You know most of us are not taking self-care seriously when the “powers that be” had to go and make an international holiday to raise awareness! International Self-Care Day is on July 24th each year. Developed by the International Self-Care Foundation, the holiday is a great time to focus on your needs and give yourself some pampering.
Why are So Many of us So Bad at Self-Care?
We live in a 24/7/365 world. Many of us work more than one job, have families to raise, and burn the candle at both ends most days. When we have a moment to ourselves, we typically park our butts in front of some kind of digital screen and zone out with social media or Netflix streaming. But is this really self-care? Hardly!
If you can identify, then let this July 24th be the day you commit to taking better care of yourself.
3 Ways to Celebrate International Self-Care Day
Here are some excellent ways to get started with self-care:
Get More Sleep
It’s important that you make sleep part of your regular self-care routine. Adequate sleep helps you not only physically but emotionally as well. Stress can wreak havoc on our sleep cycles so it’s up to us to create a nightly routine, and put away those electronic devices that emit blue light that keeps us awake for hours!
Take Care of Gut Health
Want a powerful way to take care of your overall health and well-being? Treat your gut right. Be sure to eat plenty of probiotic foods that will populate your gut with beneficial bacteria and stay away from sugar and processed foods, which tend to kill off those good guys.
Move Your Body
Daily exercise should absolutely be part of your self-care routine. People want to overcomplicate it. Just move your body. Yes, it’s great to get to a gym and lift weights and take some aerobic classes, but if you don’t have the time or money, then just take a walk after dinner each night or go for a bike ride with your kids. Just move your body each day.
While this isn’t an exhaustive list of self-care suggestions, if you only committed to doing these 3 things in the coming months, you will be amazed at the changes in your health and energy!
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