As Ramadan begins, Muslims worldwide will fast, pray, and engage in community service. While fasting, it's important to also prioritize mental and emotional wellbeing. Nutritionist Nausheen Shaikh of Alyve Health emphasizes that Ramadan offers a chance to nurture both mental health and spiritual growth.
Here are a few strategies to maintain mental and emotional wellbeing while observing fast during Ramadan:
1. Establish a balanced routine
Maintaining a structured daily routine in Ramadan can help regulate your body clock and provide a sense of stability. Ensure you allocate time for sleep, leisure, prayers and cooking. Time management is essential in Ramadan.
2. Stay hydrated and nourished
Proper hydration and nutrition play an essential role in mental health. Despite fasting from dawn till dusk, it's crucial to consume sufficient water and nutrient-rich healthy foods during non-fasting hours. Dehydration and inadequate nutrition can cause mood swings and feelings of fatigue.
3. Practicing acknowledgement
The first step to managing any issue is acknowledging the issue, just make a list of all the upcoming challenges you face. It helps us to create a structure that we can adhere to as best we can. This will help to ease the anxiety of upcoming challenges.
4. Manage stress, fear and anxiety
Ramadan can be a spiritually uplifting but also demanding time. Do check on how your mood has been on scale 1- 10. Keep a list of things handy that can help perk up your mood. This could mean Listening to the Quran, doing a body stretch or creating some Eid cards for your loved ones.
5. Revisiting control
Make a list of the stressors that are under your control and stressors that are out of control. It's important to be patient and kind to yourself during Ramadan, fasting is both a mental and physical challenge.
Source: Hindustan Times
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
