You Decrease the Risk of Depression by 57% Every Day With These 7 Easy Lifestyle Habits

Science says you can win the war on depression by making these minor changes in your daily routine.

Depression is a battle that more than 280 million people fight every year. It makes you helpless against your own mind.

It will exhaust you mentally and steal your will to live a meaningful life, do things you love, and isolate yourself from the people you cherish.

Depression will hack your life and you won’t be able to stop it as you watch yourself succumb to this monstrous disease.

This new study sheds light on the 7 lifestyle changes that can cut your risk of depression in half.

You have the power to reduce the likelihood of this disease ever festering in your mind. You can decrease your chances of depression by 57% simply by following these easy 7 lifestyle habits.

1. You Are Ignoring Your Biggest Ally

Our generation is buried deep under debt that has nothing to do with money, it’s not student loans but sleep debt.

When was the last time you picked sleep over Netflix?

The boredom of our monotonous everyday life implores us to sacrifice sleep for the sake of cheap thrills. This despicable dopamine hit is costing you your good health.

Sleep is necessary for optimal brain function and it regulates our hormones which pull the string of our moods. Moreover, your creativity and productivity are both thoroughly dependent on sleep.

So, sacrificing it for just one more episode is insane. And I am more guilty than anyone when it comes to bedtime procrastination.

I will binge-watch happily into the sunrise if it means I can complete the damn series. And sadly I have done this more time than I am willing to accept.

These apps are designed by the top minds to capture your interest and their sophisticated algorithm makes you helpless against your desires.

But you need sleep more than anything, as it can single-handedly reduce your chances of depression by 22%.

People who got less than five hours of sleep were 2.5 times more likely to develop symptoms of depression compared to people who consistently got 7 to 9 hours of sleep.

Another important finding links oversleeping to depression as well. People who sleep for more than 9 hours are 1.5 times more likely to develop depression.

But time is not the only measure of sleep, what matters most is the quality of sleep you get. You can improve your sleep quality by improving your everyday life with these small changes.

Morning Routine for Better Sleep:-

• Wake up daily at the same time to set your circadian clock right.
• Get sunlight in your eyes right after waking up to regulate your circadian rhythm.
• Do a 10-minute exercise routine in the morning to reduce sleep latency.

Evening Habits for Better Sleep

• Stop using screens an hour before bed.
• Get your daily dose of caffeine 10 hours before your bedtime.
• Make your room sleep-friendly by keeping it dark and cold.
• Take a warm shower and enjoy a hot herbal tea before bed.

These actionable tips helped me shut down my mind when it overpowered my crazy imagination and my tendency to daydream didn’t make it better.

I improved my sleep routine with these tips, but the one thing that sealed the deal was having a motive to wake up earlier, which made it easier for me to go to bed on time.

I bought a risky trade that I needed to get rid of pronto, so I woke up at 8:30 daily to place the order. This simple habit helped me improve my bedtime.

So, find a purpose that makes you wake up earlier, the fear of losing money made me improve my sleep schedule.

2. The Most Addictive Substance on Planet

Easy stress busters don’t always go easy on your health. Smoking is the oldest stress buster that was believed to be harmless.

People relied on cigarettes heavily to take the edge off, even pregnant women used to openly smoke before the true effects of nicotine were unraveled in the 1970s.

This study found that non-smokers have 20% less chance of developing depression as compared to regular and irregular smokers.

Not only will smoking get you closer to your funeral it will destroy the quality of your life completely. Most people smoke to relieve their stress when in reality it increases stress and anxiety.

It’s the most addictive drug on the planet that’s still legal. Sure there’s a warning of cancer on the box but that doesn’t stop us from smoking into the abyss.

I have never smoked a cigarette as I have seen people suffering from its dire effects in my family. My grandpa died of a lung disease, he smoked beedi an Indian cigarette that has no lining or filter, for more than three decades which is even more harmful than regular cigarettes.

My uncle followed the same path and he now has a robotic voice box and a permanent hole in his neck. It took larynx cancer to make him quit smoking for good.

So, protect your health and have the “real” last cigarette that you have been postponing forever.

3. Get Out Of the Social Media Bubble

The loneliness epidemic is killing you slowly but surely. We are more lonely than any generation even when we are connected at all times.

This stark irony is fueling your depression as people who had frequent social connections were 18% less likely to develop depression.

Lockdown made it worse, it isolated you from everyone at the most vulnerable time in history. And then working from home didn’t make things any easier.

I have been working from home since before the pandemic, being shut off in my home office and writing alone for hours on end did no favors to my social life.

