12 Ways to Spring Clean Your Health

Spring is known as a season of renewal. Plants blossom, animals reawaken, and nature—including humans—thrives with the energy of the season. 

Even if you aren’t attuned to Mother Nature’s seasonal rhythms, you might have spring rituals that you cherish and look forward to. 

One of the most common of those rituals is spring cleaning. As winter recedes and the air warms, it’s also time to throw open the windows, spring clean the house, and let freshness, light, and vitality flow in. 

But what about…yourself? 

What are you doing to refresh, renew, and reenergize your body and mind? 

Let’s look at the ways in which you can spring clean your health and give yourself the same loving care that you give your home. After all, your body is your home, too!

Where to Begin

As with any project, before you begin it’s a good idea to have an idea of where you are and where you’re going.

Think about the current state of your health. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself. 

• How do you currently feel physically, emotionally, and mentally? 
• What parts of your health routine are already working for you? 
• Which areas of your health need a little extra attention?
• Is there any area that you feel needs to be prioritized? 
• Do you have any symptoms that need to be addressed?
• Are there any new health routines you’ve been wanting to try?
• What else is going on with your health right now?

Answer these questions honestly, even if it hurts to admit that you may have neglected some aspects of your health. Be curious, not judgmental, to gain greater insight into your current health. 

Now that you’ve shed some light on where your health currently stands, let’s explore ways you can improve it by spring cleaning your health. 

Spring Clean Your Body

Let’s begin with your physical health. How can you spring clean your body?

There are some basic things that you should be doing consistently to ensure that you’re in tip-top shape. 

1. Get Good Sleep

Sleep is one of the foundations of health. In order to function at your best, you need to be well-rested. For the average adult, this means somewhere between 7 and 9 hours of quality sleep each night. 

Here are some things you can do to fall asleep and stay asleep. 

• Hang black-out curtains to avoid light streaming in too early. 
• Keep your room cool. Experts say that somewhere between 60–67°F is the ideal sleep temperature.
• Avoid electronics the last hour or so before bed. The blue light they emit can disrupt your body’s production of melatonin. 
• Unwind your body and mind with soothing rituals such as a warm bath, journaling, or meditation. 
• Use aromatherapy with scented body lotions or oil diffusers. Scents such as lavender, bergamot, clary sage, and ylang-ylang promote relaxation and sleep. 

2. Move Your Body

Did your workout routine suffer over the winter? You’re not alone! Between holidays, inclement weather, and shorter days, it’s tempting to skip the gym and stay indoors.

But now that the weather is improving, it’s time to get back into the world of physical activity. At minimum, you should be getting at least 30 minutes of exercise, five times per week.

For overall fitness, mix things up with different exercise options. 

• Cardiovascular exercise, such as walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing 
• Strength or resistance training
• Stretching and flexibility exercises

If you’re already consistent with your workouts, mix things up. Try a new class at the gym, take your workout outdoors, or skip your usual weekend brunch and plan a group hike with your friends. 

3. Balance Your Gut

Your gut microbiome contains the vast majority of the bacteria that live in your body. 

It’s home to colonies of beneficial (“good”) bacteria and pathogenic (“bad”) bacteria. The key to gut health is to strengthen the quality and quantity of the beneficial bacteria, so that they crowd out the pathogenic bacteria. 

When your good bacteria are prevalent, your gut is healthy and happy. And so is your immune system, which is largely housed in your gut. 

You can spring clean your gut with probiotics—food, drink, and supplements containing live bacteria similar or identical to those already living in your gut. 

When you eat, drink, or take probiotics, they support the colonies of good bacteria, helping to balance your gut microbiome and promote your overall health and well-being. 

Probiotics can be found in food and drinks such as kefir, kombucha, miso, natto, yogurt, pickles, tempeh, kimchi, sauerkraut, and some soft cheeses. They’re especially abundant in certain fermented foods. 

However, it can be difficult to know how much of the probiotic organisms make it to your gut alive and intact (in fact most of them cannot survive stomach acids), which is why probiotic supplements can be more effective. 

We love and recommend Just Thrive Probiotic. The spore-based probiotics in this supplement are naturally equipped with a protective endospore shell. This means they are guaranteed to “arrive alive” in your gut microbiome, ready to get to work. 

Every capsule contains four clinically-proven spore strains, ensuring that you have access to potent probiotics chosen specifically to promote optimal gut health.

Once inside your gut, the probiotics get to work balancing your microbiome and supporting your digestive health, immune response, and overall well-being. 

4. Visit Your Doctor

Yearly check-ups can help you spot any potential health issues before they escalate.

If it’s been a while since your last doctor’s appointment, schedule one now. While you’re at it, also schedule appointments with your dentist, eye doctor, and any specialists you see. 

Spring Clean Your Mind

Spring cleaning for your mental health is just as important as spring cleaning for your physical health. 

