Mental health is shaped by the small things you do day after day. From how you start your morning to how you respond to stress, everyday habits quietly influence your mood, energy, and resilience over time.

While some factors that affect mental health are outside your control, there are practical, manageable ways to support your well-being through daily routines.

Here’s what mental health professionals want you to know about daily habits that help boost mental health, and when it may be time to seek professional support.

What makes mental health so important?

Mental health helps determine how you handle stress, relate to others, and make choices, explains Alison Seponara, a licensed professional counselor and author of the book “The Anxiety Healer’s Guide.”

Seponara goes on to say that caring for your mental health can lead to:

• improved mood
• reduced anxiety
• clearer thinking
• deeper relationships
• improved self-esteem, self-worth, and confidence

Nurturing your mental health can also help you manage health conditions that are worsened by stress, like heart disease, said Seponara.

According to Oludara Adeeyo, a psychiatric social worker and author of “Self-Care for Black Women,” your mental health can impact everything about your life, including the ways you view and move through the world and your ability to handle the things life throws at you.

That’s why building habits for better mental health can make a big difference in your day-to-day life.

Pro tip

As you explore new behaviors and begin incorporating them into your routine, aim to frame these changes as self-kindness, not self-punishment.

Maintaining a gentle, kind attitude toward yourself can do a lot more to improve your mental health and overall outlook than criticism and negative self-talk.

Not sure where to start? You’ll find 8 strategies to promote improved mental health below, along with some guidance on seeking professional support.

Get restful sleep

Sleep isn’t just a nonnegotiable for physical health. It also plays an essential role in mental health.

The American Psychological Association reported in 2023 that sleep deprivation makes people less happy and more anxious.

The quality of your sleep is also important. Disrupted sleep can contribute to mental health symptoms.

To get enough high quality sleep, try starting with these habits:

• Avoid caffeine after 3 p.m.
• Try to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day.
• Make your bedroom into a quiet, relaxing, clutter-free space.
• Aim to keep the temperature in your bedroom somewhere between 60°F and 65°F (16°C to 18°C).

Healthy sleep habits can be harder to build on your own if you have a sleep disorder.

If you think your sleeping issues may relate to a sleep condition, a sleep specialist can offer more information about helpful evidence-based treatments, like cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.

Mental health concerns can also lead to poor sleep, which means changes to your sleep environment and nighttime routine might not make a lasting difference. If you don’t notice much improvement after trying these strategies, connecting with a therapist may be a helpful next step.

Cut back on social media

“Constantly consuming information about other people’s lives may cause someone to compare themselves and promote feelings of low self-worth, which increases feelings of anxiety and depression,” says Adeeyo.

To spend less time on social media, try to:

• keep your phone in a drawer or outside your bedroom while you’re in bed
• make a list of other, more meaningful activities to replace your usual scrolling sessions
• turn off notifications or delete social apps from your phone

Strengthen your relationships

Humans are social creatures, and strong relationships can have a positive influence on your mental health in various ways.

Friendships, for example, can:

• ease feelings of loneliness
• make it easier to get emotional support
• add meaning to your life

You have plenty of options for cultivating positive connections and nurturing your friendships:

• Keep in touch by checking in regularly, even with just a quick text or funny meme.
• Meet up for a morning walk or breakfast.
• Call for a short chat during your lunch break.
• Schedule biweekly or monthly dinner dates.

Move your body on your own terms

Exercise offers a range of mental health benefits, including:

• relieving stress
• lifting mood
• helping you fall asleep faster and sleep longer
• helping you manage symptoms of depression and anxiety conditions

Movement can involve something different for every person, and it doesn’t have to mean going to the gym if that’s not your thing. Instead, make movement enjoyable for you by opting for physical activities that work best for your body, health, and preferences.

To get started, experiment with a range of physical activities, and keep doing the ones that resonate with you.

Enjoyable movement could include:

• joining a running or walking club
• taking a slower-paced restorative yoga class
• trying seated exercises
• throwing a dance party
• taking stretching breaks every hour
• gardening or doing other work in your backyard
• going on a weekend family hike or walk along the beach

In other words, you don’t have to do a vigorous workout to support mental wellness.

