Self-Care Rituals You Can Do In 5 Minutes Or Less

“No, we don’t need more sleep. It’s our souls that are tired, not our bodies. We need nature. We need magic. We need adventure. We need freedom. We need truth. We need stillness. We don’t need more sleep, we need to wake up and live.”

— Brooke Hampton

Remember the last time you flew on an airplane and the flight attendant instructed you to put your oxygen mask on first, before helping others? The same theory applies to your every day life.

When you're under stress, your adrenals (two small glands that sit on top of the kidneys) produce and release short bursts of cortisol into your bloodstream. The repercussions of prolonged exposure to stress leads to drained adrenals, leaving you with a collection of symptoms such as brain fog, low energy, depressive mood, salt and sweet cravings, body aches, nervousness, and sleep disturbances.

Let’s be real, with the hectic pace of modern life, carving out time to put yourself first can be tricky. It can also initially spark feelings of guilt that the time you invest in taking care of yourself is taking time away from your daily jobs, family, friends, passion projects, pets, or never ending to-do list. I’ll be the first to admit, developing my own daily practice of self-care was a difficult rhythm to build at first. I’ve spent much of my adult life in an attempt to unlearn these deeply engrained, cultural beliefs that cause me to feel depleted and to ignore my inner compass.

But over time it got easier, and the rhythm soon became my new norm. That’s not to say there aren’t days where I don’t battle with the idea of taking time for myself, but I’ve found that some days, just taking the time to intentionally take a few deep breaths or drink a glass of water is better than nothing — and is worthy of celebrating!

With over 15 years of studying behavior change and habit formation, I’ve seen that it takes small, incremental steps to make meaningful and lasting change. In fact, big changes all at once rarely work. Take learning a new language for example... You don’t start with advanced lessons, right? The same is true for your wellness routines. If you want to create a healthier life, you need to start with your base.

So, if you’re looking for accessible ways to you can put the proverbial ‘oxygen mask’ on yourself first, consider starting small and watch the habit grow into something bigger.

Here are 10 super-simple ways to naturally replenish your self-care cup in 5 minutes or less…

1. Spend time in nature — even if that means taking your lunch break outside. Nature has a restorative effect on the human spirit, and just 5 minutes in nature can profoundly effect your hormones, and thus, your mood.

2. Take three belly breaths, drawing air slowly and deeply into your abdomen. Surprisingly, this is the quickest and most effective way reduce the so-called 'stress hormone' cortisol and can be done at a red light or in line at the grocery store without anyone even knowing!

3. Brain dump what's on your mind. Set a timer for 5 minutes and pour it out on the page. Whatever you’re carrying, let it all spill out.

4. Watch the sunrise with a hot cup of tea or lemon water.

5. Jot down three gratitudes you have. This is proven to condition your mindset into a state of abundance and reduce perceived stress.

6. Drink a glass of water. By staying hydrated, you'll be taking care of your most fundamental physiological need first.

7. Eat an apple, or any piece of fresh fruit or veggie for that matter! 80-95% of serotonin (your happy hormone) is produced in the gut and plant-based foods stimulate production. Learn more about nutrients for stress relief here.

8. Take a 5 minute stretch break, go for a walk outside on your lunch break, or park at the opposite end of the parking lot and enjoy the stroll.

9. Clean and moisturize your face in the evening. Your skin is your largest organ and appreciates this small but mighty practice. If you’re new to this, you can check out my routine here.

10. Go to bed just 5 minutes earlier tonight and lay on your back with your legs up the wall and eyes covered or closed. Allow yourself to let the dishes sit or the laundry to remain unfolded if that’s what it takes.

You can resort to any of these quick bio-hacking tricks whenever you feel your energy dwindling from the busyness of life. And know this — if you’re feeling like you need permission to take care of yourself (which you don’t), consider this a gentle nudge to slow down and put the oxygen mask on yourself first. There will be a time for you to give, but for now, on behalf of the world: here’s your permission to receive.

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