So, I joined a library after the pandemic lifted. I read, write, and work with like-minded people, who are so focused that it made me feel guilty to even think about procrastination.

I have made many friends who have given me ideas to write and explore. As an introvert, it’s hard for me to get out of my comfortable social zone, but it’s worth it.

Go to places you love may it be a bakery, park, or running track to meet people who share your interests and hobbies. I have met many people at my local bookstore who always recommend great books.

So, get out of the house and make a plan with your friends that you actually honor. You need them to live a long and healthy life.

The American Journal of Psychiatry named social connection the number one protective factor against depression.

So, get out and make real-life connections instead of living in reel life. Yes, it’s hard but it’ll get easier when you make an effort to reach out to people.

4. The Ultimate Depression Killer

Mental health, longevity, and better healthspan can all be achieved with one habit — Exercise.

The research is clear, exercise will boost your mental health just as well as medication if not better. It’s a permanent solution that you can use with no side effects.

A person who engaged in regular exercise was 14% less likely to develop depression as compared to someone who didn’t exercise.

Any exercise will help you prevent depression but shorter high-intensity exercise routines produce the best results.

I have followed a consistent exercise routine for more than three months now, I do yoga every morning before getting on with the day.

But this month I got sick with viral fever and had to take a break from exercise for for two weeks. I would wake up with a fever every morning so I had no energy to even go for a walk.

So, I paused my exercise routine which made me realize the true power of exercise. I was more moody, lethargic, and negative than I usually am.

My mental health suffered from this short hiatus so you can imagine the impact regular exercise can have on your mental health.

Here’s what I did to form a regular exercise routine:-

• Exercise daily at the same time. It doesn’t matter if you can spare only 10 minutes. This small trick will help you form an exercise habit easily.
• Do something you love. You don’t need to exhaust your time and energy looking for the best workout, instead do what you love. That’s the only way you’ll be able to make this a permanent habit.
• Make it as easy as possible. I am a yoga teacher so I know it’s easier to follow someone else’s flow than make your own, so I do one YouTube yoga workout every day.

5. The Biggest Lifestyle Habit That Aids Depression

Exercise is considered the natural all-cure for depression, so it makes sense that its opposite will perpetuate depression harder.

A typical sedentary life is considered a harbinger of depression. Mentally passive sedentary behavior like watching television increases the risk of depression.

On the other hand low to moderate sedentary behavior can reduce your risk of depression by 13%. So, make a commitment to reducing your sedentary behavior.

You already spend a minimum of eight hours a day glued to your desk, so it would help if you could garner a few non-sedentary hobbies that will add more movement to your daily life.

Keep your sedentary behavior to a minimum with these easy tricks:-

• Make television a mentally active activity by watching mentally stimulating shows that make you think and watch it while walking.
• Take walk and stretch breaks during work to boost productivity. Get a standing desk if you can reduce sedentary behavior.
• Make it a point to walk at least 5,000 steps daily.

6. The Socially Acceptable Addiction

“I am grateful to be alive and healthy today”, said no alcoholic ever.

Alcohol can be a fun social stimulant but it has major downsides that we have labeled as normal.

This widely popular socially acceptable drug is making you more prone to depression with every sip.

This study claims that treatment-induced alcohol reduction can improve depressive symptoms. Moreover, it goes on to state that low to moderate alcohol consumption can protect against depression in middle age.

Also, moderate alcohol consumption can decrease your risk of depression by 11%. So, it’s high time you re-consider your weekend binge drinking.

I am a teetotaler for health reasons so I can’t really give any actionable advice on how to curb drinking, so, here’s an article by Harvard Health that might help you get your drinking under control.

7. The First Step To A Healthy Lifestyle

The last most obvious factor that can protect you from depression is a healthy diet.

A diet rich in fiber, vitamins, and protein can decrease your chances of depression by 6%.

MIND diet has been voted the best diet for both mental health and longevity for years now, so it’s prudent to add a few of its features to your diet.

• Eat more vegetables and fruits.
• Olive oil is the elixir of life.
• Plant-based protein is the king.
• Healthy non-fatty fish is your friend.
• And a glass of red wine once in a while won’t hurt.

You are what you eat, so be mindful of your diet and limit your cheat meals to 1–2 per week. Eat healthy to live a long depression-free life.

All You Need To Know

These lifestyle changes can reduce your chances of depression even if you are at a higher genetic risk.

People at high to medium risk of depression can cut their risk by following these simple lifestyle changes. These habits will prevent depression regardless of the genetic risk.

So, make these changes in your life to protect yourself from depression.

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