MENTAL HEALTH: DON'T MESS WITH SCIENCE

There's never a better time to get yourself fighting fit, both mentally and physically, but we know it's often easier said than done.

Now, we don't know it all, but trust us when we say that Rome wasn't built in a day. Small, manageable changes are the best way to have a long-term impact on how you think and feel, so here's Push’s 5 top tips for maintaining good mental health.

• Sleep: get it in and get it good.
  ​
  

You know when top athletes say that exercise is only a third of their successful training programme? Ever wondered what the other two are? Let’s enlighten you: diet and, yes, sleep.
​
You know when your laptop needs an update and afterwards it tells you to restart your computer? That is exactly what your brain is doing overnight – processing the day’s information and experiences, and deciding what to keep and what to flush so that you’re running the most efficient software possible in your headspace.

If you’re not loading the new brain updates regularly and restarting it every night, it's going to keep stalling and eventually shut down. This is all proven by neuroscientists, and ‘neuroscientist’ is such a funky word for a job that we’re not going to argue with them.

• Learn: mental burpies is just as important for your health as physical burpies.
  
  Lifelong learning and a love of brain challenges like reading novels, writing, crosswords, Sudoku or puzzles are all great ways to get your psychological bench presses on.
  
  
• Keep active: exercise releases feel-good endorphins and helps restore the balance of chemicals in your body.
  
  It also helps you sleep (that other nice thing we mentioned above). It even helps you release any built up tension and angst you might be feeling. Boxing and running are great tension-diffusing choices, but even a good brisk walk will do.
  
  
• Eat vegetables: don’t mess with science - they’re good for you, honest.
  
  Think of your body like a car: the more rubbish you fill it with, the less efficiently it runs. We’re not saying the odd muffin or cake isn’t lush and well-deserved, but everything in moderation and make those things a treat and not the norm. 
  
  
• Get outdoors: winter months can be draining, but Scandinavians have less hours of daylight than us over winter and they are all happier than us (United Nations’ annual Global Happiness Survey).
  
  They ensure they take time to get one of the essentials in life: Vitamin D, especially when there’s not much of it around.
  
  When Vitamin D (which comes from sunlight) hits your skin, it quite literally produces chemicals within you which then travel to all areas of your body. These chemicals are good’uns. 
  
  In the winter, you might also want to boost your D supply by eating oily fishes such as mackerel, herring, sardines and salmon (and some red meat and eggs).
  
  ​We’d recommend using your lunch break to turn off your phone and go for a walk, whilst munching on some boiled eggs or salmon. As you walk, concentrate on absorbing as much of your surroundings as possible, and focus on your breathing.

There, nothing too scary, right? Even the vegetables aren't the end of the world – you'll be amazed by what you can sneak your 5 a day into, whether you're a vegephobe or not.

Give some of these a go. If you want to start off slow, maybe try one new change a week. You'll be surprised how quickly you start to reap the benefits.