Five Minute Self-Care Ideas

Do you need a quick break for self-care?

While you may not have an hour, thirty or even fifteen minutes for an intense self-care activity, five minutes is doable. Personally, I am a busy person who tends to not make time for check ins with myself or self-care routines. Doing a face mask or a self-massage sounds wonderful to me, yet I don’t always make the time for it. It is essential to remember to take care of yourself. Setting aside five minutes for yourself is important and should be a priority. Prioritizing yourself is important because it can help you become more productive. Leading to less procrastination. It can help you reduce your stress levels. Not only can it help you reduce stress but taking five minutes a day to take care of yourself can help create this healthy habit. Once it becomes regular practice it could be hard to stop taking care of yourself. This is super beneficial to help you reconnect with yourself, it is like getting a tune up for your car not only does it help the car to run better but is a necessity.

Here are some great five-minute self-care ideas to get you started.

• Hydrate

Remembering to hydrate is super important. I know lots of people who somehow forget to drink water throughout the day. Drinking water has numerous health benefits. Drinking water can help the brain with cognition. Staying hydrated is good for your skin, your muscles and joints, and even organ functioning. Hydrating yourself can aid your digestive system to work better. As well as decreasing pain in your joints.

• Take a Deep Breath

Taking a moment to take a deep breath can help you relax. This can boost your mental functioning. A deep breath can calm your mind. Breathing can release tension. Deep breathing can lead to boosted energy levels. Taking a deep breath can detoxify your body and brings clarity to your mind by oxygenating your body. Breathing can also strengthen your immune system and improve your nervous system. Which are the two systems that are in charge of the health of your whole body thus including your brain. Breathing boosts cellular regeneration and improves your stamina.

• Rest Your Eyes

Giving your eyes a rest is not a replacement for sleep, but it is a nice break. Especially if you work on your computer or use a laptop most of your day. Closing your eyes for a few minutes gives your brain a break from thinking and can calm your mind. Your brain is always working so resting your eyes gives your neurons a rest too. After a rest you have more clarity. This leads to better productivity and more energy to last you throughout the day.

• Self-Massage

Self-massage is where you use your hands, objects or tools to use on your muscles instead of going to a professional massage therapist. There are a ton of benefits from self-massage. This can increase your circulation, increase lubrication for your joints, and improve your energy levels. Self-massage is a great pain reliver. Massage is also another technique that can help calm your nerves. It is a way to remind your body to just slow down and relax. Massage has been known to help your body detoxify itself. Self-massage can even lead to softer and smoother skin. It is most effective when done regularly.

• Light a Candle

Lighting a candle is considered aromatherapy which is great for relieving stress. This can enhance your space and make it more relaxing. Your environment is something that can affect you throughout your day. Taking the time to make your space feel relaxing can promote health and wellness plus make it smell good. This can be good for creativity as well.

• Take a Walk

Taking a walk has been known to boost people's mood. As well as boosting your mood it can effectively boost your energy levels. A walk has benefits for your body as well as your brain. Not only can it burn some calories, but it has helped people with cognitive control and even boost creativity. Movement is super important for your body; it can reduce your risk for chronic diseases and even reduce joint pain. Walking, especially if you do it daily, can help you make your body stronger.

• Doodle

Taking the time to just mess around and doodle for five minutes can help with remembering information better. This can improve your memory and your focus. Doodling has been known to help people lower their stress levels. Drawing and or doodling can help you process your thoughts and emotions. It can inspire you to be more creative. It can be a way to let yourself slow down but still feel like you are being productive because you are creating. Doodling can be a learning tool and bring you back to the childlike mindset.

• Dance

Moving your body is super important, for your body and your brain. Dance can be a good way for you to express yourself and your feelings. Dancing is a really fun way to get yourself moving. You do not need to know any special dance moves to get your body moving. A dance break for you could look like just shaking all your bones. Moving your body has been known to improve your mood. Besides dance being a great way to work out, a dance break is also a mental break. Taking the time for a dance session to get you moving which can be a form of exercise. This can boost cardiovascular health and core-strength. It can even boost your self-esteem and help your brain function like improved memory.

• Play Some Music

Listening to music just feels good. That probably has to do with the fact that listening to music boosts your brain's production of dopamine which is known as the “feel good” hormone. Playing your favorite song, singing and jamming out to it, is a feeling like no other. This is another thing that elevates your mood. Playing music makes household chores feel more bearable. Music is also a method of expressing yourself. Music can help you lower your stress levels and improve your health. Listening to music

• Tea Break

There are a bunch of different tea options that each have their own benefits. Most teas have a bunch of antioxidants. Tea has been associated with lowering a number of different illnesses, from heart disease to stroke and even diabetes. Having a tea break with coworkers and or family can be an opportunity to catch up and spend a little time together. Tea can lower your stress levels by aiding in relaxation.

