judgment may err. If you're tired, you may get more irritated over little things and have a hard time coping with larger problems. Most people need seven or eight hours of sleep each night. If you have trouble sleeping, you should train your body to stick to a consistent schedule, limit your caffeine, nicotine and alcohol consumption, and try not to go to bed too hungry or too full. Exercising and avoiding daytime naps will also help put you on a more regular sleep cycle.

Are Your Shoes Healthy?

Most people don't think about shoes when they think about being healthy. You might think about getting proper sleep, eating a healthy and nutritional diet, having regular exercise, and managing stress, but you probably aren't going to think about wearing the proper shoes. However, wearing comfortable shoes that offer your feet all of the support that they need can greatly contribute to your health.

Many people women especially will go to extremes to look good. They wear unusually high heels that are not good for their bodies. Studies have shown that wearing these types of shoes may give you back injuries later in life. Men, however, are also guilty of wearing shoes that do not offer the proper support that their feet need. Both men and women frequently wear shoes that are uncomfortable for whatever reason.

There are many health benefits associated with wearing comfortable shoes. With the proper support in tools like orthopedically designed airbeds, your feet will get the support that they need, and you can avoid ankle, leg, or back injuries. Also, if your shoes are more comfortable, you will be more likely to walk on a regular basis. You would probably go out of your way to avoid walking if your shoes were pinching your feet and giving you blisters all of the time, right? Wearing uncomfortable shoes can also increase your stress levels, and we all know how negative stress can be on several aspects of a person's health.

Many people think of comfortable shoes as being ugly shoes. This may have been true in the past, but there are starting to be more and more options when it comes to comfortable shoes. For example, Born shoes offers many different styles and models from dress shoes to sandals to boots for both men and women. Also, Clarks shoes offer a wide variety of comfort shoes, and they even offer some pairs of heels. With brands like Born and Clarks, being comfortable does not mean that you have to also be unfashionable.

The important thing is that the human body works best when you are taking care of the entire thing, and many people neglect the feet. One of the best ways to have healthy feet is to wear comfortable shoes that offer you proper support. For more suggestions on comfortable shoes, you can ask your orthopedic doctor and see which shoes he or she would recommend.

Sleep naked - Scientists have come to an Interesting Conclusion

That sleeping naked is very good for human health, not only physical but also psychological.

Sleep in the nude, allows the human body to prevent overheating of the body, as the overheating of the body could interfere with production of important hormones such as melatonin and growth hormone. In addition, the normal body temperature allows the body to restore the skin.

In addition, sleeping naked can control hunger, also lowers the blood levels of the hormone cortisol (stress hormone). This allows the person to wake up in the morning refreshed, with a good mood and keep this state throughout the day. A man who had trouble sleeping or body was overheated in the morning eat a lot more of its rules, rather than the one who is sleeping naked.

The scientists were able to prove that the most beneficial sleep is sleep duration of 7 hours, and the best position to sleep position is the embryo or supine.

In addition, they were able to reaffirm that daytime sleep is beneficial for the body. Because as a result of the sleep hormone of happiness. For example, people who managed to sleep for a week at least three hours, the risk of heart attack or stroke is reduced by 7 percent. The best time for such a dream is a period between 13 and 15 hour.

Ways to Acquire Fitness without the Plight and Cost Restraints

Often people consider the acquisition procedure of the membership of a health club or a gym as a daunting task. It comprises of detailed forms to be filled that include facility equipment information, timing constraints, rules and regulations, payment methodology, workout levels and so on. Sometimes you want to visit gym to relax and tone your body but find it closed or at times you want to stay alone during your workout but people tend to disturb your privacy and cause annoyance. You have to bear unpleasant people sometimes and don't want to be rude to them. However, a gym is a good place for the people who like to meet and get to know each other, but not for the reserved people.

There are numerous ways to achieve fitness and vigor without the troubles and payment issues of the health club or gym memberships. One has to keep a practical approach and make wise decisions in spending money because of the prevalent economic dilemma. Prioritize your needs and wants and try to save your money instead of spending it lavishly on workout or other activities. Gym is a good place to acquire fitness and to enjoy but it involves finance, therefore be wise and try to achieve fitness without spending your money.

Following are few tips to acquire fitness without the plight and gym membership cost:

1. Opt for Walking or Jogging

Walking or jogging require no spending and are considered the greatest ways to get into shape. You can make walking or jogging as your routine either before leaving for work or during weekends. You can take your dog along you or ask your spouse to join you to make it more fun.

2. Meditation

Meditation helps to avert all kinds of stresses and mental pressures and keep you fit. Meditate before going to bed or every morning every day. There are no hard and fast rules for meditation, you can meditate whenever you want to in any part of the day. The results of meditation are amplified in a calm and quiet place but you may turn on any soft music of your choice at the background to soothe your senses you more.

3. Enjoy Nature or Gardening

Gardening refreshes your mind and body as you are close to nature that relaxes you completely. Try to do gardening at weekends by watering your plants and related work. This will make you healthy as it is a natural psychotherapy which involves no money. You will feel more comfortable and happy as it will free you from all negativities of life.

4. Picking up the Right Nutrition

Pick those food items that possess essential nutrition to keep your body healthy. If right type of food is not picked then you might suffer from malnutrition. Therefore, consult experts or dietitian to suggest you the right nutrition your body requires and don't depend on your craving habit.

