Interested in the effects of social media? Read this article about social media and dreams. Write in a journal to get all of your thought, feeling, and emotions out onto paper. Journaling is a great tool for clearing your mind because it is so adaptable!

To get started, check out this post about methods and practices for journal writing. Gardening is the perfect way to spend time outdoors in a quiet and reflective environment. You do not need a large backyard or plot of land to get started, just a pot, some dirt, and a few seeds. Seeing your hardwork grow to life is a magical way to clear your mind and de-stress.

Read this article about vegetable gardening for beginners to get started. Cooking is a rewarding process that results in a delicious meal to be shared with friends and family. To clear your mind, toss on some relaxing music and try out a new recipe.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert- whatever suits your fancy! Cooking is a staple here at Semi-Sweet Tooth, click this link to see a variety of recipes to try. If journaling seems daunting, try list-writing! Clear your mind by writing down whatever worries, tasks, or assignments are holding you back from a clear, focused, and refreshed mind.

Consider making a new list each night before you go to bed, that way, you can have a clear mind before shutting your eyes. Read this article about why you need a worry list. Take a few minutes each day to delete unnecessary emails, listen to voice messages, and remove unused apps. A clear digital world can mean a clearer mind.

Cellphones, computers, and digital communication channels make up a lot of our daily interactions, so the more clear they are, the more we have mental clarity, as well. Check out this article to learn more about clearing clutter to free your energy. Self-care is tremendously important to clearing and cleansing your mind.

At the end of a busy day, take a few minutes to refresh yourself with a variety of self-care practices. Consider running a hot bath, using a face mask, or enjoying a green smoothie.

Interested in reading more? Check out this article about self-care tips from nature. Meditation is a key practice when it comes to clearing and cleansing the mind. No matter how much stress and worry you have in your life, leaning into a meditation practice can become incredibly freeing.

Try sparing a few minutes to be quiet and reflective after a long day. Using mantras can be a great way to get started with meditation. Yoga requires both mental balance and physical stamina.

Based on your individual skill-level and time available, the type of flow you decide to practice can be entirely customized to fit your lifestyle.

Go through a few poses before you start your day to clear your mind from the beginners guide to yoga. Pro tip: Read this article to learn how to wash your yoga mat with household items.

You can thank us later. If you do not have time to read a book, consider listening to a podcast during your daily commute, before bed, or while doing exercise.

There are podcasts created for every subject imaginable, so it is just about finding the right one for you! Podcasts are a wonderful way to clear your mind because you can take a few minutes to focus on a new subject, learn how to navigate life, or hear a unique story.

Check out this article about some great mental health podcasts to see if one speaks directly to you. Crystals can provide a sense of healing, peace, and prosperity- which is especially ideal during times of stress!

Training yourself to become more mindful can benefit you in a number of ways. Being present means, among other things, you can give your co-worker your full attention as they explain how to perform a complicated task, instead of getting waylaid by:.

Learning to mindfully direct your attention to one task at a time can help you gently let go of those background thoughts. Meditation , particularly mindfulness meditation , can help boost mindfulness and relieve stress by teaching you to sit with distracting thoughts, acknowledge them, and let them go.

This is normal, so try not to criticize yourself for not being mindful enough. Instead, just return your thoughts to whatever you want to focus on.

It can take time to pick up this skill, but eventually your mind will grow accustomed to staying present. Try these journaling tips:. Plenty of people enjoy listening to music, but music offers more than a pleasant auditory experience.

If you listen to music regularly, you may have already noticed it makes it easier to keep your attention on your work and complete it successfully. Maybe you even have a few choice songs that help you refresh between tasks and switch your focus, or a playlist that provides a sense of calm when you feel bombarded by anxious thoughts.

What you might not know, though, is that getting enough sleep can also help safeguard against mental fatigue and emotional distress. Insufficient or poor sleep can interfere with your ability to solve problems and make decisions, and you might find it harder to remember important information or regulate your emotions.

Feeling overly tired can also lead to mental overwhelm, making it more difficult to detach from your jumbled thoughts and concentrate on what you need to do. To reset your brain for optimal daytime performance, aim to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night.

Falling asleep is often easier said than done, particularly when anxiety and looping thoughts run an endless track in your brain. If that sounds familiar, check out these 17 tips for better sleep.

Changing your environment and getting outside for a walk offers a great opportunity to clear your head and refocus. Improved creativity is just one of the benefits of a good walk, research suggests. Exercising for 20 or 30 minutes can help improve decision-making and reaction time just before a cognitive task, but walking also offers long-term benefits, too.

