Smart and Simple Soul-Feeding Activities
/By Dylan Foster
What are you doing these days to feed your soul? With technology being what it is, many of us tend to think in terms of how much we can accomplish and how quickly it can be done. To make sure you don’t neglect your spiritual side, here are some simple and effective mental and physical routines which can help tend your inner being.
Rest and Restore
When it comes to achievements, we rarely mark getting sufficient sleep among our more important endeavors. However, sleep is vital to your physical and mental wellness, and without it, your whole being suffers. Sleep deprivation is linked to reduced memory function, lowered productivity, fogginess, and mental health concerns. We appear to need sleep to process information, improve skills, and perform restorative functions in our minds and bodies, helping our immune systems to function properly and our tissues to rebuild from wear. Faced with chronic sleep deprivation, you can even suffer from psychosis. According to Medium, the average adult requires seven to nine hours of restful sleep each night. Sleep more or less than that amount and your lifespan tends to be reduced.
Peaceful Environment
Is your bedroom a retreat from the world, or is it a cluttered place where you surf the web, answer emails, and put out work-related fires? Even if you have no other place in your home that is truly peaceful, your bedroom should be a place strictly for sleeping, and when you muddy that area with other concerns, you set yourself up for poor sleep. Feeling less than alert, struggling to stay awake, or needing caffeine to get through the day are indicators you might have room for improvement. Think about making your bedroom a haven for rest. Keep the environment free of stress, and create a peaceful, dark, comfortable space for optimal slumber.
Laugh and Love
Spending time with friends and family members is a key to living a healthy, balanced life. Everyday Health explains that those who make sure to include friendships in their lifestyle enjoy important benefits to their well-being. They are better supported in difficult times, more productive, more apt to achieve their goals, experience less stress, and even appear to have healthier immune system function. In fact, you might even live longer by ensuring you spend time regularly with friends and family. If your relationships could use a shot in the arm, make sure you find ways to laugh together. It not only feels good, laughing appears to be linked with healthier, happier relationships. It doesn’t seem to matter what makes you laugh together, either, even if it means resorting to tickling, jokes, or funny movies.
Refresh and Renew
Do you tend to spend your days indoors surrounded by walls and artificial lights? Spending time in the great outdoors can be a boon to your spirit, boosting creativity, enhancing problem- solving abilities, improving concentration and focus, and encouraging your compassion and generosity. People who engage with nature regularly tend to be less critical of others and more positive in their thought patterns. You can even be better at thinking outside the proverbial box.
One of the big benefits of being in nature is exposure to the sun. Getting some sunshine appears to offer key health benefits in and of itself, allowing us to absorb much-needed vitamin D and helping to naturally regulate our body cycles. It doesn’t seem to matter how you spend your time outside, so long as you get some. You can boost your mood and improve your well-being by taking a walk, lounging with a book, or gardening. Aim for 10 to 15 minutes in the mornings, or on chilly winter days, expose some skin and get outside at lunchtime.
We live in a world that values speed and busyness. Taking time to feed your spiritual side can keep you balanced and healthy. Ensure you get good sleep, spend time with loved ones, and engage with nature. You’ll be happier and healthier with these simple, soul-feeding actions.
Image courtesy of Pixabay