While we’re all staying home to stay safe, that doesn’t mean we have to neglect our self-care rituals!

1. Get More Sleep

Stress can cause sleeplessness and sleeplessness can cause stress. It’s a vicious cycle we do our best to avoid.

But how do we break the cycle? The first thing you can do is skip the caffeine, alcohol, and sugar. You might also benefit from a cup of herbal tea or hot water with lemon. Maybe you need to meditate, stretch, or do some yoga to help you relax! One of our favourite bedtime rituals is to turn on a salt lamp while we read or relax. They have a soothing and calming effect, help alleviate feelings of depression, and they can reduce fatigue.

2. Say No

Learning to say no is difficult; many of us feel obligated to say yes when someone asks for our time or energy. However, if you’re already stressed or overworked, saying yes all the time to can lead to burnout, anxiety, and irritability. It may take practice, but once you learn how to politely say no, you’ll feel more empowered and you’ll have more time for your own self-care. And we think you’re pretty important.

3. Make Time to Exercise
Exercise is an essential part of both becoming and staying healthy, lowering stress, and keeping our mental health in check. Whether it’s walking, running, or a virtual workout at home, try to stay active, enjoy yourself, and remember to breathe.

4. Learn Something New
If you have the time, the inclination and the ability, learning a new skill has benefits that go way beyond the actual skill learned. From drawing, cooking and sewing, to marketing, photography and basic car repair, learning a skill changes and improves our brain chemistry, helping us to fight off dementia and increase the speed at which we can learn. Learning new skills also allows us to become a more interesting person, helps us to stave off boredom and makes it easier for us to adapt to change. All that and we have a new skill under our belt? Sign us up!

5. Feed a Healthy Gut
A healthy gut is really important. During this time of stress and crazy schedules and perhaps limited access to grocery shopping, it’s a good idea to stay conscious of what we are putting into our body. Yes, comfort food is important, and a few treats here and there probably won’t hurt us. But, taking care of our gut is a fantastic way of upping the ante on our overall health.

Things like fermented foods (think sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and even yogurt), adaptogens and probiotics are excellent for improving gut health and will help with our overall health, our stress and even our energy level.

6. Get outside, get fresh air and get a little bit of sun.
Get outside! Whether it’s your yard, on your balcony, to a park, or just for a walk around the block. Spending time outside can help you reduce stress, lower your blood pressure, and help you to be more mindful. It will remind you that there is indeed a world outside your home and that you are part of it. Getting outdoors can also help reduce fatigue and help you sleep better—making it a great way to overcome symptoms of depression or burnout. Just having been outside can also help you to sleep better at night, especially if you do some physical activity, like hiking or walking, while you’re out there. Just don’t forget the sunscreen!

7. Catch Up with Friends and Family
Whether it’s via Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime, virtual dates with friends and family are so important. We love meeting with friends and family that we can’t see in person and it keeps us connected to the people we love and care for. Besides, in order to indulge in a socially distant dinner, we don’t have to find parking, we don’t have to worry about child care, and we don’t even have to wear pants!

8. Shop online for a lot of the things you need and limit trips to stores.
Going out to go shopping for things you need can be stressful right now. But, you don’t even have to leave your house when you order from us! Engage in less stress shopping online with PayPal at the checkout. They offer Purchase Protection for eligible transactions, One Touch checkout, and flexibility in choosing how you pay—bank account, credit card (you can still earn rewards points*), PayPal balance and VISA debit. Get the things you need delivered to your door and save the trips out for more important things like a socially distanced walk to get fresh air and sunshine.

* Issuer rewards program is subject to the issuer’s rewards program terms and conditions.