For better overall brain health and reduced stress into the bargain, try adding a brisk walk, or any other exercise, to your regular routine. As procrastinators the world over know, an intense cleaning session offers the perfect escape from a difficult or unpleasant task.

There may be more to this particular approach than simply putting off your work, though. Consider your reasons for procrastination. Perhaps you feel stuck or unsure how to get started. You may not realize it, but your surrounding environment can have a big impact on your mental environment.

As a result, you end up finding ways to distract yourself from your lack of productivity. Instead, try making a regular effort to maintain the tidiness of your workspace to boost cognitive function and improve workflow. Struggling to concentrate? Sometimes, the best way to solve this problem is to simply stop trying.

Think of it in terms of physical exercise. Your body would have a pretty tough time jogging all day without a break, right? Well, your brain needs downtime, too.

Letting yourself unfocus by briefly zoning out activates the default mode network in your brain, giving it a chance to take a rest. Just as sleep benefits you, this rest period benefits your brain.

Unfocusing can help promote creativity, sharpen thought processes, and improve memory and learning. Ever felt energized and completely renewed after a long talk with someone you trust? When thoughts weigh on your mind less heavily, they might naturally clear out of your immediate consciousness, leaving you feeling refreshed.

This often enables you to get some new perspective on the situation and arrive at potential solutions you might not have considered before. Talking to family and friends can help you to start working through frustrations and clearing out your mind.

Your brain may not actually have a restart button, but there are plenty of things you can do to reboot. If the strategies above fail to help clear your mind and improve your focus, talking to a therapist is a good next step. Crystal Raypole has previously worked as a writer and editor for GoodTherapy.

Her fields of interest include Asian languages and literature, Japanese translation, cooking, natural sciences, sex positivity, and mental health. Dopamine and serotonin are two neurotransmitters that affect similar aspects of your health in slightly different ways, including your mental health….

DBT stands for dialectical behavioral therapy. We'll go over the skills it teaches and the conditions it can help treat. When my mental health started playing up, my daydreams took a dark turn.

Constantly dream of romance?

Moving your body mindfully can help things seem clearer. Go to source Combining this state of mind with walking produces an extra special stress reliever that improves mental and physical health. Try scheduling a walk around the block, on the treadmill, or through a local park every day.

This simple activity can help you step away from worries and be present with yourself. Go to source Think of your daily walk as a self-care break.

Focus on how the air feels, what you can smell, how your feet hit the pavement or floor, and what you can see. Ask a friend to go on a walk with you for an extra social boost. Go to source. Do deep breathing exercises. Take a moment to breathe and come back to the present moment.

Life can easily become go, go, go, and in the process, you can easily forget to breathe. Settling down wherever you are to take controlled breaths can calm your racing mind and heartbeat, helping you feel more relaxed.

Try this deep breathing exercise the next time you feel overwhelmed: [5] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School's Educational Site for the Public Go to source Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and close your eyes. Take a normal breath.

On your next breath, breathe slowly in through your nose, letting your chest and lower belly rise. Breathe out through your mouth, feeling your chest and belly slowly fall. Do this once or twice a day to help clear your mind and ease tension in the body.

Journal your thoughts. Writing down your worries can help you sort through them. Try reaching for a notebook or phone when a million thoughts are racing through your mind.

Jot down everything that comes to mind, letting it all pour out onto the page. Keep a digital journal in a notes app, so you always have a journal with you. Move your body. Doing something active helps you connect with your physical self. Believe it or not, exercise is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health.

Try a form of exercise that has repetitive, rhythmic movements like: [8] X Trustworthy Source HelpGuide Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, evidence-based mental health and wellness resources.

Go to source Yoga Running [9] X Expert Source Michelle Shahbazyan, MS, MA Life Coach, Author, and Speaker Expert Interview. Swimming Walking Dancing Rowing.

Listen to music. Distract your mind with some upbeat tunes. Music can help you block out the noise, replacing it with something pleasant. Listen to music that matches your mood or uplifts you.

Work on something creative. Do something creative like drawing or crocheting to keep yourself busy. Sometimes all you need is something else to occupy your alone time. If you find your mind racing during quiet moments in the day, pick up some colored pencils or knitting needles to keep your hands and mind busy.

Go to source Consider trying these artistic projects: [13] X Research source Decoupaging Cake decorating Knitting Crocheting Embroidery Scrapbooking Painting Sketching. Chat with friends and family members.

Share your feelings with someone you trust to vocalize your concerns. Not only can this help you clear your mind, but it also gives you a chance to sort through your thoughts verbally. Socializing and connecting with others improves mental health and can protect you from stress, as a good talk or laugh can make you happier.

Hang out with your pet. Take time to cuddle your furry friend to lift your mood. If you have a pet, their companionship can help ease anxiety and boost self-confidence.

