No matter who you are, where you are, or whatever your circumstances, life can get you down. Whether rich or poor, man or woman, adult or elder, you require more than just food and water to live and experience life, and there are various activities that can make you feel good instantly.
While no one is suggesting that you have either a rich life or a poor life, whatever you are feeling right now can be either enhanced or improved through some simple techniques that have been scientifically proven to improve wellness and elevate mood levels, especially if done every day.
However, the best thing about all of the techniques mentioned is that they are completely free and can be done almost anywhere, especially at home where many of us are confined indoors as the global pandemic continues.
Some of the best free things you can to immediately feel better are:
- Take in the Sunlight
- Perform Meditation
- Light Exercise
Sunlight is an important aspect of life and has a scientifically measurable effect on our physiological and psychological states while meditation is an age-old technique for letting go of negative emotions and accentuating positive ones and exercise is a truly natural method of boosting the brain’s feel-good chemicals.
Take in the Sunlight
The sun, whatever it means to you, is an omnipresent entity in our lives. Even when it goes down, you see its light reflected by the moon. It has also been the subject of worship by ancient cultures, is required for plant life to grow, and provides the heat that we need to survive as a species.
The glowing, bright, ball of hydrogen that is 93 million miles away also provides us with an essential mineral that is vital for our daily health; vitamin D. Vitamin D cannot be produced by your body naturally and is absorbed from foods such as oily fish, red meat and egg yolks. Not everyone can afford red meat or expensive fish, however, so getting sunlight is essential.
Just 10 minutes of direct sunlight exposure per day is enough for your skin to produce and absorb all the vitamin D that it requires. Vitamin D is needed for the regulation of phosphate and calcium levels that promote healthy bones, skin, and teeth and is an ingredient in anti inflammatory supplements. It can also help with the symptoms and contraction of Covid-19. Recent data has shown that 80% of those with severe breathing problems from Covid-19 were subject to vitamin D deficiency.
Perform Meditation
An age-old tradition, meditation has been practiced by various cultures for millennia; from the Americas to Pan-Asia and the Middle East, scholars have dated meditation as far back as the ancient Egyptians and many religions also include meditation as a part of practice, most notably Buddhism, from which many popular modern meditation methods are derived.
There are literally hundreds of meditation techniques that have been developed over thousands of years, each for specific purposes. Some practices have been developed for mindfulness and awareness, others for spirituality, and further specialized techniques have been shown to be effective for pain relief.
However, no matter what technique you choose, meditation has been scientifically proven to help with such things as depression, anxiety, and stress, notably because of their refined breathing techniques. Some of the most popular include Qi-Gong, Vipassana, and Mantra and each of these uses breathing, focus, or gentle movement to reach a relaxed state. These higher states have been shown to eliminate stressors and improve functional productivity.
Light Exercise
Similar to meditation, exercise is an age-old tradition that can be traced back to the ancients, but unlike meditation, exercise is a common daily activity of far more people. A UK study found that around 60% of people engaged in daily exercise as opposed to 12% who regularly meditate.
However, you should be aware that Yoga is an excellent compromise between the two with its own proven physical and mental health benefits. Meditation is also often practiced following a Yoga session since Yoga itself isn’t considered meditation, rather it is a type of exercise that works to unite the mind, body, and soul.
Regular, physical exercise can be just as effective however since the physical act of movement alone actually releases your natural feel-good chemicals; serotonin and dopamine. The lack of these two chemicals has been linked to serious mental conditions such as severe depression, anxiety disorders, and violent tendencies. Just 10 minutes to 30 minutes per day of light exercise is enough to promote and increase your general wellbeing.
