10 ways to spring clean your mind + body (1/2)

Longer days, warmer temperatures, and new beginnings! Spring is finally here! As we move into the season of renewal and growth, it’s a great moment to renew the focus on your self-care and healthy habits.

Renew the focus on your self-care and healthy habits 

Let’s face it, life can get busy, messy, and chaotic, and you quickly end up with little to no time for yourself. But taking care of your well-being is crucial for being your best self and creating the impact you desire in the world in your job, for your family, or as a friend.

Do you feel like your self-care and daily routines need some dusting off after this long winter? If so, now is the perfect time to put yourself on top of your to-do list, re-evaluate your habits and routines and create more balance in your life.  

Put yourself on top of your to-do list and lead by example‍

Are you excited to switch things up? Then take a deep breath and dive into the first half of 10 ways to refresh and rejuvenate your mind and body, inspired by the vibe of the season. And you can also involve your family and team in this. Because 'leading by example', you know?!

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1. NATURE IS CALLING: SO GO OUTSIDE

Is there anything more to say? The great outdoors is calling us in spring! So just follow that call and go out and move. The warmer temperatures and fresh air never make stretching your legs and refreshing easier than now. Just find an activity that works for you.

Moving our bodies daily is essential for our health and well-being. Not only does it help us to stay physically fit, moving just for 20-30 min. every day can help you reduce stress, boost your energy, and improve your mood and cognitive function. Years ago, when I started focusing on moving my body regularly, I got into it because of the physical fitness aspect of it. Today, I crave it for my mental and emotional health.

Seriously, after a mid-day walk, I always feel like I tackle the rest of my day with completely new focus and enthusiasm. Also, when I feel stuck with a problem, just moving my body seems to release the blockages and lets creativity flow with ease.

And there are also so many options that you can add, even during your workdays: going for a walk during lunch break is probably the classic, but have you tried walking meetings? They’re one of my favourites. I love doing my 1:1s walking and walking meetings even work with a small group. Not only do they benefit our physical health, but they also help us build deeper connections with colleagues, and counteract the effects of too much sitting at our desks.

And you don’t always have to move. Just breathing in that clear and fresh spring air can be so energising. What about doing your next meeting on a bench in a park or just grabbing a picnic blanket and gathering everyone there? And of course, let’s not forget about picnics with family and friends.

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2. GIVE GARDENING A GO

Nourishing your body with whole, nutritious foods is always a good idea to fuel your body and mind. A balanced diet can help you not only to stay physically fit, but also maintain your focus, stay emotionally balanced, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

Spring is a great time to renew the focus on your nutrition. Our body is naturally craving more fresh and light food and there’s an abundance of in-season fruits and veggies now: think strawberries, blueberries, asparagus, snappy peas, broccoli, or spring salads. Be creative and try out new recipes. I love to visit farmers’ markets to get my greens as fresh as possible, directly farm to table.

If you wanna take it even further, spring is a perfect time to give gardening a go. Even if you only have a balcony or a small terrace, you can grow strawberries or tomatoes in a pot or even have a little apple tree on your balcony (like we’ve had for many years). And growing your own fresh herbs, like rosemary, basil, sage, or peppermint to have them at hand all summer long is just amazing. And I can tell you from experience, growing your own fruits not only makes you feel damn proud, but these little activities like planting, watering, or trimming are also some of my favorite grounding and relaxing practices. When you’re gardening all your problems are a million miles away!

3. REFRESH YOUR SLEEP ROUTINE

Spring is the season of fresh energy and vitality. On most days the energy is extremely uplifting.

However, maybe you’ve experienced ‘springtime lethargy’ at one point or another. So why is this? Days are getting longer, which generally makes us feel more vital, but the gradual light increase this time of the year can disrupt our sleep-wake rhythm. Also, most of us tend to stay up longer in spring/summer than in the darker months, so we risk not getting enough sleep.

So take this as your reminder that getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep is extremely important at any time of the year. So even if you feel unstoppable in spring make sure to still keep a regular sleep schedule and prioritise restful sleep.

Getting quality sleep each night is essential, especially if you’re busy and active throughout the day. Not only is it important to recharge our bodies for the next day, but during sleep our body repairs and restores itself. This includes repairing tissues, producing new cells and boosting our immune system. Sleep is also important for mental restoration. It helps to improve our mood, cognitive function, and memory consolidation. Also sleep plays a crucial role in regulating our hormones, including those that control appetite, metabolism, and stress.

Getting a good night's sleep is not just about getting to bed at a certain time its also about slowly calming the body to go into a resting mode in the evening. What you do or do not do one hour before bedtime can make a big difference: Eating very late, exercising before going to bed, or checking your work e-mails can activate body functions or even put the body and mind into stress mode which makes it harder for our body and mind to fall asleep. Reducing screen time in the last hour before going to bed, using calming essential oils like lavender, or practicing calming, grounding breathwork can help to unwind. If you want to try out my favorite breathwork technique get my free guided breathwork audios.

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4. RISE AND SHINE WITH THE MORNING SUN

Who doesn’t love soaking up the sun?! And it makes sense, exposure to sunlight helps our body to synthesise vitamin D, which is essential for our health and well-being. Vitamin D is responsible for strong bones, good immune function, optimal cognitive function, and even sleep. And as we all know, the sun is an incredible mood and energy booster.

Most of us are coming out of winter with a vitamin D deficit. So spring is the perfect time to refill our empty storage. Research shows that getting 10 min. of direct sunlight early in the morning is best. It helps us to stock up our vitamin D levels and it helps balance our sleep-wake rhythms.

Exposure to light, particularly in the morning, can help reset our internal clock and signal ‘hey, it’s time to be awake’.

But don’t forget to apply sunscreen if you’re getting more than 10 min. exposure to sunlight to protect your skin. And adding a vitamin D supplement is always a good idea (not just in winter) because generally if you’re not lucky to live in an area like the Caribbean or Bali you don’t get enough sunlight throughout the year to fully stock up on vitamin D.

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‍5. DETOX FROM DIGITAL DISTRACTIONS ‍

We often don’t realise how draining it can be to spend a lot of time looking at screens or getting constant inputs. Unplugging from the digital world can be a very effective and easy way to recharge. A ‘digital detox’ can help you reduce stress, improve focus, and increase productivity, allowing you to really make the most of your time. And it’s not only about the big time blocks like online meetings or working on a project on our computer, often we don’t even notice how much time ‘in-between’ time we spend for example with our phones. Spring is a great reminder to go outside and enjoy the beauty of nature or the company of a friend rather than spending every single minute checking social media or messages.

The great news is: Your phone can support you with that. Functions like screen time tracking, reminders once you have reached a certain time on an app, or do-not-disturb mode can help you to unplug and be more mindful of your media consumption.

Some weeks ago I put my instagram timer to 1 hour daily, so the app would remind me once I had reached the hour and it was time to leave. Wow, I was shocked how fast I was there.  

Also, simple hacks like starting your day with a few deep intentional breath rather than checking your messages first thing in the morning or putting your phone out of reach during your daily commute can make a huge difference. What about journaling instead of scrolling through insta?

And now is a perfect time to spring clean your social media: You decide what shows up on your feed. Unfollow any account that makes you feel bad, triggered, or stressed. So you make space for more empowering, motivating, and inspiring content.

Want more?

Continue reading with part 2 of the 10 tips to spring clean your mind & body.

Much love & BeWell 🤍
Michèle