The Impact of Healthy Rhythms on Mental Health

Many faith-based authors and teachers have been teaching about healthy rhythms recently, some even challenging people to create a rhythm of life. For years, the mental health profession discussed the value of working toward “balance,” but it seems “rhythms” is a more fitting term. Perfect balance is not possible, but developing healthier rhythms is more doable.

“Life has its rhythm, and we have ours. They’re designed to coexist in harmony so that when we do what is ours to do and otherwise let life be, we garner acceptance and serenity.” – Victoria Moran

What is the rhythm of life?

A rhythm of life is the pattern of pouring in and pouring out in one’s daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly life. There may be fast moments and slow or loud and soft. There will be times of rest and times of work or play. There are times of sorrow and times of joy, times of pain, and times of restoration, time to sleep, and time to be awake.

All of creation has normal rhythms of day and night, fall to winter, seeds, and growth. It is how humans were made. However, people can have healthy rhythms and unhealthy rhythms in their lives.

What is a healthy versus unhealthy rhythm?

In healthy rhythms, people know their limits and fill their time with life-giving experiences, while not neglecting to give back to those around them. People with unhealthy rhythms do not know themselves, what they need, or their limits.

They do not understand that life cannot be simply giving until burnout or not giving any of oneself in light of living how they want. They live in extremes, and therefore, do not make much progress.

Jesus embodied a healthy rhythm of life in His time on the earth. He knew His limits as a man. There were many times He withdrew to be alone and pray after a time of strenuous ministry. He knew when He needed rest, and when it was time to work. He knew when to give of Himself, and He knew when to let God fill Him back up.

What are some examples of healthy and unhealthy rhythms?

Examples of healthy rhythms:

• Going to sleep and waking up at around the same time daily
• Having space in one’s schedule
• Incorporating a daily morning and evening routine
• Family fun nights two Saturdays a month
• Date night one Friday a month
• Taking a weekly Sabbath rest from all work
• Drinking eight glasses of water a day
• Exercising three times a week
• Book club every other Tuesday at lunch
• Church every Sunday
• Family trip two times a year
• Spending one day a quarter to reflect on what you learned in the last three months
• Limiting work to designated work time
• Eating healthily most of the time
• Saying money
• Counseling weekly

Examples of unhealthy rhythms:

• Working during non-work hours
• Going all day without any conversation with your spouse
• Exercise every so often
• Sporadic sleep patterns
• Moving from one extreme diet to the next
• Drinking five cups of coffee but little water
• Rushing in the morning with no routine
• Having a filled schedule
• All play and no work
• All work and no play
• No time for others
• No time for solitude or reflection
• Attending church only once a month or not at all
• Relying on credit to live comfortably
• Lack of life-giving activities in your schedule

Why are healthy rhythms important for good mental health?

Healthy rhythms affect all areas of health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relational, and vocational. One can see that exercising three times a week will help him maintain good physical health just as going on consistent date nights can cultivate a strong marriage. As whole beings, rhythms are key.

Specifically, regarding mental health, healthy rhythms can decrease feelings of depression and anxiety. They can reduce the lasting impacts of trauma and loss. They can help cultivate hope in hopeless times, peace in anxious times, and joy in times of sorrow. They can also greatly decrease stress.

The first things a counselor will assess when a new client comes in for counseling are these rhythms and patterns of life. When someone experiences symptoms of depression, a counselor will see things like a lack of exercise, little time with companions, poor eating and sleeping habits, and too much time alone.

When someone experiences anxiety, a counselor will see things like little sleep, lack of spontaneity, and avoidance of social situations. Often if a client can commit to healthier rhythms, symptoms of mental disorders subside substantially.

How can a person create healthy rhythms to improve mental health?

Take inventory and assess

Take a careful look at your life and ask these reflective questions. Am I stressed and burned out? Am I lonely or tired? Am I feeling purposeless or hopeless? Do I feel rested and joyful? What is an average day in my life like? Am I engaging in any life-giving activities during my day?

Take time to consider and list:

• What gives me life and fills me with joy?
• What drains me?
• What do I need?
• How am I getting my needs met?
• How am I meeting the needs of others?
• What is my season of life?
• What is manageable in this season?
• What is not manageable in this season?

Create an ideal week, month, quarter, and year

Pull out a piece of paper or a new document on the computer. Draw out seven columns with each day of the week. Write out all waking hours in thirty-minute increments and fill in what you would like your ideal week to be like, including work hours.

If you want to exercise three times, put it in the schedule. If you would like to implement a daily morning and nightly routine, put it in the schedule. If you want date night to always be on Friday evening, put it on the schedule. You can do this in a more general way with an ideal month, quarter, and year.

Decide how you would like to fill your time. Go back to your list of life-giving activities, and weave those into the week. Consider one action per day to fill you mentally (like reading), physically (like drinking eight glasses of water), spiritually (like three prayer times each day), relationally (like texting one friend a day), and vocationally (like having and honoring set work hours).

If there is not enough time spent meeting the needs of others, intentionally put more into the schedule. If there is not enough time spent getting your needs met, put more of that into the schedule. Though there will inevitably be life-draining things in the rhythm (like work or the tasks of parenthood), the goal is to make sure there are life-giving things, too.

Allow for white space in the margins

Don’t fill in every waking hour. Allow room for nothing at all on the schedule. When schedules are filled to the brim, even with life-giving activities, stress and anxiety remain high. “White space” allows for time to breathe, spend time in solitude, or to spend spontaneous time with friends or family.
Be as consistent as possible
Though rhythms can move from fast to slow, it is important to be as consistent as possible when developing a rhythm that will work for you. However, this does not mean being rigid. It is okay if you are not able to do everything in an ideal week.

Only superhuman can do that. Give grace to yourself as you work out the kinks and give room for flexibility. Remember that with changing life seasons will come a change of pace and rhythm. That does not mean you are unhealthy; it simply means that you are well adjusted.

Healthy rhythms are not always perfectly balanced. Yours do not have to look the same as that of another person. The key is to realize that without healthy rhythms, people cannot be healthy at all. It is committing to a lifestyle of knowing yourself, your needs, your limits, your sources of joy, and pain in order to enjoy overall mental health and wellbeing.