Developing a daily routine can help us feel more in control of everything, and make room for all that’s important. Routine can aid our mental health by helping us cope with change, form healthy habits, and reduce our stress levels.

The Mental Health Benefits of Having a Daily Routine

ROUTINE CAN ANCHOR US

Routine can be an anchor. No matter what’s going on in our day, knowing that we will be having our evening meal around 6 pm, and going to bed around 10 pm, can be a real comfort. The certainty of our routine can help us to manage the uncertainty that life can throw up. Coping with unpredictable periods of time can feel more doable when we have a little structure in place to look to.

REDUCING STRESS

Having a daily routine can help to reduce our stress levels. Trying to remember things can be really stressful and can fill our brains up with everything on our ‘to do’ list; which can be incredibly overwhelming. When we have a routine, a lot of the things we do day-to-day slot in, and we don’t have to think about them anymore. For example, when we’re well we don’t have to remember to brush our teeth, because we know from habit that brushing teeth comes after breakfast every day. Routine can take the guesswork and uncertainty out of bits of our day, which can allow us to feel more in control and less stressed.

DAILY HABITS

Having a routine can help us to cultivate positive daily habits and to prioritize self-care. Organizing our time gives have the opportunity to build in blocks of time for things that are important to us. This can allow us to build in daily habits that help us with our mental health. It could include things like time to relax, or a regular bedtime. When they’re part of our routine, it can make it easier to keep up with them because we have the time to do them and they become our ‘new normal’.

Daily habits include:

• A sleeping routine
• Take important tasks and goals one step at a time
• A healthy diet
• Regular exercise

Here are some healthy ways to keep up with current events:

• Refer to reputable sources of information, such as the Government of Canada page.
• Limit the amount of time you spend reading/viewing/listening to the news if the information contributes to your stress.
• Talk to your children, discuss the news with them but consider their age and level of maturity. Adjust the information to their level of understanding. CDC offers some great tips on discussing COVID-19 with children.

Make an effort to eat healthy foods, exercise daily and get plenty of rest. The Canadian Food Guide & Fitness Plan offers recommendations to stay healthy.

Learn about Mindfulness and practice it regularly. Mindfulness is a meditation technique that can help you develop a healthy relationship with your emotions, get better sleep, and more.

Click here to check out our Mindfulness resources, including free online workshops offered every Friday morning!

You can also check out this daily calendar of mindfulness activities.

Practice self-compassion. Instead of criticizing yourself for what you are not doing, praise yourself for what you have done. In these trying times, be gentler with your expectations for yourself. Sometimes, basic hygiene and feeding yourself is all you can do in a day, and that is ok.

Don’t compare yourself to others, especially on social media. Social media is designed to allow people to present the best version of themselves, and sometimes that version isn’t even real. It is easy to go on social media and see people who seem to be carefree and achieving all sorts of goals during the pandemic without a hair out of place. Do not compare yourself to this image that you see, it is not real, exaggerated, or it has nothing to do with your experience. Instead, focus on setting small, realistic tasks for yourself, things that interest you and motivate you. Take breaks from social media if necessary.

Remember that having a bad day is a universal human experience. It is not a reflection of who you are as a person, it is simply something that happens.

Here are some examples:

• I'm going to be all right.
• I can get through this.
• I'll just do the best I can.
• One step at a time.
• I'm stronger than I think.

Follow these simple steps:

1. What am I worried about? Write down specific things you are saying to yourself.
2. Pick one worry that you wrote down. Is this worry helpful or unhelpful?
3. For helpful worries: Do something! What is your plan? Come up with a step-by-step plan detailing how you will solve the problem.
4. For unhelpful worries: Try to put these out of your mind until your “Worry Time”(see #5). You can also distract yourself from unhelpful worries by building a routine or doing a relaxing activity, such as going for a walk.
5. Set aside a "Worry Time." This helps to reduce the amount of time you spend worrying.

Grounding is a form of mindfulness that can be used in the moment to address stress, anxiety, anger, or other unwanted or overwhelming emotions by focusing entirely on the experiences of the moment instead. It can reduce the negative emotions so that the individual has time to refocus instead of being overwhelmed.

For example, a person might be feeling more and more angry, but before yelling at someone else they may take a moment to ground themselves, and instead of yelling they can then discuss their needs in a more productive manner instead of starting an argument.

Grounding helps calm your inner voice, and reduces your negative feelings and thoughts. Try this technique to focus your attention on the moment.

Focus on 5 things you can SEE, 4 things you can TOUCH, 3 things you can HEAR, 2 things you can SMELL, and 1 thing you can TASTE.

Be sure to really focus on each sensation as you go through the process, and exclude as many other thoughts or emotions as possible. For example, can you name the specific shade of pink of the flower you are looking at, is it more blush or peach? When you hear sirens outside, are they moving towards you or away from you?

Talking about what you are going through with family and friends can be helpful, but because they are emotionally involved, they may have opinions or biases.

The role of a counsellor is to listen without bias, and give you a space to explore your feelings. Professional counselling is an opportunity to speak freely in a totally confidential environment.

Counselling can help with stress, anxiety, isolation, and burnout related to the pandemic, but it can also help with existing issues that have changes or become more severe during the pandemic, such as divorce, co-parenting, job loss, work stress, career changes, relationship stress, etc.

Counselling offers lots of benefits – it’s nothing to be afraid of! We offer free, online counselling with professional counsellors. Click here to make an appointment.

Approximately 30% of adults report troubles falling/staying asleep or having unrefreshing (nonrestorative) sleep. Approximately 10% of the population has sleep problems so severe that it affects daytime activities.

Finding the root cause can help you understand why you have sleep issues. Some factors include:

• Poor sleep hygiene or too much blue light in the evening.
• Lack of exercise. Exercise creates fatigue, which can be recovered by rest.
• Stressing about the day that just passed or about the future can lead to worries around bedtime.
• Medication or other substances. Drugs may affect sleep schedule.

Strategies to Fall Asleep

• Be consistent! Try to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day. You can’t control when you fall asleep, but you can control when you wake up. Set an alarm for the same time each day. Over time, your sleep will begin to match the consistent wake up time.
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• Create a bedtime routine. This may include brushing your teeth, tidying up from the day, changing into your pyjamas, etc. This routine can act as a sign to your body that it is almost time to sleep and help it begin to shut down for the evening.
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• Eat a healthy, nutritious diet. Some people find it helpful to avoid large meals at night.
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• Listen to your body. If you are tired in the evening, go to bed even if it is earlier than usual. Pushing yourself to stay up until a certain time might cause you to be awake later than intended.
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• Try to exercise with moderate intensity. This will create fatigue that will help the body fall asleep. However, be conscious of when you exercise. Exercising late in the evening can be over-stimulating and make it more difficult to fall asleep.
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• Turn off all electronics 1-2 hours before bedtime.
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• If you wake up, do not open your eyes, gently find a comfortable position, and try to fall back to sleep.
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• Take a warm shower or bath before going to sleep. This helps to relax the body.
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• Limit your exposure to blue light in the evening (such as electronics). Blue light waves trick the brain into thinking it's daytime, which impairs sleep.
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• Reduce the sensitivity of your senses, such as plugging your ears to reduce noise or covering your eyes to reduce light.
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• Avoid caffeine and nicotine, particularly in the late afternoon and evening.
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• Avoid spending time in bed or in the bedroom during daytime hours. Avoid doing activities in bed that are not related to sleep, such as work or playing computer games.

Keep in mind it can take over two weeks for your sleep patterns to respond to these adjustments. If you still see no change in sleep after consistently trying a strategy for three weeks, contact your doctor.