HOW TO SPRING CLEAN YOUR MIND, BODY AND SOUL

When springtime comes around, many of use the longer days and sunnier weather as an opportunity to declutter and freshen up our homes. Spring cleaning itself can be extremely beneficial for our mental wellbeing – as they say “tidy room, tidy mind”. Especially with many people working from home at the moment, it is even more important than ever to ensure your workplace and living places are tidy and decluttered.

However, it is not only our physical spaces that can benefit from a spring clean. Our minds are often cluttered with thoughts and this can become overwhelming. Looking after your body as well as your mind will help you to approach this new season with a fresh new mindset.

Here are five simple tips to give yourself a spruce-up this spring.

Take time out

We often dedicate a set time in the week to clean our houses, so why not do the same for yourself. Set aside a time to focus on giving your mind the attention it deserves. Plan the couple of hours you’ve set out for yourself to do something that you love. Whether that’s going for a walk in the park or taking the time to cook yourself your favourite meal. If your mind is happy then you are a lot more likely to succeed better in your work and you will feel a lot more productive.

Be mindful of your food choices

No one’s saying to ditch the chocolate – don’t worry! But by incorporating fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables to your diet, will mean that you get the best produce of the season. Why not try a tasty new recipe, which will leave you feeling fresh and satisfied!

Cut out mental clutter

The main reason for feeling overwhelmed is, more often than not, because we are cluttering our minds with too much information at once. Much like a computer, if you have to many programs or files cluttering up your drive, then it’s performance quality decreases and it works a lot slower. This is exactly what happens to your brain when you fill it with too many things at once. You become less productive and start to slow right down. In order to regain your full performance quality again, you should try to write down every thought that is cluttering your brain at that moment in time. Section your thoughts into categories – for example, thoughts about work, relationships, social life, health. Then write down each of these categories with the associating thoughts. Having your thoughts written down will prevent them from clouding over your brain and it will give your mind more space to think clearly.

Get plenty of sleep

When spring comes around, our bodies struggle to adjust to the new levels of sunlight. In the winter, our bodies focus on producing extra sleep hormones, however, with the lighter mornings and evenings, our bodies react to this by producing extra levels of activity hormones. Understanding this change will allow you to realise why you may be feeling a little sluggish and tired in the first few weeks of the changing seasons. In order to combat these feelings, expel your extra energy and activity hormones, which will help you to get a better night’s sleep. You don’t have to do vigorous exercise to expel this energy, even just going for a gentle walk or doing a yoga session will help!

Stop self-criticising

Although it is a lot easier said than done, sweeping away negative thoughts towards yourself will help to improve your mental health massively. It will take practice, but eventually you will be able to stamp on any dwindling negative thoughts and remind yourself that you are doing your best – and that is all that matters.

So, when it’s time for you to start your spring-cleaning, be sure not to miss out your body or your mind from the ritual.