According to Christopher S. Taylor, PhD, LPC-S, founder of Taylor Counseling Group, “Taking a few minutes to stretch can make a huge difference for your overall mental health. Stretching will help with blood flow and get more oxygen through your body, which can help you feel more relaxed and happy.”

Savor nutrient-rich foods

What you eat can also influence your mental health. To support improved well-being, try expanding your diet to include foods rich in mood-supporting nutrients, such as:

• berries
• bananas
• beans
• whole grains
• fatty fish, like salmon

It can also help to simply ensure that you fuel your body every day, as eating something is better than not eating at all.

Drinking plenty of water throughout the day is also beneficial.

“When you’re dehydrated, you’re denying your brain and body the nutrients needed to survive and operate at a more optimal level,” Adeeyo noted.

Additionally, some foods and drinks, especially alcohol, caffeine, refined carbs, fried food, and added sugars, may worsen anxiety symptoms. Limiting these when possible can help further support your mental health.

Know when to take it easy

On difficult days, you might find it tough to do any of the above, which might make you feel even worse.

At times like these, KC Davis, a licensed professional counselor and author of “How To Keep House While Drowning,” suggests turning to compassionate, more accessible strategies, like:

• giving yourself permission to stay in and rest
• engaging in breathwork even if it’s just for a few minutes
• taking a bath or a long, hot shower

Another approach when mood is low is to choose just one small, manageable action each day that supports your well-being.

“Whether it’s making your bed, drinking one glass of water in the morning, or writing in a journal, making this daily promise to yourself will help to eventually become a habit, and you will begin to feel empowered,” Seponara explained.

Try meditating

Rosie Acosta, meditation and yoga teacher and author of the book “ You Are Radically Loved,” suggests trying yoga Nidra, a sleep-based meditation.

She recommends the following steps:

1. Lie on your back with your hands by your sides. Spread your feet apart — the distance of your hips, or a bit wider.
2. Think of being relaxed, yet present. You feel calm, but still aware.
3. Bring your attention to your physical body and then to your breath.
4. On an inhale, imagine a slow-moving wave entering from the soles of your feet and traveling to the crown of your head.
5. On the exhale, visualize a slow-moving wave traveling from the crown of your head back down to the soles of your feet.
6. Feel your body become heavy, and stay with this relaxed present awareness for 10 to 30 minutes.

If you only have a few minutes to relax, Acosta suggested these quick restorative practices:

1. Put both hands over your heart, close your eyes, and take several deep breaths, feeling the warmth and comfort of your touch.
2. Breathe in for 2 counts and breathe out for 4 counts for 12 cycles.

8. Get some sunshine

“The sun is a great source of vitamin D, and studies show it can improve attitude and mood,” explains Taylor.

Your outdoor time doesn’t have to be long, either. As Taylor noted, “Five minutes of blue skies can do your mind and your heart some real good.”

If you have several minutes, Taylor recommends:

• taking a quick walk
• sitting in your backyard, on your balcony, or at a local green space
• standing outside breathing in the fresh air
• opening a window near your desk, if possible
• taking a work meeting outside, if you can
• eating lunch at a nearby park
• exercising outdoors or engaging in another physical activity outside, like gardening or stretching

When to reach out

The strategies above can help improve mental well-being, but they can’t “cure” any mental health conditions.

To put it another way, making changes in your habits may not always relieve persistent mental distress. Working with a therapist, however, can be a particularly powerful way to improve mental health.

You can consider professional support at any time. You don’t need to have depression, anxiety, or any specific mental health symptoms to benefit from therapy.

That said, reaching out becomes particularly important if you:

• have experienced a stressful or traumatic event
• feel more upset, anxious, or sad than usual
• frequently feel agitated, irritable, or angry
• have had a decrease in motivation
• have noticed changes in your appetite and sleep patterns
• often find it difficult to get through the day
• feel stuck or overwhelmed
• rely on alcohol or other substances more than usual or turn to harmful coping behaviors

Takeaway

Your mental health plays a key role in your quality of life. Many of the factors that can affect mental health remain beyond your control, but adding beneficial habits to your days can promote greater wellness.

Just know that when it comes to adopting new habits, it’s generally more helpful to start with only one or two at a time, instead of a complete overhaul. Then, check in with yourself to take stock of how those changes helped.