Make Mental Health a Priority in 2024: A Guide for Setting Healthy New Year’s Resolutions
Since the holidays are majorly centered around food and drinks in the United States, many people start to turn their focus toward physical health by the time New Year’s Eve rolls around.
After overeating Christmas cookies and comfort food in December, it may feel natural to say “I’m going to lose 25 pounds next year” and set your resolutions accordingly.
This year, we’re avoiding resolutions that involve:
unrealistic exercise expectations,
unhealthy diet restrictions, and
the inevitable burnout.
Instead, we’re focusing on our wellness from a mental health perspective. Once we get our minds right, our physical health will follow suit.
We hope you’ll join us. We truly believe that goals will be easier to accomplish, no matter what they are, if you are coming from a good state of mind.
Let’s set realistic, attainable wellness goals for 2024
Please, don’t set yourself up for disappointment, discouragement, and negative self-talk, with an unrealistic goal.
Set yourself up for success with SMART goals, so you can grow into the best version of yourself with confidence.
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
Get specific by outlining the steps it’ll take to achieve your goal, with a do-able timeframe in mind. Define what success looks like to you, and take steps to get there every day.
Here are a few examples of positive, mental health-focused New Year’s Resolutions from your favorite wellness spa:
Be kind to yourself and others in 2024
It’s time to take it easy on yourself.
Start protecting yourself and speaking to yourself the same way you’d protect and treat your best friend, or someone you love.“Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are seeds.
You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.”
-OshoOnce you are kind to yourself, you may find it easier to naturally be kind to others.
Plus, being kind to others can help you feel more connected to your community and reduce feelings of isolation.
‘Being kind to others’ is vague. We hope you decide what that means for you before you make it your resolution. It may be your goal to be nicer in daily conversations, or it may inspire you to volunteer your time.
Either way, we hope you stay true to yourself as you grow.
Don’t forget, we’re avoiding burnout this year!
Add self-care rituals to your post-holiday routines, and commit to them all year
Now that the holidays are over, we’re all getting back to our routines.
Your 2024 Resolution can be as simple as setting 5 minutes aside daily to practice self-care, but we encourage you to go a step further.
The concept of self-care involves spending time with yourself and doing something that makes you feel good, to recharge your batteries.
Self-care varies from person to person, typically keeping one thing in common: the goal of reaching relaxation.
Your self-care rituals may involve taking a bubble bath, spending time outdoors, packing a healthy lunch, or cleaning your space. How can you implement those rituals into your routine?
We encourage you to think about adding self-care rituals to your daily, weekly, and monthly routines.
In 2024, 10-15 minutes per day, one hour per week, and one day per month is dedicated to self-care.
Strengthen your level of discipline by scheduling it in advance, and by saying “no” when other plans arise.
You owe it to yourself, so you can keep showing up for others.
Improve your sleep hygiene in 2024
If you have trouble falling asleep, you wake up a lot at night, or you often feel sleepy throughout the day… this resolution is for you.
You are not alone! 10-18% of the general population has trouble sleeping. Those with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, or burnout are much more likely to have unhealthy sleep patterns.
Getting a healthy amount and quality of sleep can alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout, and it can prevent the onset of additional health problems down the road.
Here are a few examples of resolutions that will help enhance your sleep hygiene:
Make time to unwind before bed without screens
Every night, setting a routine designed to wind down your brain will help you sleep better.
It’s hard to put your phone away and turn the TV off, but studies show that screen time before bed directly reduces the quality of sleep.
Not only do screens keep your brain from producing melatonin and other chemicals that improve sleep, but the content on the screens also keeps your mind active.
Instead of watching TV or scrolling through social media until you fall asleep, try activities that allow your brain to relax, such as reading, gentle yoga or stretching, meditating, or writing in a journal.
If you need to listen to something while you fall asleep, try an audiobook or a noise machine. Put your phone on silent or ‘do not disturb’ mode so notifications can’t interrupt your sleep.
If you still can’t sleep, turn your attention toward your breathing. By breathing deeply and slowly, you send signals to your brain and nervous system that it’s time to calm down.
Consider your sleep hygiene throughout the day
There are many things we do every day that impact the quality of our sleep.
Here are a few things to keep in mind throughout the day:
Getting proper amounts of exercise will help you achieve more restful sleep.
Studies show that consuming caffeine 6 hours before bedtime disturbs sleep.
Sugar and alcohol disturbs sleep in a variety of ways, too.
It isn’t easy to fall asleep when your stomach is full, so try to avoid large meals within three hours of bedtime.
Studies show that a warm shower or bath an hour or two before bed can help you sleep better. The warm temperatures allow your body to cool down afterward, signaling to your body that it’s time to rest.
