When I feel both physically and mentally exhausted, it’s usually because I’ve been too busy, or even too lazy, to practice proper self-care. Self-care is an extremely important aspect of staying healthy and happy, but for some reason it is often skipped over when we have other things to do. Right now, I’m trying my best to put more focus on practicing positive self-care every single day.

Self-care can be practiced in a multitude of ways, so sometimes it’s difficult to think of the best way to do it. The truth is: there is no best way! Everyone is different, so everyone will find different things that help them feel happy and healthy. I personally have a couple ways that I love to practice self-care, so here are some ideas that might be worth a try.

1. Exercise

Nothing feels better than letting off some steam by exercising. Exercise can help your mental health, but it is obviously wonderful for your physical health as well. You can even put meditating and exercise together by trying Yoga.

2. Meditate

Meditation can seem difficult, but it can be transformative for your mental health and there are actually a lot of apps out there that can help lead you through your meditation. Meditation is a great way to practice mindful living, center yourself, and clear your mind of unhealthy thoughts. Even five minutes of meditation a day can have significant positive impacts on your life.

3. Take a bath

I love relaxing after a stressful week by hopping in the bathtub, lighting some candles, and playing a calming playlist on Spotify. Although taking longs baths probably aren’t possible every day of the week, they are occasionally the perfect way to let your body refresh.

4. Unplug

Is social media stressing you out? Is your mom always bothering you with silly texts? Take a few minutes, or an hour or even an entire day to completely unplug. Taking time away from your phone, laptop, television and any other electronic device that can negatively affect you is a great way to allow your mind to take a break from the fast-paced information overload that technology usually provides.

5. Treat yo self

If you’ve watched “Parks and Recreation,” you know exactly what this means. Treating yourself by shopping and buying whatever your heart desires just one day a year, or as often as you want, is a great way to care for yourself and just be selfish for once. Nothing is wrong with taking a day to solely focus on you and fulfilling your personal wants.