As we’re sure you knew after, oh the first day or two, being a mum is hard. Sure, it’s wonderful and amazing, but anything worth doing is generally not exactly easy, right?

 

Our focus as parents is on our children’s welfare and happiness – but by doing that, we let our own well-being fall down the priority ladder.

 

But unless we take the time to look after our own health and happiness, we can get upset, or run down, or exhausted – and of course it stands to reason we can’t be the best parents we can be.

 

Here are five easy, everyday ways you can look after yourself for a healthy and happy mind:

 

1. Take a break

 

For the love of God mum, you need to step away as often as you can to take a breath! It can be a scary, overwhelming feeling to have someone rely on you all the time. Enlist the help of your partner, a family member or a friend and go and do something for yourself, even if it’s only for an hour.

 

 

2. Work up a sweat

 

Exercise is great for mums – necessary in fact. By working out at least once a day, whether that’s moderate exercise like a walk, or high-impact like an aerobics class, you’re destressing your body and increasing your energy and concentration levels. And if you can’t leave the house, just stick on a DVD or a YouTube tutorial and work up a sweat while baby naps.

 

3. Do some yoga

 

If there’s any activity that’s going to help you relax, it’s yoga. Even 15 minutes of deep breathing is enough to chill you out after a stressful day. And the best part is you can do it at home in the sitting room!

 

 

4. Read a book

 

If you’ve had a busy, stressful day, instead of jumping into bed, it’s a good idea to wind down with a good novel. Nothing soothes the mind after a day of hectic running around than immersing yourself in a good romance – or a meaty psychological thriller for that matter!

 

5. Appreciate yourself

 

You might not be perfect – who is? – but you’re doing your best (and yes, that’s good enough). At the end of every day instead of beating yourself up over this or that, focus on the good things you achieved that day. Even write them down in a journal before you go to sleep – this will help you walk up the next morning feeling a lot more positive.

 

Do you have any special ways you like to keep yourself… for want of a better word, sane? We’d love to hear from you!

 

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