Spring is officially on the way and, for a lot of us, spring is a time when many of us feel ready for a fresh start. That will include refreshing of the environment around us, whether it’s new home décor, unpacking our spring wardrobe, or a home clear out. We’ve all heard that our environment can affect our mood or behaviour and that a “clean space equals a clear mind” and it is actually true. Health professionals have proven that if our space is a mess, then we will also feel like a mess. By cleaning and refreshing our environment, we can improve productivity, concentration, creativity, and mood.   With that in mind, maybe it's time to give your body and mind a spring clean too – show yourself the same love and care that you would show everything else around you.
The act of de-cluttering our minds has been found to have many benefits and when we simplify our minds we can find a lot of satisfaction, clarity, and improved mental wellbeing.

The purpose isn’t to find a list of things wrong with yourself or try to make drastic changes that will stress you out and leave you unhappy. Spring cleaning our minds is about taking out stressors in our lives, showing ourselves some self-care, and creating habits that will improve our health and well-being.

Time for a Spring Refresh!

• Create a Vision Board
  We are currently obsessed with vision boards and for good reason – they really change the way you see your life and provide motivation.
  A vision board is a collage of images that represent your dreams and goals that you want to achieve. The great thing is that your vision board can be literally anything you want it to be. You can create a vision board on your computer out of Pinterest images, or you can cut out and print images or words from online sources and magazines that represent your ideal life and goals. Although there isn’t much scientific evidence to prove the effectiveness of vision boards, those who use them believe they help create a clear vision of what you want to achieve and how you see yourself. Helping you to set clear goals and provide visual motivation to achieve them. Give your mind a spring clean by creating new goals, visualising the future life you want for yourself, and motivating yourself to be who you want to be.

• Find New Ways to Reduce Stress
  Let go of what is no longer serving you or doesn’t bring you joy. Create new habits and find hobbies that can help you destress and bring you joy when you have time to yourself. You could create a habit out of reading before bed, create a nighttime routine or a morning routine to help you feel your best, or your new hobby could be painting, writing, or cooking (remember you don’t have to be amazing at any hobbies that bring you joy), dedicating time to yourself to enjoy a something and distress can really help your mental health.
  If music helps you to feel calm and let go of stress, then create a playlist of your favourite music, create podcast playlists to find inspiration and unwind from the stress of your day. Whatever you choose to do, do it because it will make you happy and help you to let go of the little things that take up space in your mind.

• Improve your Sleep Routine
  If you want to spring clean your mind, then sleep is the best way to literally do that. A good night’s sleep helps you to feel refreshed in the morning, but a regular sleep pattern can work wonders. It has been proven that sleep is crucial for brain health and mental well-being. Sleep encourages the brain's Glymphatic system (known as “the brain's waste system”) to remove toxins from your brain as you sleep. To help prepare yourself for a good night's sleep, create a nighttime routine. This could include a warm bath and skincare, reading or journaling, silencing your notifications, and enjoying your favourite show with a plate or your favourite food. It can be anything you want it to be. Just be sure to include habits that help you to unwind and disconnect at the end of the day. A night of good sleep is the best way to rid yourself of mental and emotional clutter and literally spring-clean your mind.

• Digital Detox
  Easier said than done these days, but it is really important for our mental well-being that we take time away from our tech. Even though we all enjoy keeping up to date with friends or sharing a funny video, social media can also expose us to a lot of toxicity and cause feelings of anxiety. Taking a break from social media will provide a break from focusing on what everyone else is doing to spend time on yourself and appreciate what you’re doing. It's also a mental holiday from the rest of the world. Remind yourself that it’s okay to take a break and switch off from other people’s online lives. Also, take time to declutter your social media. Review who you follow and remove anything that doesn’t help your mental health, negatively hits your confidence, or simply doesn’t make you happy. Once you rid yourself of all these negative images and take time away from your online world, you will begin to feel refreshed and find ways to enjoy your real life more.

• Take Care of your Body
  A healthy body contributes to a healthy mind, so it's important to take care of your body. Eating good food and creating a healthy and balanced diet can affect your mental well-being as well as physical. A diet rich in nutrients and minerals can help to improve brain function, improve memory and productivity, improve mood, but also help your body to feel its physical best. When your body is happy and healthy, you start to feel mentally happy and healthy too.
  Another way we can look after our body is through physical exercise. This doesn’t have to mean committing to a vigorous gym workout every day every day, but it can be yoga, Pilates, taking fitness classes that spark your interest or just going for daily walks. Taking time out of your day to care for your body and enjoy a form of physical exercise can really benefit your mental and physical health over time and help you to feel good about yourself.

• Practice Mindfulness
  Spring is the perfect time to reflect on our thoughts and feelings and shift a mindset that no longer serves us. Mindfulness practice focuses on the present moment, simplifying our mind and focusing on positive self-talk, which can help us to become more self-aware and better prepared to handle moments of stress. As we declutter our minds, we will get rid of negative thoughts and mental patterns that have a negative effect on the way we live our lives. We begin to feel a sense of gratitude, relaxation, and peace. Scientific research has found that regular mindfulness practice can help lower stress hormone levels, enhance daily performance, and improve mental well-being.

These tips are to encourage you to look into yourself and create healthy habits and routines that will help you to feel your best. Life can be stressful and we often clutter our minds with things that build up over time and negative thoughts. But when we take time for ourselves, take time to look after our mind and body, and create moments of peace and calm, we can begin to have a clearer mind and feel healthier mentally and physically.