Mental health is definitely something you should care about, right? According to the website, mentalhealth.gov, “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.” As a bunch of high-schoolers, we all definitely have loads of stress on us. Seniors have to face their SATs and worry about getting into their dream college. Juniors and sophomores stress over school work, time management, and the fact that they are getting closer to senior year. The latest batch of new students, the freshmen, stress over balancing their schedules, getting to their classes, all their schoolwork, and just finding where they fit in at a new school. Seriously, if you’re a high-schooler and you say you are not stressed, you probably already have great habits when it comes to school. Now for the rest of us who are really stressed, here are five tips on how to care for your mental health.

1. Go Outside
You would probably be surprised at how well this works. As average teenagers, we mostly spend time indoors, surfing the internet, on our phones, watching Netflix, or God forbid, doing homework! Needless to say, teenagers, these days spend way too much time indoors.

Instead of spending so much time indoors, why don’t you go outside? As stated from mentalhealthamerica.net, “Research shows that being in nature can increase energy levels, reduce depression, and boost well-being.” Just being outside will help your mental health immensely! But don’t just walk outside, cringe, and walk back inside. Try staying outside for at least 15 minutes. Here are some activities you can do, instead of standing awkwardly outside –

Exercise – you can work off your stress by exercising! You can take a leisure walk around your neighborhood or if you’re feeling adventurous, jog! Not only are you helping your mental health, you’re helping improve your physical health! Two birds with one stone!

Yoga – It is scientifically proven that yoga calms down the mind and enables you to relax.

Work/Draw/Read Outside – If you’re feeling super lazy, then take whatever you’re doing and go outside.

2. Listen to Music
If you haven’t noticed by now, music definitely improves one’s mood. For most people, when they feel down, all they need to do is blast some of their favorite tunes and their mood will almost definitely lift. If someone needs a quick wake up call (say, your alarm clock to wake you up in the morning), people would set one of their favorite songs or the radio as their alarm. In general, music is shown to improve people’s spirits.

It is also scientifically proven that music takes the stress away from your mind. It is the perfect distraction for the mind. Music is also proven to have brought order and security to disabled children, along with relieving depression, boosting self-esteem with the elderly, and helping reduce the sensation of pain. According to psychcentral.com, the best type of music to listen to is classical music, as it has a multitude of beneficial effects, such as slowing the pulse and heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and decreasing the levels of stress hormones. Other great ways to get rid of stress by using music is singing (or shouting) to your favorite songs or playing instruments (even if you can’t play)!

3. Read
Okay, reading probably isn’t anyone’s favorite thing to do at the moment, as we all do plenty of reading for school. However, leisure reading will definitely lessen the stress you are feeling. It is scientifically proven to reduce stress levels by two-thirds in just six minutes. Reading works quicker and better than the other relaxing methods already mentioned. Though everyone may be tired of reading, it is definitely one of the best ways to wind down.

4. Take Time to Laugh
Take advice from one of the oldest quotes out there – “Laughter is the best medicine.” According to extensive research, laughter decrease stress hormones. Talk to close friends or family, watch videos to make you laugh – any of these will help decrease your stress.

5. Sleep
Of course, we have to address the biggest factor in health: sleep. Sleep, as you may know, regenerates your body and gives you enough energy for the next day. When you sleep, your brain relaxes and your stress is relieved. Research demonstrates that it helps boost the immune system’s functioning and enhance your learning and memory. Not getting enough sleep makes you impatient, easily agitated, and too tired to function well. This shows that not enough sleep can affect your moods and thought process.

Your mental health is incredibly important, possibly even more important than your physical health. It affects everything you do, from your thoughts to your mood, to how you handle stress. Hopefully, you’ll keep these tips in mind as you run through your years of high school and live a long, mostly stress-free and happy life.