Pampering is the act of indulging oneself and can take on an abundance of forms. How you pamper yourself may be different from another’s, but what you can be certain of is that pampering is a form of self-care that can make a positive impact upon your mental, emotional, and physical health while also improving your overall well-being.
Before we dive into the multitude of ways to pamper yourself at home, let’s take a quick look at the benefits of pampering:
Mental Health
Pampering provides you with a break from the stresses in your life. If you are stressed in your work or home life, a pamper session at home provides you with time to switch off and concentrate on you.
In deciding to make time to pamper yourself, you are providing yourself with an opportunity to escape reality. This promotes relaxation and assists you in recharging or being rejuvenated in order to manage your stresses from a refreshed standpoint.
Pampering offers you an opportunity to be alone with your thoughts and self-reflect without distractions. In contrast, you may use this time to divert your focus to your pampering so that your have some respite from any worries poking at your mind.
Emotional Health
Taking time out to pamper yourself can remind you that you are important, too. It can reinforce, to yourself and others, that you are of value and also improve your self-esteem. Taking care of yourself can evoke feelings of being happy with yourself and your life, and this is then reflected to others and influences how they perceive you.
When you’re feeling your best, you can nurture, inspire, and care for others completely and positively. It’s funny how intentionally putting yourself first for a few hours each week actually makes you better in all of your roles from parent and partner, to friend and co-worker.[1]
Physical Health
As previously mentioned, different people have different ideas about what form pampering takes. For example, exercise may be your idea of pampering. If this is the case, then it can have a positive effect on your physical health. It is important to note that pampering evokes a relaxation state in a person, and this can affect a person’s physical health in the following ways[2]:
- Slowed heart rate
- Lower blood pressure
- Improved digestion
- Reduced activity of stress hormones
- Less fatigue
- Reduced muscle tension and chronic pain
Now that we have looked at the numerous benefits that pampering has for your mental, emotional and physical health, we can take a look at 27 simple ways in which you can pamper yourself in the comfort of your own home.
1. Use a Face Mask
What a great excuse to have 15 minutes to yourself! Let’s face it, you do not want to scare your family with a face that can make you look like somebody from outer-space. Lock yourself away for a bit, lie down, and relax. When you take the mask off, you will feel relaxed, rejuvenated, and thankful for those precious minutes to yourself.
2. Take a Hot Bath
Why not use your favorite bath products and spend as long as you can relaxing in a nice hot bath? Your muscles will be relaxed, your mind will feel calm, and you will feel amazing inside and out.
Spend this time for self-reflection or just time to switch off completely. Make sure that you leave your phone outside of the bathroom so that you are not tempted to catch up on the latest gossip and to ensure that you are using this alone time to its full potential.
3. Use a Hair Mask
Indulge your hair with a luxurious hair mask and give yourself a boost at the same time. You hair will smell amazing and will feel soft with that just-out-of-the-salon feeling.
4. Give Yourself a Manicure and Pedicure
Find your favorite nail polish and catch some time to yourself with a home manicure and pedicure. You can even use a foot mask to get silky soft feet or give yourself a foot soak.
Why not look online for guides on do-it-yourself reflexology? Reflexology is the massaging of specific points on your feet to stimulate the flow of energy and unblock energy around the body[3]. It is thought that reflexology can help to relieve certain problems within the body.
5. Give Yourself a Makeover
You can find lots of online tutorials on makeup and hair. You can spend time experimenting on different hairstyles and makeup that you would not usually do. It is good to reinvent yourself and have a refresh of style once in a while to boost your self-esteem.
6. Use Essential Oils
Essential oils can be used to alleviate the effects of stress on the body as you pamper yourself. They are extracted from natural sources, such as the leaves, petals, and sometimes roots of plants. The oils can be used in diffusers or candles around your home and can aid relaxation[4].
7. Art Therapy
There are various art therapy activities that you can try at home to de-stress. You can use this time to relax and have therapeutic time to yourself. Art therapy can promote rejuvenation of the mind and stress relief.
8. Meditate
Meditation has an array of benefits to the mind, body, and soul. What’s more, you can meditate for as little as 5 minutes per day and still receive some great benefits.
Some of these include[5]:
- Increase in immunity
- Decrease in pain and inflammation
- Happiness boost
- Decreased anxiety, depression, and stress
- Improved productivity
- Increased self-control
9. Call a Friend
Grab yourself some time and call a friend. A catch up may be just what you need. You can share any problems that you have and also listen to the problems of your friend, which may put any worries that you have into perspective.
