A new poll has revealed that many of us are guilty of letting our own needs slip to the bottom of the priority list as work, family, and daily demands build up.<\/p>\n
The survey of 4,000 UK adults, conducted by Opinium<\/a> on behalf of the Mental Health Foundation<\/a>, found that a quarter hadn\u2019t taken any action to support their mental health<\/a> in the previous month.<\/p>\n The results come ahead of Mental Health<\/a> Awareness Week (May 11-17), which centres on the theme of \u201caction\u201d. The Mental Health Foundation<\/a> is encouraging people to adopt small, manageable habits<\/a> to help boost mood and improve overall wellbeing.<\/p>\n Alexa Knight, director of policy and influencing at Mental Health Foundation<\/a>, said: \u201cWe really want people to not only think about their mental health, but to actually take concrete action\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more understanding of mental health and how important it is, but so many of us don\u2019t take action for ourselves or for others, and there are lots of quick, simple things we can all do that will have an impact on our mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important that we all try and prioritise doing something for ourselves, even if it\u2019s just a small thing every week.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are eight simple actions to incorporate into your routine that could help boost your mood and support your wellbeing:<\/p>\n 1. Spend time in nature<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBeing out in nature can give you a mental health boost,\u201d says Knight. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something about being out in the natural world that takes us out of ourselves and provides a change of environment, which can lead to a shift in mindset.<\/p>\n \u201cEven a short walk in a park or sitting in the garden can have a positive impact.\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Move your body<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t all need to run a marathon, but trying to move, whatever that means for you at your capability, every day is really important,\u201d says Knight.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether that\u2019s having a little dance in the kitchen or doing some chair yoga, being physically active has a great impact on your mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. Take screen breaks<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cFrom time to time, many of us fall into the habit of thinking it\u2019s relaxing to go on our phones and scroll to see what\u2019s going on,\u201d reflects Knight. \u201cHowever, when there are so many difficult and distressing things going on in the world, it might be a good idea to give yourself permission to take a break from this.\u201d<\/p>\n 4. Organise a mate date<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMake plans to catch up with friends,\u201d suggests Knight. \u201cThere\u2019s something about looking forward to the future and being hopeful that has a really protective boost for mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n 5. Create a calming bedtime routine<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDoing things like staying away from screens for an hour before bedtime, making sure you have a calm environment and doing relaxing activities like having a bath, listening to music or reading a book can all help your mind unwind before bed,\u201d recommends Knight.<\/p>\n 6. Drink lots of water<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s such a close relationship between physical health and mental health, they are intrinsically linked. Therefore, doing things that we know are good for our physical health, like drinking water, is really good for our mental health as well,\u201d explains Knight.<\/p>\n \u201cStaying hydrated is fantastic for improving things like concentration and memory, but can also help improve our mood too.\u201d<\/p>\n 7. Write down three things that you are grateful for<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWrite down three things that happened to you today that you are grateful for,\u201d suggests Knight. \u201cThey can be small things, like a nice, short conversation you had with your neighbour, something you love about your neighbourhood, or it might be just knowing there are friends that you can call should you need to.<\/p>\n \u201cDoing this can help shift your mindset back to the positive and the hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n 8. Learn a new skill<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBeing in a growth mindset where you\u2019re taking on new challenges or learning new things has been proven to be a real boost for mental health,\u201d says Knight.<\/p>\n \u201cTrying a new hobby can also often provide a meditative boost as it takes you again away from negative thoughts because you\u2019re focusing on something creative or enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n Take action for your mental health this <\/strong>Mental Health Awareness Week<\/strong><\/a>. Find out more and get expert tips <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":947348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[105,218,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-947347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116542212011453766","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=947347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/947348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=947347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=947347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=947347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/iStock-2166976844.jpeg\")
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