This is my very first article written especially for the WPN Wear Community. I'm so excited to have come on board as an ambassador for WPN Wear around mental health and how we can help men to be more emotionally connected, more powerful and more successful in their lives.
Today I'm going touch on the five things that I believe are key to men's mental health, to mental health in general and to living a happy and successful life. The five things are sleep, nutrition, training, mindfulness/meditation and mental rehabilitation. Over the coming months you will see these five concepts talked about more and more through these articles and videos I will be doing. These five key factors will have a HUGE influence on your mental health, your mood, your longevity in life, and your general happiness.
Sleep
You need to get eight hours sleep per night, uninterrupted. That is non-negotiable. That is an absolute necessity. Lack of sleep is an interrogation technique because it breaks down our cognitive ability to function. Lack of sleep is tied strongly to your obesity epidemic. Lack of sleep is also tied to the deterioration of mental health. If you do not get enough sleep, your body is in a constant state of fight or flight adrenal fatigue. Physiologically this breaks down the chemical balance in your brain, which leads to mental health issues.
Nutrition
Very basic rule: If it had eyes, eat it. If it grew somewhere, eat it. If neither of those two things occurred, don't eat it. No processed food, alcohol in moderation, cut sugar out of your diet. If it comes in a packet, it's not food, it's a food-like substance. Don't eat it. Nutrition is huge, again, because of the chemical balance factor that comes into mental health.
Training
Train for at least 30 minutes, four to five times a week, where you are puffing, sweating and breathing heavy, that really helps you with stress relief. It helps you with staying calm, burning off excess energy, and having your body in a good state of equilibrium that works to keep you happy, constant and consistent in your mental health.
Mindfulness
Fourth piece of the puzzle is mindfulness and meditation. Meditate 10 minutes a day. Download a guided meditation app for your phone. You can get them free on the internet. There's so many of them, just find a guided meditation app, use for 10 minutes per day, do that consistently for the next 30 days. You'll see an amazing change in your mood, mental clarity and how you feel.
Rehab Time
And then lastly, mental rehabilitation. That ranges from reading articles like this one, to listening to podcasts and all the way through to talking to psychologists or psychiatrists. Mental rehabilitation is the same as physical rehabilitation. If you injured your knee you would go to a physiotherapist or you would see a surgeon. You would do the exercises necessary to rehab that knee. Your state of mind, your mood and your mental health is exactly the same. You need to do the mental rehabilitation necessary to combat the decades of “normal” stress, challenges and obstacles you have experienced in your life. If you have been through more intense stress like marriage/relationship breakdowns, financial pressure, health issues etc then this is even more critical.
So guys, this is my first article for the WPN Wear community, I am so happy to have the opportunity to do this article for you guys. These are the concepts we're going to discuss in a lot more detail in the future. Have an amazing day and always remember “LIVE THE STRONG LIFE”.
