Quick Health Scoop

• Self-care is the act of taking care of your emotional, physical, and mental well-being.
• A self-care plan will help you map out a plan of action that outlines the strategies and activities that promote health, relaxation, and stress relief.
• Self-care plans can have a lasting impact on your physical health and mental health by reducing stress, increasing energy levels, promoting a sense of belonging, and improving your quality of life and overall well-being.
• The activities that involve self-care can vary and may include exercise, meditation, reading a book, journaling, taking the time to socialize with a friend, or learning a new hobby.
• Supplementing your diet with certain vitamins, minerals, and herbs is a form of self-care that can help you feel your best both physically and mentally.

Practicing self-care can have far-reaching benefits for your physical and mental health. But between your seemingly never-ending to-do list and your family and work obligations, how does self-care fit in?

A self-care plan will help you map out the tips and tricks needed to get you started on incorporating the various activities that will help promote health, wellness, and stress relief into your daily life. Let’s explore the importance of having a self-care plan, the benefits of self-care, and how to get started creating a plan that takes into account your unique needs.

What is a Self-Care Plan and Why Is It Important?

Self-care is the act of taking care of your emotional, physical, and mental well-being. A self-care plan involves mapping out a plan of action that outlines the strategies and activities that you can use to help take care of yourself. The activities that promote health, relaxation, and stress relief can vary widely. They may include exercising, journaling, reading a book, taking the time to socialize with a friend, or learning a new hobby.

Having a self-care plan and sticking to it is important because it can help improve your emotional, physical, and mental health. In fact, research suggests that having a self-care plan can help you better manage stress, foster a sense of resilience, promote positive health outcomes, and enhance your overall quality of life. [1]

How Does a Self-Care Plan Help Me?

In today's fast-paced world, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, stressed and burned out. You may feel as though you need to prioritize work, family, and other obligations before yourself. Practicing self-care means carving out time to do things that help improve your physical and mental health. A self-care plan will help you to feel connected to yourself and to what matters most to you.

Self-care plans allow you to identify areas of your life that may require attention and develop a plan to help improve them. This can have a lasting impact on your physical health by reducing stress, increasing energy levels, and improving health outcomes. [2]

In addition to physical health benefits, a self-care plan can also have positive effects on your mental health. Engaging in activities that promote relaxation and reduce stress can increase your self-worth, promote a sense of belonging, and help improve your quality of life and overall well-being.

Learn More: Self-Care Tips

Getting Started With Your Self-Care Plan

While there is no “one-size-fits-all” self-care plan, there is a common thread among all self-care plans which is to make a personal commitment to prioritize yourself. The following are ways to get you started on developing a plan that takes into account your unique needs, preferences, and lifestyle.

Identify Stressors and Prioritize Needs

The best self-care plans are ones that consider various areas of well-being including your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. You can begin by identifying your life’s stressors which can help prioritize your needs.

For example, you may feel emotionally balanced, but your lack of sleep is taking a physical toll on your body. You may find that you’re already meeting your emotional needs by seeing a therapist, but you’re neglecting your physical needs by not getting enough sleep. Therefore, you may want to prioritize your physical needs by developing a plan of action that ensures you get more sleep.

Learn More: How To Reduce Stress

Schedule in Daily Time for Self-Care

The next step in developing a self-care plan is evaluating your daily routine to see where you can incorporate your plan. Think about activities that restore your energy, bring you joy, and make you feel relaxed. Consider how and when you can fit these into your day-to-day routine.

It’s best to start out with a small addition to your routine rather than tackling too much at once. In fact, research has found that taking smaller steps to achieve a larger goal will help increase your success. [3] Try choosing one activity that can easily fit into your daily life. For example, you may start out by taking a nightly bubble bath to help you relax and get to bed a little early if you want to prioritize sleep.

Find Dietary Supplements to Support Your Well-Being

There are endless ways you can practice self-care, including through exercise, meditation, or reading a book. Some people will prioritize healthy eating as a form of self-care. Vitamins and Minerals remain at the cornerstone of health and are required for your body to function at its best. However, even when eating healthy foods, it can be difficult to consume all the vitamins and minerals you need through diet alone.

Supplementing your diet with certain vitamins, minerals, and herbs is a simple way to help you feel your best both physically and mentally.

Why Nature Made Supplements are a Great Option for Self Care

Nature Made Supplements play an important role in supporting your overall health and well-being and can easily be incorporated into your daily routine.  Some supplements contain nutrients and ingredients that support the way the body responds to stress. For example, B Vitamins can help support a healthy brain and nervous system.  More specifically, Vitamin B5, known as Pantothenic Acid, can support your body’s natural stress response helping you feel more calm and relaxed. †

Additionally, if you’re looking for sleep support you may consider including L-theanine combined with Melatonin in your nightly routine. L-theanine is an amino acid that can be found in green and black tea and in the bay bolete mushroom that has been shown to help you unwind by relaxing your mind to prepare you for a good night's sleep.†

Another supplement for stress relief is the popular herb Ashwagandha. Well-regarded in Ayurvedic medicine as an herb supporting stress resilience, Ashwagandha is recognized today through clinical studies for its ability to help reduce stress. †

Learn More: Ashwagandha Benefits: How The Herb Helps Reduce Stress

Bottom Line

Creating a self-care plan is making a personal commitment to prioritize yourself. Your plan may include any activity that promotes health, relaxation, and stress relief. This could include going for a walk, setting an earlier bedtime, listening to a wellness podcast, or taking a daily supplement

Carrying out a self-care plan can have far-reaching health benefits including reducing stress, increasing energy levels, promoting a sense of belonging, and helping improve your quality of life and overall well-being.

Self-care is not selfish but rather necessary for maintaining optimal health and well-being. Additionally, self-care is not a one-time event but a continuous process that can be reviewed and updated to ensure it meets your ever-changing and unique needs.

Learn More About Self-Care:

• Add A Podcast To Your Wellness Routine
• Supporting A Healthy Mood
• Stress Relief Trends
• Stress Management Activities: 14 Tips For Stress Relief

Follow @NatureMadeVitamins on Instagram for new product news, healthy tips, and more.

† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

References

1. Martínez N, Connelly CD, Pérez A, Calero P. Self-care: A concept analysis. Int J Nurs Sci. 2021 Sep 5;8(4):418-425. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnss.2021.08.007. PMID: 34631992; PMCID: PMC8488814.
2.  Narasimhan M, Allotey P, Hardon A. Self care interventions to advance health and wellbeing: a conceptual framework to inform normative guidance. BMJ. 2019 Apr 1;365:l688. doi: 10.1136/bmj.l688. PMID: 30936087; PMCID: PMC6441866.
3.  Höchli B, Brügger A, Messner C. How Focusing on Superordinate Goals Motivates Broad, Long-Term Goal Pursuit: A Theoretical Perspective. Front Psychol. 2018 Oct 2;9:1879. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01879. PMID: 30333781; PMCID: PMC6176065.