10 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health as a Busy Mom
The busy mom life can often feel starved of self-care and quiet time. It’s one of the most demanding things humans can endure because of its round-the-clock responsibilities. However, that doesn’t mean we should give up on caring for ourselves. There are some things we can do to improve your mental health as a Mom, and your well-being — it just takes a little creativity.
Daily mindfulness exercises
There’s little more that a busy mom needs than a few moments to reflect or simply be in the present moment and relax. Getting into meditation may seem unrealistic, but don’t set yourself a strict schedule if you can’t stick to it.
Instead, start small, and incorporate them into your nighttime routine when you have more time to yourself. Like therapy, don’t make this into a big activity. It’s perfectly fine to just do a few minutes here and there, when you can, and still see all the benefits. Plus, you’ll likely fall asleep faster if you do it in the evening.
Structured daily planning
Some moms simply cannot stick to a structured routine, and that’s understandable. But, we can try and give ourselves a chance by prioritizing certain tasks early in the morning, or planning them more carefully for when the children go to school.
The main things to remember are, firstly, don’t let the entire routine crumble if you cannot stick closely to it. Accept it won’t be perfect and see if you can still have a good afternoon. Secondly, include self-care activities in the planning and treat them as importantly as anything else.
Regular but moderate exercise
We all know the benefits of exercise: it reduces stress, improves mood, boosts energy, and keeps your heart healthy. For some, this is the single biggest thing they can do to boost their mental health. However, it’s important to exercise as often as you can, but it doesn’t need to be extreme.
HIIT became popular among moms who are short on time and want to get 60 minutes worth of exercise into 20 minutes, which leads to some intense activity. This sounds great on paper, but if you overdo it, you can actually increase your cortisol (the stress hormone).
A stressed mom shouldn’t be trying to hit her personal best each workout — this will exhaust you. A general rule is that 80% of your exercising should be Zone 2, which is quite a bit below red-lining your heart rate.
Diet
Eating healthy is just as important as exercise when it comes to mental well-being. Given that the majority of our serotonin, among other hormones, comes from our gut, this is a priority.
Calories and macros may be important, but for our mental well-being, try to just get a balanced diet of fresh fruits and vegetables with plenty of nutrients. Deficiencies can affect our mental health and cognition. Also opt for plenty of pro- and prebiotics like kefir, greens, yogurt, and sauerkraut.
Under or over-eating regarding carbs and calories can certainly be a concern, but this can often correct itself by simply focusing on gut health due to the types of foods this entails. And, while intermittent fasting is all the rave recently, only do it if it’s working for you.
There’s no higher reward for pushing through feelings of nausea or dizziness, so don’t let diet become a cause of any more stress — just go back to the basics of a balanced diet.
Quality sleep
Sleep is massively important to our mental wellbeing. The issue is that it takes a long time to get a good night’s sleep, and time is something most moms are deprived of. One way to help this is to place a lot of focus on your child’s sleep schedule, because this will have the biggest impact on yours.
If you happen to struggle with falling asleep, try taking a warm bath, drinking herbal tea, and potentially take magnesium. Avoiding blue light before sleep is also important, and try not to ruin the routine on weekends by sleeping in late. It sounds counter-intuitive, but routine, where possible, is what we’re striving for as this sets our circadian rhythm.
Online therapy
There’s no better place to start with than with therapy. This is where we can access professionals to help us through the tough times and build up the necessary skills to go about our day in a way that reduces stress and suffering. It’s important to remember there’s no problem too big or small that they’re happy to help with. In fact, there doesn’t even need to be a specific problem; they can lead the conversation and teach you skills to get through your day.
But, therapists are expensive and often far away. This is why it’s important to consider online therapy as it can be done at your own pace and in your own time. Therapy can even be done by text message, quite literally with a baby in your arms if need be. Don’t think of it as a big ordeal; think of it simply as a qualified person to talk to.
Digital detox
Moms have enough on their plates without being constantly connected and fed information from other moms, or worse, celebrities and influencers. When living a busy life, we need to take a break whenever we can, and this begins by putting down the phone.
A great time to do this is when eating, as it doubles as family time when around the dinner table. This can become meditative, particularly if it extends to when you’re cooking, as you’re more likely to be in the present moment when getting hands-on with your food.
Other times to do this is when first waking up, as reading the news, watching reels, and being flooded with information when we first open our eyes is not great for our mental health.
Support networks
Nobody knows your problems better than other moms, which is why it’s really important to find a support network of friends and family who can help navigate these challenges and offload some steam.
There can be online mom groups, but try and involve yourself in local ones because you can eventually put down the phone and begin seeing these new friends in real life. If not, online communication is still fine, and in some cases, a lifeline, as it far outweighs being lonely or suffering in silence.
Don’t neglect your love life
Whether you’re happily married or a single mom, it’s important to not simply disregard your own love life because you’re busy caring for your children. It’s hard, certainly, but this is when pushing yourself to find a babysitter can really help you spend quality time with your partner or potential partner.
Open communication is important, and couples counseling can also do wonders when you’re under stress (even if it doesn’t feel like the relationship is the cause of the stress). Ultimately, don’t sacrifice your own needs too much — make time for those date nights.
Hobbies and passions
On a similar note, we can often become laser-focused on being a mom and/or great colleague at work, and forget about our own hobbies and passions. These are the first things to be thrown out for new moms, so you know you’re doing well if you’re able to reintroduce them back into your life!
What many forget is that hobbies can be chosen; they’re not imparted on us. So, consider trying out some new activities that fit into your current life and routine. If there’s a swimming pool next to your child’s school – consider going after you drop them off. If you’re tied to your home – consider activities like painting or baking.
Final word
Busy moms face unique mental health challenges. Lots of noise and distractions can starve you of quiet reflection and getting your thoughts in order. If you can’t make more time for yourself, you can improve the quality of spending what time you have, either through talking to a professional, meditating, or picking up old hobbies.
