5 Habits for Better Spiritual Health

"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name." —Psalm 23:1-3 (NLT)

In a world with so many digital distractions, information overload, enticing temptations, and pressure to fit in with societal expectations, it can be hard to keep our spiritual health in a good place. Since our physical, emotional, relational, and mental health can all affect our spiritual health, it's important to be aware of how everything works together. When we're struggling in other areas of our life, we open ourselves up to spiritual attack, greater temptations to sin, and even mental illness.

Of course, regular prayer, studying God's Word, and serving others are good practices for spiritual health, but we can't neglect the rest of our existence. Creating habits to help care for ourselves more completely is a part of being a good steward of the mind, body, and spirit God has given us. Here are several ideas for healthy habits that can help keep your whole self in a state where your spiritual health can thrive.

Emotional & Relational Health: Routines

"Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty." —Proverbs 21:5 (NLT)

Some may find routines limiting or boring. But creating a routine can help us manage our school, work, daily tasks, chores, and more. Routines can help us wisely use the limited resource of time that God has provided and reduce overall stress. When we plan ahead, we can be sure to fulfill our responsibilities as well as do the things that bring us joy.

Habit Plan for Routines

Start with a simple routine. The goal is not to transform everything, but rather to start with how your life is structured now. If you have work or school timeslots, travel time, or known mental burdens, take those into account. Make your first routine achievable by keeping it simple and realistic.

Plan ahead. Think of practical ways to support your new routine so you set yourself up for success. If you want to scroll less and sleep more, charge your phone at night somewhere away from your bed. If you tend to spend a lot of money on drinks or snacks when you're away from home, prepare some tasty stuff to pack before you leave.

Ask for accountability. Creating a new routine can feel difficult—especially for those of us who are naturally unorganized. So having a caring friend or a sibling who can encourage us as we make positive changes can help us be patient, kind, and gracious to ourselves.

Emotional & Mental Health: Digital Awareness

"We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one." —1 John 5:19 (NLT)

Smartphones were originally designed for our convenience and safety, but they've been negatively affecting our emotional and mental health and even our sense of self-worth.

If you're one of the many people addicted to their phones, you may be experiencing unnecessary stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and even depression.¹

Social media in particular can hurt us through things like comparison, cyberbullying, normalization of self-harm, or encouragement of suicidal thoughts.²

Habit Plan for Digital Awareness

Restrict apps that are unhealthy distractions. Doomscrolling is honestly good for nothing. It's a black hole our brains struggle to break free from. Many phones have built in screentime settings, and there are also free apps designed to help us set usage restrictions on our "problem" apps.

Limit screentime in the morning and night. This can be a hard one, I know! A lot of us have a habit of scrolling before bed and/or first thing in the morning. But this can really damage our mental state and connection to reality at pivotal times of day when our brains are least on guard. Try putting your phone somewhere out of reach from your bed—maybe even in another room. Then you can focus on non-screen input, where you're physically at, and what you're doing.

Ask for accountability. Whenever we're making changes in our habits, it can be helpful to have a friend or family member who can ask you about your progress. They can pray for you and encourage you in your healthier habits. They might even be able to help you keep your phone off for a specific time of the day, such as at school.

Physical & Mental Health: Nutrition

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." —1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT)

Simply eating regularly is so underrated. Sometimes a bad mood or fatigue can be helped just by having a good snack.³ The world often hurries us along with hectic schedules that cause us to miss meals. Then we're getting hangry and being rude to people or indulging in foods that don't really satisfy.

Intentionally choosing foods that include healthy fats, whole grains, fruits, and veggies will go a long way to improving our physical and mental health.

Habit Plan for Nutrition

Keep changes small. It can be difficult and frustrating to make food changes—especially if we have a history of disordered eating or a complicated relationship with food. Sometimes finances play a part in what we're able to accomplish, so it's OK to keep it simple and do what you can. A good guideline is to "eat what you want and add what you need." Craving a burger? Add a salad or an apple to go with it.

Make specific goals. Having a vague goal such as "eat better" isn't going to do much for us practically speaking. Think through some specific small changes you can make, such as giving yourself a caffeine time cutoff so you can sleep better and reduce anxiety. Once you have a small change or two figured out, post them somewhere (like your phone, mirror, lamp, etc.) to remind yourself of your goals.