Schedule time in your day to take your dog for a walk, play with your cat, or watch your hamster burrow. Putting your focus on them can help you forget intrusive thoughts in a moment of bliss. Make a to-do list. Take time to write down your tasks for the day for a fresh start.

This may seem mundane and silly, but it can make the busiest days seem more manageable. Before you start your day, write down everything you want to accomplish, including fun activities and tasks.

Making a to-do list will give your day structure and help things seem more manageable. Start a gratitude list or journal to help you focus on the good in each day.

Jot down your favorite things, people, places, or memories onto a piece of paper or into your phone. Then, the next time your mind seems too cluttered, look at your list. This helps you think positively and remember that you can be happy, even for the smallest of things.

Organize your space. Clean a cluttered room to help clear your mind. Worrying about things out of your control is easy, so try to focus on what you can control. Go to source Try to spend at least 15 minutes a day organizing your living space.

Maybe you rearrange your bookshelf, put away a pile of laundry, or vacuum the living room carpet. Think of each item you organize as putting away a stressful thought or worry. Try meditating. Clear your mind by taking deep breaths and closing your eyes. Mindful meditations can help you find a sense of peace and quiet even during the busiest times.

When your mind seems cluttered, take a moment to sit or lie down and close your eyes. Focus on your breaths or chant a mantra. Let thoughts come and go without judgment, briefly acknowledging them before you return to your breaths or mantra.

Or, return to tip 1 above and take a walk in nature. This tip sounds completely contradictory to the one above. Unfulfilled goals persist in our minds.

In other words, they will continue to nag us until we get them finished. To get it back, simply stop procrastinating and get things done. Someone once told me that we have to balance how much we tire our minds and how much we tire our bodies. Doing intense physical exercise forces your brain to rest.

So it finally gets a break. There is also scientific support for this theory. Doing 20 minutes of exercise has amazing benefits for your mind:.

Not to mention all the amazing ways that exercise increases your happiness. I personally like to work my exercise routine into my lunch break.

It gives me a chance to break the 8 hours of sitting at my desk in half. Plus, I can flop onto my sofa afterward guilt-free. As humans, we sometimes look for complicated solutions when nature gives us very simple ones. And for clearing your mind, that solution is sleep.

It improves your attention, focus, and mood. Ideally, you should get enough quality sleep on a regular basis. But I find even a half-hour nap makes me feel rejuvenated and much more able to tackle a task. As mentioned above, finishing open tasks can help clear your mind. Sometimes, though, you can find yourself in a cursed cycle.

You have a ton of tasks, and want to get them done and off your mind. Thankfully, researchers found a back door out of this maddening cycle.

Make specific plans for all your tasks. First, write down all the things on your mind. Then, pull out your calendar and write each item of your list on a concrete day and time. Double the time you think it will take — we always underestimate the time things need!

This gives you a bit of that sensation when you finish a task that has been weighing on you. It works best when you follow through on your plan, so take scheduling these tasks seriously.

Or, you just got yelled at by an upset customer and you have to turn to the next one with a smile on your face. In this case, use a color-based technique by Dr. Kate Truitt. Keep going through as many colors as you need until you feel calmer. If there is nothing of a particular color in your environment, Dr.

Truitt suggests thinking of things of that color in your mind. Fun fact: I had to use this tip in order to be able to focus and finish writing this article on time. Expectations are the puppeteers of our happiness. What you expect yourself to achieve can frame your performance as an astounding success or an utter failure.

They may sit still for a while, but eventually, they will go off somewhere again. New research suggests that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise like swimming, cycling, jogging, and dancing may be more effective for reducing…. A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic?

How Well Do You Sleep? Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Mental Well-Being. Medically reviewed by Marney A. White, PhD, MS , Psychology — By Crystal Raypole on November 11, Practice mindfulness.

Write it out. Get musical. Sleep it off. Take a walk. Keep your space tidy. Focus on unfocusing. Talk about it. The bottom line.

How we reviewed this article: Sources. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations.

We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. Share this article. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Femi Aremu, PharmD.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy DBT. Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, PsyD. Is Constant Daydreaming a Sign of Mental Illness? Unpacking the Notion of Love Addiction. Medically reviewed by Kendra Kubala, PsyD. Toxic Femininity, Explained — Plus, Tips to Overcome This Mindset Toxic femininity, or behavior that aligns with patriarchal beliefs about what women should and shouldn't do, can affect your well-being.

READ MORE. Isolation, Loneliness are Major Mortality Risk Factors for People With Obesity A new study, released this week has found that death rates are increased for people with obesity who are also socially isolated and lonely.