Here are some of our favorite ways to spring clean your mind. 

5. Let Your Mind Play

Your brain needs exercise, too! And just like physical exercise can come through play, so can mental exercise. 

Here are some fun ways to flex your mental muscles. 

• Have fun with jigsaw puzzles.
• Do other puzzles, such as crosswords or sudoku.
• Learn a new language. 
• Try out healthy new recipes in the kitchen. 
• Take online or in-person courses to learn a new skill.
• Pick up a new hobby.
• Play a new board game or card game. 
• Create something: draw, paint, sing, design, or write something that’s uniquely you.

6. Read 

Getting lost in a book is another great brain-boosting habit. 

Reading provides incredible benefits for your mental health. 

• Slows cognitive decline in older adults
• Improves your vocabulary
• Creates curiosity
• Builds empathy
• Reduces stress

Fiction or nonfiction, pick a book that you’ll enjoy so that reading is a pleasure, not a chore. You might also consider joining a book club as a way of meeting new people in your community (also hitting on #9). 

7. Take Brain Boosters

Mother Nature gives you plenty of options for improving your cognition: focus, concentration, clear thinking, memory, and more. 

Here are proven brain-boosting herbs. 

• Ashwagandha has been proven to help with memory, attention, flexibility, and other vital thinking skills. It can also speed up your brain’s processing power. 
• Ginkgo biloba improves short- and long-term memory.
• Lion’s mane increases your overall cognitive skills. It can also help manage early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. 
• Turmeric not only improves your cognitive function, it’s also been shown to reverse cognitive impairment. (We love Purality Health® Micelle Liposomal Turmeric.)

Along with these all-natural remedies, you can also take a nootropic supplement—meaning it’s designed specifically to improve your brain power. 

We love Just Thrive Focus & Memory because it provides a powerful blend of lion’s mane and ashwagandha. It also includes nutrients and vitamins chosen specifically for their capacity to support your brain function, such as citicoline and vitamin B-12. 

And, it contains CognatiQ® coffee fruit extract, a patented compound that promotes the production of proteins that help new brain cells grow and existing brain cells thrive. 

Together, these ingredients support almost every aspect of cognition: focus, memory, attention to detail, clear thinking, recall, and more. 

8. Practice Mindfulness

To be mindful is to be aware and present. 

Think of mindfulness as a way of tuning out distractions and tuning in to your senses. 

What do you see, feel, or hear? What sensations are you feeling in your body? Where are you sore or stressed? Notice your natural breathing pattern. 

As you focus on the world around you, you might notice thoughts or emotions intruding. That’s okay. Notice them, release them without judgment, and return to practicing mindfulness. 

And mindfulness isn’t just for spring cleaning your mental health. Relaxing and releasing stress can have physical benefits, too, such as lowering your blood pressure and helping you achieve better sleep. 

Spring Clean Your Spirit

You can spring clean your spirit by focusing on those activities that bring you joy and fuel your inner fire.

9. Socialize

Spending time with the people you love most is crucial to your well-being.

Research shows that having positive relationships with family and friends can improve your physical and psychological health. 

• Make healthier choices overall
• Improve your mental and physical health
• Cope more effectively with stress, anxiety, and depression

10. Set Healthy Boundaries

Of course, with all that socializing, you also have to know how to set boundaries so you can recharge. 

Boundaries are for yourself, not for others. Decide what is and isn’t acceptable to you in a relationship, then share your expectations with your family and friends. 

You can’t force them to respect your boundaries, but you can refuse to engage when they don’t.

And remember, it’s okay to say “no” or to walk away; you have the right to cut ties with negative or toxic people before they affect your mental health. 

11. Pursue Your Passions

Your pursuits can give you a sense of purpose and direction, and they fill your life with joy. 

Take a moment to consider your passions.

What makes you smile? What hobby do you lose yourself in? What sets your soul on fire?

Once you’ve determined where your heart is, give yourself permission to pursue it.

Look into everything from online groups to local classes to find like-minded individuals to share your passion with.  

12. Take a Break From Social Media

Social media can be a useful tool for connecting with far-flung family and friends. 

Unfortunately, it’s filled with landmines: toxic people, criticism, the temptation to compare, and more. 

And, the constant notifications can be a huge distraction from your present life and your focus on your health. You may want to consider a digital detox from social media or even all tech for a while.  

If you’re not ready to disconnect altogether, try a mini-break. Decide on a time period that works for you, turn off notifications, and go social media-free. 

When you decide to return to social media, unfollow people or accounts that provoke negative sentiments, and seek out those who bring you positivity.

Final Thoughts

Are you ready to spring clean your life? 

These health-boosting tips will help you feel fresher and more energized than a beautiful spring day. Pick a few that resonate with you, and add them to your daily routine. You can make adjustments later on. 

Most importantly, keep the focus on your well-being and allow the new season to usher in new, healthy habits. 

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