Healthy Lifestyle Tips For Teenagers – Due to the increased physical and mental stress of aging, self-care for young people is an important aspect to discuss. During the teenage years, your child goes through major life changes—from physical and hormonal changes to concerns about their education and personal life.
While there is a lot of knowledge about the physical and mental health of adolescents, not much is known about adolescent self-care and its importance.
Healthy Lifestyle Tips For Teenagers
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘self care’? Does it show pictures of a day at the salon or spa or a bubble bath at home? Self-care requires more than these. It encompasses activities, skills, and habits that reduce stress and strain on your mind and body and make you feel happy and at peace with yourself.
Type 1 Diabetes: Causes, Symptoms, Complications & Treatment
Self-care is often confused with self-indulgence and it can mean different things to different people. For some, this may mean an uninterrupted afternoon nap, while for others, it may mean a long bath, reading their favorite book all day, or simply enjoying a meal alone.
While the essence of self-care is to do something that makes you feel refreshed, it doesn’t always involve doing things that are in your comfort zone.
The things you do as part of self-care may not always be relaxing but may be aimed at reducing a stressful situation in the near future. For example, this may include doctor visits or completing your work to avoid stressful situations later. This is especially true for today’s youth, who are among the most stressed, anxious, and depressed segments of society.
While awareness of mental health issues among young people is gaining momentum, little is known about the importance of self-care in this age group. Today’s teenagers have their own set of struggles—academic; increase competition; pressure to perform well; participation in school, community, family, and religious events; concerns about their future, appearance, and social status; relationship problems, etc. During the COVID-19 lockdown, they face new stressors, including the inability to socialize with peers, excessive parental supervision, and academic difficulties due to online learning. These problems can affect their mental health and trigger behavioral problems and even suicidal tendencies in young people.
Top 8 Health And Wellness Trends In 2023
One of the best ways for young people to cope with difficult situations is by practicing regular self-care. Self-care can help prevent burnout, protect mental health, reduce self-doubt and frustration, and increase happiness. And what’s more, engaging in self-care has been shown to reduce stroke, cancer, and heart disease.
Here are some practical and effective self-care tips for teens that they can use to boost their physical, mental, and emotional health.
People may expect a lot from your teen, but your child doesn’t always have realistic expectations of themselves. At the end of the day, they should always believe that they have done enough and the best they can do. This self-confidence is a self-healthy habit to cultivate.
Young people are easily influenced by everything they see on TV, the Internet and social media. Teach them not to believe everything they see and hear, but to seek the hidden truth. Realizing the reality of life is a smart way to encourage self-care during adolescence.
Adhd Lifestyle Changes That Really Improve Symptoms
It’s common for young people to beat themselves up when they don’t get what they want, when relationships end, or when they’re having a bad day. Remind them not to be too hard on themselves. This includes
Adolescence is one of the most memorable periods in a person’s life. Young people usually have many friends. However, it is important that they have real friends who form a strong support and provide a safety net to fall back on. Encourage them to find friends who are their harshest critics but stand by them in their darkest moments.
Positive self-talk can motivate and help you improve your imperfections and become a better version of yourself. Teach your child to never put themselves down or talk negatively about themselves, and help them recognize the good things about themselves and gain confidence in their abilities. Encourage them to talk to themselves as they would to their best friend.
Teenagers are in a constant state of flux. It is common to equate happiness with great achievements, events or wealth. However, they should understand that happiness is in the little things in life, like listening to music, joking with a friend, or enjoying the first snowfall of the year.
American Heart Association Recommendations For Physical Activity In Kids Infographic
Taking time to appreciate the little things in life and be thankful for them is so important for young people to recognize how blessed they are. When you recognize the things you have, you welcome joy into your life. This is a good self-care habit for young people to develop.
It is normal for young people to feel frustrated about things around them or missed opportunities and spend a lot of time thinking about them. However, as part of self-care, they should learn how to savor the present moments in life instead of focusing too much on past failures or future uncertainties.
Social media is powerful, and for a generation born after the rise of the Internet, it is natural to see them spend a lot of time on different portals. However, social media also has its drawbacks. Young people begin to compare their lives with the lives of their friends and others as shown on social media platforms. Sometimes, the information on these platforms can be disturbing, stressful, and even cause anxiety. Teach your teen to limit social media use to an hour or just a few hours a day.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/parenting-advice-for-tweens-3288608_color1-5bd9d5acc9e77c002674c0a2.png?strip=all "Healthy Lifestyle Tips For Teenagers")
Hobbies have a calming, relaxing effect on a person’s mind and body. A great way to practice self-care is to have a hobby. It can be anything that relaxes them, such as reading books, playing an instrument, participating in a sport, creating arts or crafts, coding, or dancing.
Essential Oils For Teens
It’s normal for young people to feel like they can take over the world. However, teach them not to overtake. Let them limit their activities and commitments to the important things that benefit them and give 100%. In this way, they can be kind to themselves and give their mind and body the rest they need.
Exercising, playing a sport, or just jogging can help you de-stress. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins or ‘happy hormones’ that help you feel positive. A daily exercise routine is, therefore, an important part of self-care for young people.
Deep or diaphragmatic breathing has been proven effective in reducing stress and anxiety. It also helps lower blood pressure and improve relaxation (7).
An important aspect of self-care is understanding and accepting yourself for who you are. Help your teen understand their strengths, weaknesses, and fears.
Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Healthy Eating?
Teens can feel a lot of uncertainty in their lives, which further adds to their existing stress. Maintaining a daily routine with fixed times for eating, sleeping, and activities can reduce stress created by uncertainty, thus acting as a powerful self-care tool. . It also allows them to complete all their tasks on time; thus, reducing the stress caused by incomplete assignments and submissions.
It can be difficult for teenagers to get quality sleep. But getting a good night’s sleep every day is essential for proper brain function and, more importantly, mental health. Poor quality sleep or lack of sleep at night can lead to poor concentration and lack of energy and motivation in young people.
Physical, emotional, social, spiritual, personal, home care, financial, and professional (or school, care) self-care are eight types of self-care (7).
Poor self-care can manifest in many ways. For example, you may start skipping meals and feel lethargic. You may feel irritated by trivial things and tend to criticize yourself for no reason. Not getting enough sleep and exercise, not making time for hobbies and activities that make you happy, and not asking for help when needed are some of the ways a person takes poor self-care (8).
Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate
Self care is not a selfish act. Rather, it is an important practice for maintaining physical, mental, and emotional health. By taking care of yourself, you can be more productive in your personal and professional life. In addition, you can take care of your responsibilities and those around you with improved positivity (9). Therefore, indulging in activities that make you feel good and happy is not a luxury. Rather, it is an efficient way of working with energy.
A child’s teenage years are filled with many ups and downs, and often, life seems complicated. From navigating physical and emotional changes to meeting the demands of school and parents, things can be difficult for them. So spending a dedicated amount of time on self care is important.
Along with the points mentioned in the previous section, there are many other tips that can help young people practice self-care and maintain a good quality of life. We’ve prepared an infographic to help you with other tips you can share with your teen and encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle.
Articles are written after reviewing the research work of expert authors and institutions. Our references