Clean sheets and an organized bedroom help to calm your mind at night, too.
Make sure you’re getting enough Magnesium
Magnesium is a critically essential mineral that your body needs for the brain and heart to function properly.
You can get Magnesium from your diet, but there are a few downsides to relying on your diet for magnesium: Food is becoming less and less nutritious, and Magnesium only stays in your body for 48 hours.
Oral Magnesium supplements can help, but finding the right dosage can be tricky, with negative side effects.
Epsom salt is 20% magnesium, and your skin absorbs the Magnesium your body needs while you float. If you need a boost of magnesium, flotation therapy has your back.
Remember to be practical
Your bedtime doesn’t have to be luxurious, with a face mask and cucumbers on your eyes every night.
Make it realistic for you, and stick to it for at least two weeks.
It takes time, consistency, and discipline for a healthy sleep routine to kick in.
Next year, go clutter-free
Clutter in your home, office, and car may be overstimulating your mind without you directly noticing it.
A messy space provides more opportunity for cortisol, the stress hormone, to rise.
We’re not saying to purge your entire house, office, and car in the first week of January.
Commit to removing clutter from one surface or drawer per week, and by the time 2025 rolls around, you’ll have a clutter-free life, and therefore, a clutter-free mind.
Once you remove clutter from an area, install organizational systems in place to keep your space clutter-free.
It will save you time and energy, while reducing stress, in the long run. It may even help you to sleep better at night.
Challenge yourself to improve every day
By challenging yourself, and pushing your boundaries, you make strides toward self-discovery and self-confidence.
Improving yourself is a challenge in itself, and, it won’t be easy. But it can be fun!
Maybe you’re interested in learning more about a certain topic or trying new types of food regularly.
Challenge yourself to practice mindfulness, by meditating every day, or to reach a goal you’ve always wanted to accomplish.
Set yourself up with a timeline of activity and a definition of what success looks like for you.
Here are a few examples of activities that will both challenge you and help you to grow:Cold water therapy
Because our bodies have a natural aversion to the cold, it is quite a challenge to take a cold plunge.
However, it will reward you with a plethora of health benefits to better your mental and physical health.
Cold plunge benefits include reduced inflammation, improved circulation, a rush of endorphins that promote happy feelings, a boosted metabolism, a stronger immune system, and more.
Cold plunges may be shocking, and we always recommend working your way up to a cold plunge by taking increasingly cold showers. Check out our 30-day cold shower challenge for inspiration to prepare for a cold plunge.
Reach deeper layers of muscle tissue
If you’re an athlete, live an active lifestyle, or want to ultimately improve your overall function, challenging yourself to reach deeper layers of muscle tissue is a great example of this resolution.
We highly encourage challenging yourself with yoga, a deep tissue massage, or even fascial stretch therapy to improve flexibility, recovery, and injury resistance.
Everyone is different and will feel challenged in a variety of ways. With a little creativity, we hope you find a way to challenge yourself safely and practically.
Reach deeper layers of emotions
It can be incredibly challenging for some people to talk through and share their emotions.
Unprocessed emotions tend to arise when they are most unwanted: in stressful situations, causing you to burst.
We always recommend finding a therapist you admire and telling them everything that’s on your mind. Therapists are amazing. They will help you to uncover parts of yourself, and process emotions now, so they don’t hold you back later on.
Reach deeper layers of meditation
The world we live in is full of distractions, and it is difficult to control your mind. Through meditation practice, you can prove to yourself that you are, in fact, in control of your thoughts.
No matter how much meditation experience you have, you can start today by closing your eyes, focusing on your breathing, and imagining the most beautiful, serene place you’ve ever been. When thoughts flow into your mind, let them pass instead of dwelling on them.
Many other meditation techniques will help you achieve a deeper state of calm and relaxation. We encourage you to seek meditation advice from a professional source dedicated to meditating.
If you have a hard time meditating, it may be helpful to limit distractions in a sensory deprivation tank.
Decide on a way to hold yourself accountable
Tell a friend your resolutions and goals, and ask them to follow up with you. Set up an Excel spreadsheet, or hang a calendar on your wall dedicated to your resolutions.
Sometimes financial responsibility is a huge motivator, so investing in a series of classes, purchasing a monthly membership, or buying a package of services may hold you to it.
We encourage you to get creative and to only pick what will work best for you. You know yourself best!
Happy New Year from Hope Floats
We genuinely wish all the best for you in the New Year. By setting realistic, attainable goals for 2024, we know you’re already off to a great start.
If this resonates with you, please join our wellness community and follow us on social media for healthy reminders and ways to expand your resolution throughout the year.
Please note: We are not intending to give any sort of medical advice, only ideas and examples to help you along your wellness journey.
