When the sun is shining, there are two paths a person can do down — one of letting loose or one of exercising and enjoying the outdoors. Even adults are listening to Alice Coopers “Schools Out” and have the attitude to back it up. So how do you stay healthy during the summer?

Stress less 

Take some time after work to decompress outside and soak up the vitamin D. You will feel more alert, conscious and happy while getting your tan on. Many people struggle with a lack of Vitamin D during the winter, and a lack of it can have harmful effects on your mood.

Overall, “Exposure to sunlight can have many positive effects on our bodies and minds, especially in terms of regulating stress and happiness.” – Wellesley News

Outdoor Exercise

You can do many exercises outside oppose to a dark gym during the summer months. Not only can you, walk, run, cycle or play sports, you can also get elastic workout bands from Walmart to work every muscle in your body from where ever you are in the world. Here is a guide to exercise with bands (Here).  

Vacation

Taking time off is an obvious way to decompress, catch up on much-needed sleep and ultimately experience all life has to offer. Try and be active on these vacations go on hikes through mountains, along the beach or through new cities oppose to gorging on food and alcohol at a resort for a week.

Stay off the French Fries

Here in Canada whenever we have a BBQ or go out to eat odds are we are going to be asked: “do you want fries with that?”

Skip the french fries the carbohydrates and hurting your overall health. In the summer, fresh produce is more readily available than any other time during the year. Most of the time, you will feel better eating natural foods over processed its also healthier for your heart.  

1 for 1

As we all know “So it’s not as simple as the colder it is, the more you drink — it’s also the case that the hotter it is, the more you drink.” – CBC 

Alcohol dehydrates you, especially in the heat of summer. A way to cheat dehydration healthily is “for every alcoholic beverage; you have to drink at least three glasses of water “to make up for cheating (drinking alcohol), to offset the ramifications.”

Overall Summer Health

There are endless ways to come out of summer healthier, smarter and less stressed. Soak up that Vitamin D, stay active and have a memorable time. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that “there is no health without mental health.”

It doesn’t matter if you are a celebrity or athlete that has millions upon millions of dollars you can still have a poor mental health status.

It doesn’t matter if you are living on welfare then win the lottery your mental status will be the same, and you will wind up in the same mental and physical place as you were before.

People are constantly chasing happiness by prioritising monetary value and ignoring their mental health conditions, yet according to “The Visual Capitalists” countries with a lower GDP per capita are more satisfied with what they have.  

By sacrificing our mental health for the monetary value, we are decreasing our physical activity by becoming more sedentary. Therefore our physical health wellness suffers, and on collectively, we are on a path of a mental break down. 

There is a growing relationship between mental and physical health the associations are:

1. Poor mental health is a risk factor for chronic physical conditions.
2. People with serious mental health conditions are at high risk of experiencing chronic physical conditions.
3. People with chronic physical conditions are at risk of developing poor mental health. (Canadian Mental Health Association)

There are many ways that people can fall into a state of mental health illness.

A few mental health stressors include:

• Social or cultural expectations
• Changing school or jobs
• Feelings of inadequacy
• Extensive desire

Mental illness in Canada

The incidences that result in mental illness are often unavoidable and sudden. Mental illness is on the rise in developed countries, due to desire, social and cultural expectations. In Canada, a country whose internal rankings claim it’s one of the happiest countries in the world, have at least 53% of its population dealing with a mental illness.

“By 2020, depression will be the leading cause of disease in Canada.” Mental health is a major issue in this country. 

Poor mental health can lead you to be lazy and unwilling to do activities that you would usually say “yes” to, like something as easy as your friend asking you for if you want to go out for dinner. Not only that but your willingness to take part in physical activities will be affected, and you could start taking up bad habits.

You often heard that Canada has a drinking problem, which is connected with the lack of activity during long winters that translates into mental illness and laziness. 

If you have a poor mental health status from overworking or underachieving you see bad habits piling up you can get help; you are not alone. 

You can help yourself out of the scenario by setting personal goals and objectives to motivate yourself, getting physically active and focus on positive aspects, no matter how big or small.

There is no question that mental health victims are susceptible to heart disease because of the lack of physical activity they endure. Exercise is vital for the brain to work correctly and can help improve your mood, sleep, and response to stress.  

If you feel your mental health is not in the right place, take the first step in helping yourself, read how to motivate yourself to exercise and know that there is always help around.