What to Do After Work to Improve Mental Health

I was recently interviewed by a contributing writer with EatingWell and wanted to share my original answers to the questions for the article. Read the full article here if you're curious and see my original answers below!

How do our daily habits shape mental health? What specific lifestyle factors contribute most (nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep, etc) 
Habits and mental health have a bidirectional relationship--our mental health influences the habits we engage in, while at the same time the habits we engage in influence our mental health. All of the lifestyle factors you listed contribute to mental health and it's hard to determine which contributes the most because they all interact with and affect each other--sleep affects mental health and stress, just as stress and mental health affect sleep, and each of those affects eating/nutrition and exercise habits. When done consistently, though, we know that exercise (especially aerobic exercise) acts as a natural antidepressant, that quality sleep is fundamental for maintaining mental, cognitive, and physical health, eating an anti-inflammatory and mostly plant-based diet promotes mental and emotional health, and stress management comes in many forms and is a necessity for life and the many challenges it brings.

What should people do after 5 p.m. (or anytime in the evening) to improve mental health? Why do these habits support better mental health? What evidence is there to support this?
Have some sort of ritual/activity that transitions you from work/doing mode to home/being mode--I would particularly emphasize some form of movement because we are wired to move much more than we actually do in the modern-day age and it really benefits our mental health (The recent research supports that 7,000 steps per day is the new 10,000 steps per day to be preventative of and protective against mental and physical health ailments). Maybe it's journaling/reflecting your thoughts and feelings from the day (side note: scheduled worry time is an intervention used in CBT for insomnia, the gold standard treatment for insomnia, and recommended to do around this time which helps with anxiety/stress management and improves sleep quality over time/practice), going for a walk, engaging in a mindfulness meditation practice, stretching your body, watching some lighthearted or funny videos, listening to music or a podcast, connecting with a loved one, or a combination of the above depending on what feels relieving and nourishing for you personally. Having a ritual that you engage in to intentionally de-stress after a busy day is an act of self-compassion and some of these activities are direct ways to reduce stress and regulate emotions in your body that you compartmentalized while in work mode. Having a relative balance of productive and pleasurable activities during the day is known to be optimal for managing mental health, as it is established in CBT for depression--I use the term relative here because balance means something different for each person and it often takes trial and error aka learning through experience to gain this kind of self-awareness, understanding, and wisdom. As humans we all have the need to feel a sense of belonging, so connecting with loved ones is a necessity that can also help us de-stress--and there are added actual chemical releases when we are snuggling and/or holding hands! I personally like to go for a 20-30 minute walk in nature after work, sometimes while simultaneously listening to music or connecting with a loved one and sometimes in silence depending on what I feel I'm needing for that particular day, and then afterward I may journal or reflect upon the day, incorporating a gratitude practice. Gratitude practice, such as noting at least 3 specific things from the day you feel grateful for, is known to positively impact our mental health and is an especially important mental habit to build--especially since our brains are wired to be more focused on the negative/problems. Then make sure in the 30-60 minutes before your bedtime you are engaging in non goal-oriented tasks, like meditating, stretching, drinking, bathing, showering, relaxing plus whatever your usual bedtime routine might be (dental and skincare hygiene routine, etc.).

What other things can people do to improve their mental health (can be something they should avoid or add to their routine)?
As with the above, invest more time in movement. "Sitting is the new smoking" is really true; we are hard-wired to move a lot and our bodies, minds, and spirits benefit when we spend less time in front of a screen and more time moving, especially when we do so outside in nature. Start by setting small, realistic goals you feel at least 85% confident you can achieve (for example, if you haven't been walking outside at all in 1-2 years, maybe a reasonable starting goal for you is to go for a 10-15 minute walk 2-3 times weekly) so that that successful action can generate more confident feelings that will fuel continued action. In general, we benefit from being more intentional about what we're doing and why we're doing it--especially when the why is in service of self-compassion and nourishing ourselves because it feels genuinely good for us and not because we're supposed to please someone else or fit a certain standard by society. Try to notice when you're mindlessly picking up your phone to check social media or email or the news and become compassionately curious about what's going on within you that's beneath that habit or behavior; instead, learn to slow down and be more still and present with yourself so you can find peace within you rather than somewhere external. Building that habit will help you be able to meet your own needs and find greater emotional security despite whatever chaos may be happening in the external world. 

Anything else you feel is important for readers to know? 
​There is no one-size-fits-all approach. It's about discovering yourself in this process, learning to appreciate and enjoy the meaningfulness with that journey to deepening self-awareness, and doing what works best for you personally.