Ask for accountability. Having a partner in developing good nutrition habits can make all the difference. Ask a close friend or family member to join you in your better health journey. You can track your progress together, cheer each other on in successes, and comfort one another on the days when good nutrition is hard.

Physical, Emotional & Mental Health: Movement

"I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." —1 Corinthians 9:27 (NLT)

Moving our bodies can have an incredible effect on our overall health. Physical activity can improve moods, relieve stress, increase memory, and give us better sleep. For some, taking time to move around every day can even alleviate depression, anxiety, or ADHD.⁴

There's no need to get a gym membership or devote hours a day to bodily movement though. A study done by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reported that running for just 15 minutes a day (or walking for an hour) reduces the risk of major depression by 26%.⁴

But really, ANY movement is better than none. So if it's just a matter of doing a 5-10 minute daily walk in the sunshine or getting up from your desk every 30 minutes to stretch, that's still going to be beneficial. The key is consistency over intensity.

Habit Plan for Movement

Keep goals small & achievable. When we've got busy schedules with school, family, and church commitments, it can be hard to find the time to add anything else. Even if it's a matter walking the long way to class, taking the stairs, or parking far away, that still counts!

Be consistent. Try not to focus on what activity you're doing or even how long you are doing it—just focus on moving consistently. Find something you enjoy doing and work it into your regular activities. It's OK to start with 5 minutes daily, then work your way up, depending on your schedule.

Ask for accountability. Doing physical activities with a trusted friend or family member can make the transition to a more active lifestyle much easier. Choose someone who will be able to encourage you, pray for you, and also give you grace on the days when the struggle to move is difficult.

Physical & Mental Health: Sleep

"It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones." —Psalm 127:2 (NLT)

People have such varied opinions of sleep—from loving it to finding it a waste of time. God designed us with a need for sleep, and we ought to see it as a gift (Psalm 127:2).

Sleep helps our bodies function by allowing our brains to "reset" for the next day. Adequate sleep can help improve attention span, decision making, creativity, and information retention.⁵

Habit Plan for Sleep

Eliminate bedtime distractions. We all have different things that keep us from turning out the light. Whether it's binge-watching, scrolling, late night caffeine or sugar intake, constant notifications, or a messy bedroom, we can take steps to begin eliminating those distractions. When we're laying down to rest in a safe, comfy, and rest-friendly environment, sleep is going to be a lot easier to find.

Curate a bedtime routine. Doing the same actions over and over begin to train our brains to respond in certain ways. Put together a routine of bedtime activities you can do every night. Choose things that you must do (such as brushing teeth, getting into PJs, etc.) and things that bring you joy and relaxation (such as reading, doing a facemask, stretching, etc.). Give yourself adequate time for your routine to help signal your brain that it's almost time for sleep.

Ask for accountability. We probably all have friends who could use some help with better sleep. Partner up with one of them to keep each other accountable. If you're both sending memes and videos in the middle of the night, call each other out to go to bed! You could make a commitment together to stay off screens and settle down at a set time.

Our spiritual health isn't something we often put a lot of thought into. When we feel far from God, are struggling with habitual sin, or we don't have a desire to read the Bible, we don't usually connect that with the fact that we've been fighting with our parents, suffering from insomnia, or that we haven't been taking care our bodies.

God created humans as complex beings—physically, emotionally, relationally, mentally, and spiritually—and we need to take care of ourselves completely the best we can (1 Corinthians 3:9). As good stewards of the bodies God has given to us, we ought to seek ways to develop healthy habits for our overall health. When our minds and bodies are doing well, our spiritual health is going to fall into place that much easier.

RESOURCES: 1. https://www.milton-coalition.org/teen-phone-use-and-its-effect-on-mental-health. 2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7012622/. 3. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/diet-and-mental-health. 4. https://www.helpguide.org/wellness/fitness/the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise. 5. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation/health-effect.

ALSO SEE:

• Why is accountability important?
• How to Do a Mental Health Check
• Should a Christian see a psychologist, psychiatrist, or counselor?
• How do I choose a good Christian counselor?
• How can I stop being addicted to screens?
• How can I stop wasting time on my digital devices?
• What does the Bible say about depression?
• How can I overcome anxiety?
• God Doesn't Want You to Be Miserable
• How can I get excited about reading the Bible?