Health and wellness are hot topics lately. For some, their normal routine has been turned upside down during the 2020-2022 pandemic, which has been inconvenient and undeniably frustrating. For others, the pandemic meant they have had to provide for sick loved ones or recover from illness themselves.

In these unique, challenging times, we are all experiencing something different, emotionally, and physically. No two experiences are identical, so we must work even harder lately to exercise compassion and empathy toward others, and importantly, toward ourselves.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” which essentially means that you can’t offer much to help others if you aren’t healthy and well yourself. In these difficult times, taking some time to care for your own physical and mental health can change everything about how you handle stress, your overall resilience, and your ability to help others – and it’s easier than you may think.

Redefining “Self-Care”

When they hear the phrase “self-care,” many people envision cucumber slices covering their eyes as they await an elaborate spa day. While that sounds like a nice treat for some, it more closely resembles a scene from a movie than reality.

When you really want to take good care of yourself, the best approach is to assess your actual needs and wants. Think about what you can do to make yourself feel happy and physically and emotionally well. Your list may seem unconventional and contain seemingly unpopular ways to achieve happiness, but this isn’t about other people – it’s about you. Your ideal “self-care” activity doesn’t have to get a thousand “likes” on social media to give you the recharge you need, because it is uniquely about your needs, not other people’s. Consider these less trendy, but incredibly rewarding ways to treat yourself right.

1. Go to bed early and treat yourself to a good night’s sleep.

Early bedtime is a punishment to children of a certain age and can seem “uncool” to people who enjoy hitting the town as night owls. For others, the idea of going to bed early, telling all of your responsibilities to wait until morning, and drifting into a cozy, relaxing slumber sounds like pure bliss. Unfortunately, quality sleep is difficult for many average people to achieve on a regular basis. Whether it is because of an overactive, fidgety body or a reeling mind, restful sleep can be hard to come by. To help you achieve this simple yet profound goal, try a natural product containing melatonin, like a high-quality CBD Softgel. Available in a sleep-supporting formula, organic CBD and melatonin offer the perfect solution to sleep woes, allowing you to finally treat yourself to the night’s sleep you deserve.

2. Find a quiet place and enjoy a few minutes of silence.

This isn’t for everyone, but if it’s for you, we hope you feel heard in this moment. Many of us simply cannot manage to salvage a minute to ourselves, and we have nearly forgotten what it feels like to enjoy a quiet, mindful moment – a moment with no cell phones, no music, no TV on in the background, nothing. This sounds impossible, especially for those who hardly get a quiet moment in the restroom as kids or pets wait at the door, clamoring for attention. You are not alone.

Make a plan to enjoy a few moments of silence, even if it is just five minutes. Make yourself a soothing cup of wellness tea, find any quiet spot, and be alone with your thoughts. Focus on your breath, your heartbeat, or on a fixed object in the room. This brief moment will deliver a sense of peace and relaxation to your mind and body. If you can do this regularly, you will find yourself less stressed and more emotionally centered.

3. Incorporate exercise into your day.

Physical activity is good for your mental health as well as your waistline. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good and keeps your entire body functioning optimally. If you are someone who doesn’t care for exercise, this may not sound like much of a treat, but if a short run or a yoga routine helps you feel invigorated, making time to do so feels like a gift! Getting your heart rate up helps your lungs and immune system, and engaging your muscles and joints keeps your body agile. If you refrain from physical activity because you don’t like the post-workout recovery, there are plenty of ways to overcome that discomfort. You can ice your muscles and joints after an arduous workout, or you can use a cooling and soothing topical product to target your troublesome areas, like a CBD Freeze Cream or Salve. Specially formulated to deeply penetrate while helping to soothe discomfort, adding one of these natural products into your routine can give you the motivation you need to keep enjoying those beneficial workouts!

4. Satisfy your sweet tooth.

There’s a common misconception that giving in to a craving for sweets is a bad thing. If you eat a pound of sugar, sure, that’s not exactly healthy. But there are many options on the market today that are actually beneficial for you, and they happen to be sweet – giving you the best of everything you are looking for! The hottest wellness trend lately is enjoying an edible CBD product, offering everything you love about a sweet treat but infused with high-quality, phytocannabinoid-rich hemp extract. You can enjoy reinvented candy-shop favorites, guilt-free, and reap several benefits at the same time! Satisfying your sweet tooth has never felt better, literally!

Self-Care Is Made Easy with the Hemp Doctor

We all have our own vision of what true self-care looks like. At The Hemp Doctor, America’s Premier Hemp & CBD Dispensary, we have dozens of products to choose from so you can create the perfect moment for yourself, even in the middle of a pandemic. Whether you prefer a CBD Softgel or Tincture to promote general wellness, or you love new innovations like our CBD Chewing Gum or CBD Chocolate, we have a product to meet your needs! Everything we sell is safe, pure, and compliant with the law, so you can always feel confident that you’re receiving superior quality hemp products when you shop with us.

You can shop online, or stop by our Mooresville, NC shop in person! Either way, you will find industry-leading hemp and CBD options to help you take good care of your physical and mental health when you need it most. We hope to see you soon!