• Meditation

Meditation has been found to promote positive thinking. Meditating can also improve cognitive abilities. This is beneficial to your mental health and emotional health. Meditation can help reduce stress which can reduce anxiety. You may gain more self-awareness and become more mindful. It can help with self-control and increase your productivity. In addition, meditation can help you manage your depression and anxiety.

• Make a Gratitude List

Making a list of what you are grateful for has social, emotional, career and even personality benefits. Reminding yourself what things in your life you are grateful for can pull you out of a funk or feeling unsatisfied. The more frequently you feel gratitude the more you will feel happy and balanced emotionally. Being grateful can affect your health in many positive ways, like improved sleep quality and more energy.

• Positive Mantras

Positive mantras or positive affirmations are phrases or sentences you say to yourself daily, over and over again. This is a great way to remind yourself of what you are grateful for in your life. As well as what you love about yourself. There are affirmations that can help with your confidence, anxiety and even success. Remind yourself “I am enough” or “I can do hard things” and “my hard work will pay off.” I am healthy, I am happy, and I deserve great things are some other examples. Positive mantras can help with promoting a positive mindset.

• Read a Book

Reading a book can be a great brain stimulus. This can also be like an escape from your life, from real life into something different. It's also great for learning something new, it can be an educational experience. You may become more knowledgeable in general. Reading improves your memory. This may even improve your writing and thinking skills. Improves your concentration skills. Expand your vocabulary and make you better at articulating yourself. Reading is like exercise for your brain, which is a muscle. It is also a great habit to have for reducing stress.

• Self-Care Checklist

Remembering all of these five-minute self-care ideas might be hard, so making a self-care checklist might be a good idea. Writing up all the things you want to try is a useful tool to remember to do it. A checklist is good for getting yourself organized. Checklists are an effective way to keep yourself working efficiently, they save you brain power and time. These are super simple to do as well. They can keep us motivated to complete our tasks. Checklists have been known as a beneficial tool to get your goals accomplished faster.

Note: A tip for these self-care ideas is to set a timer, that way you don’t have to keep looking at the time. Just set a timer and take five minutes to check in and take care of yourself. Also, if you can do more than five minutes, do ten or fifteen, whatever works for you. Five minutes is a great start though.

All of these are simple enough tasks you can integrate into your day-to-day life, each and every one of them has so many benefits. Self-care can be many things; it looks different for different people because we may not have the same needs. Taking care of yourself is not always painting your nails or doing a face mask, self-care can be simple and still be effective. Five-minute self-care could be remembering to drink a glass of water. Self-care for you could be five minutes set aside just for breathing. Maybe a hand massage with some nice lotion. It could be lighting a candle near your workstation. Starting your essential oil diffusor, you sometimes forget you have. You could use five minutes just to lay back and rest your eyes. Journal how you feel in that moment, write down how your day has been. Take a five-minute walk. Do a little art by doodling in a notebook. Listen to your favorite song to boost your mood. Maybe have a little dance party to shake all the stress away, I promise this works! Make a list of things you're grateful for. I personally like to use a face roller; I can even use that while I drive or even sometimes while I work. I have found making a cup of tea super soothing as well. Sometimes I call my friend to check in. When I remember to take five minutes for myself my day improves.

You may not feel like you even have five minutes to this, or five minutes may not be enough time for what you need or deserve, self-care wise. Pure solutions are a love-based company that is dedicated to helping families and youth in need. We work to support and help families help themselves. The support you can get from Pure solutions would allow for even more time for self-care opportunities, in your home and lives.

Instead of trying to do a million different things independently, it is about integrating them. Integration increases peace and balance in your life. This makes sure that your work and life systems work together harmoniously. It is like going from having many fragments to living as a connected whole. For example, listening to music while you cook or clean. Using a face massage tool at work when responding emails. Maybe finding a podcast to listen to on the way to work to teach you more about self-care. Self-care is a powerful tool. When you make self-care a part of your daily routine it becomes automatic. I hope this was a good reminder to check in with yourself and take five minutes to appreciate yourself. As a busy person I have to continue to remind myself how important it is to have a healthy body and mind not only for a strong immune system but also for a better quality of life. It is worth it because you are worth it!