5. Sustain a Healthy Living

Healthy living refers to opt for good things in life and avoid all the bad ones. All those things that can cause harm to your health should be discarded at the earliest like, alcohol, drugs, smoking and eating excess food. Be smart in sustaining a healthy living.

6. Constructive Attitude

Constitutive attitude or approach is really beneficial in keeping the body healthy and toned. For acquire complete package of fitness you have to be positive in everything you think or do, otherwise all your efforts like workout and consumption of healthy food will not accomplish your fitness goal.

Fitness doesn't require huge finances. It requires determination and wise decisions for opting what is best for your health. So, be smart and keep your body healthy and fit.

Meditation: A Journey Towards Peace

Meditation is soothing tool for everyone and thus it help to reduce stress, boast your physical health and helps to eradicate chronic pain which makes you feel better, sleep better and helps your concentration more stronger than earlier. Meditation is a doorway in the deeper level and helps us get the deepest understanding of the surroundings.

You mind will get unruly whenever you will start meditating. Be very quiet and you will feel sensation of silence all around you and your mind will be over the place. In the beginning, it's not easy to concentrate as you will notice that your mind will run here and there and will start calculating your daily objectives rather than concentrating on what you are going to focus on. Rehabilitation centers also provide such facilities to drug addicts to recover from the addiction

Don't beat yourself if you are starting with meditation. It's a natural situation. With the passage of time, you will become familiar with kindly working with the barrage of thoughts and you'll a few clarity as well as peacefulness.

Here are a few easy tips about how to begin meditating. Perhaps people that currently exercise deep breathing might make sure you include your own remarks associated with exactly what did for you personally.

1. Position

Regardless of whether a person take a seat on chair or even cross-legged on the ground, ensure that your own backbone is actually erect along with mind upward. If you're slumped the mind may float. Body and mind tend to be intertwined. In case you are well-balanced, the mind may also be within stability. In order to straighten upward, suppose your face is actually coming in contact with the actual skies.

2. Eyes

Try to keep your eyes open. Open eyes make you much more existing. Simply decrease your eye as well as allow your own look end up being kind. If you near your own eye you'll be prone to float aside upon ideas as well as stories. Nevertheless, it's vital that you perform what's comfy for you personally. Many people discover shutting their own eye a lot more efficient. It's great in order to test and find out exactly what seems greatest for you personally.

3. Concentration

Within regular awareness we seldom exist. For instance, For example, sometimes we drive the car on autopilot whilst becoming preoccupied along with ideas. All of a sudden all of us get to the location as well as don't keep in mind about the drive!

5. Counting your breath

If you're struggling settling, you can test keeping track of the breath -- that is an old deep breathing exercise. In your out breath, quietly depend "one", after that "two', or more in order to "four". After that it go back to "one". If you discover your ideas possess strayed far or even you are keeping track of "thirty-three", merely go back to "one". In this manner, "one" is much like arriving house to the present moment. It's great to come back with no backward look.

Author Bio: Anna is a person with a passion for writing. She has written many articles on various topics as rehabilitation centers, for more information you can check her other blogs.

5 Reasons You Need Your Sleep, and 5 Reasons You May Not Be Getting It

Fall bustles with the start of school and the continual grind at work. It's easy to skimp on your rest. We've got five reasons for you to make sleep a priority, and five health issues that could be ruining your rest.

1. Plenty of R&R (rest and relaxation) can boost your mood, focus and energy. Conversely, people with poor sleep habits experience higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety.
2. Want your kids to get A's and B's? Make sure they catch their Z's. Well-rested equals alert in the classroom, and a regular sleep routine may boost math and literacy scores. Some schools are even starting later in an effort to help kids improve learning.
3. Reap the benefits of beauty sleep. When the body is sleep-deprived it produces more of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol can cause weight gain and oily skin.
4. Getting your eight hours in could cut your risk for chest pain, heart attack and stroke. A recent study by West Virginia University indicates that people who sleep five hours daily are more than twice as likely to experience these problems.
5. Rest is a responsibility, and apparently so is justice. In a study that appears in SLEEP, Swedish naval officers were more likely to act morally and make moral judgments when fully rested.

Maybe you want to get your shut-eye but can't quite get your eyes to shut? Sleeplessness plagues 60 million Americans. These are just a few health problems that could be keeping you up at night:

1. Your thyroid helps regulate your sleep patterns. An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) can cause difficulty sleeping, fatigue and irritability.
2. Believe it or not, menstruation can affect your sleep patterns. Two in three women experience menstrual insomnia disturbed sleep due to tossing and turning and general menstrual discomfort.
3. Maybe you do sleep, but continue to experience tiredness regardless of how much sleep you get? If you snore, have a dry throat on waking or regularly become irritable, you may want to talk to your doctor. This could be a symptom of sleep apnea.
4. Your sweetie slumbers soundly while you lay awake at night, so you decide to wake him up. Sound familiar? Ladies, you may have a case of sleep envy. You're not alone, either. Up to 40 percent of women envy the ease with which their darlings doze. Jealous much?
5. Some people toss and turn through the night before finding sleep. If this is caused by painful or irritating tingling or tugging in your lower limbs, you may have a condition known as restless leg syndrome (RLS).

Want to keep up with the latest sleep science? Visit the National Sleep Foundation site or check out the journal SLEEP.