Alternatively, you may want a worry free zone to escape to and just have a laugh with your friend to cheer you both up.
10. Read a Book
Reading a book can be just the excuse to “log off” from life and escape from reality for a while, so pamper yourself with a great fiction or non-fiction read.
Some benefits of reading include[6]:
- Improved sleep
- Relaxation
- Assists in alleviating depression symptoms
- Increased vocabulary
- Reduced stress
- Increases your ability to empathize
11. Have a Lie in
Something as simple as having a lie in on a weekend after a hard week at work can do wonders. Why not turn you alarm off? Don’t feel guilty or lazy; you deserve it and it can be just what you need to rejuvenate. Why not go further and have breakfast in bed?
12. Binge Watch Your Favorite TV Series or a Film
Once you have had your lie in, find a TV series or film to watch for a few hours. This can take you away from reality, help you to put any worries to the back of your mind, and give you the well deserved rest and relaxation that you need.
13. Listen to Your Favorite Music
What is better than listening to your favorite tunes? Music improves mood and reduces stress. Lie in bed or relax on the sofa, close your eyes, switch off from your worries, and just listen.
14. Tidy Your Home
Now this may not be everybody’s idea of pampering, but hear me out. A tidy home promotes a tidy mind. Think of the feeling of achievement once you have had a good tidy around your home.
Tidying can be a great activity to boost your mood and to clear your mind. It is great as preparation for creating a clear space, free from distractions for you to indulge in your other pamper sessions.
15. Practice Yoga
Practicing yoga is an ideal opportunity to have relaxing time just for you, with the added benefit of it counting towards your activity time and benefiting your mind and body. There are many platforms that you can use to practice yoga at home, including: apps, books and online videos that can aid you on your yoga journey.
16. Journaling
You can buy a journal or simply use a diary or a notebook. You can use a journal to write down your thoughts, record ideas, self-reflect, or use it as a tool to set and achieve your goals. Spending as little as 10 minutes per day journaling can be used as time for you and as part of your self-care routine.
Here are some ways journaling can change your life.
17. Have a Treat Day
If you are on a diet or a health kick and are feeling low, have yourself a treat day. Buy your favorite pudding, sit down with a cup, and savor the moment. Look on it as a reward for the effort that you have put in with eating healthily and doing so well.
18. Make Your Favorite Meal
Make your favorite meal and treat yourself like you are in a restaurant. There are plenty of online recipes that can help you to make your favorite restaurant food. Use your time cooking to relax, de-stress, and feel accomplished when you get to taste the food that you have put the effort in to make.
19. Throw a “Me Party”
Incorporate some of your pamper sessions into one, make your favorite drink, have some party snacks, turn your music up loud, and dance around your house.
20. Go on an Online Shopping Spree
Relax, look through the multitude of online shops, and have some retail therapy, but try not to get carried away.
21. Create a Vision Board
Indulge in time to concentrate on your thoughts. Create a vision board to assist you in manifesting your goals or dreams. The idea is to focus your energy on what you desire. The more that you focus on what you want, the more chance there is of achieving those goals and dreams.
22. Look Through Old Photo Albums or Home Videos
What better way to immerse yourself in positive vibes than to look back at happy memories and reminisce? This is a way to forget your worries for a while and to concentrate on happy thoughts.
23. Go Offline
Mobile phones and computers can easily distract you from concentrating on yourself and your self-care. In modern times, you can become too accessible to others and find it difficult to switch off. Turn your devices off, forget those emails or scrolling through social media posts, and focus on you for a while.
24. Have a Nap
Something as simple as having a 15-20 minute nap can help you pamper yourself to get that recharge that you need to carry on with the day/evening. Just make sure that you do not nap for too long so that your sleep at night is not disrupted.
25. Do Some Gardening
If the weather allows, get outside in the fresh air and immerse yourself in the garden. Fresh air can refresh your mind, and gardening can be a relaxing and soothing activity that does not need to be strenuous.
26. Exercise
Exercise may not be everybody’s idea of pampering. However, there are many benefits to your mind and body. Exercise can release endorphins, which promote positivity and a feeling of happiness. It is an excuse to have some “me time” and can improve self-esteem.
27. Practice Gratitude
Gratitude can help you to realize how many positive aspects of your life that you already have. At the end of each day, find a quiet space to practice gratitude. Think about what you have to be grateful for that day. What better way to end your day than to reflect on the positive aspects of your life and to distract from any worries that you may have?
Final Thoughts
Pampering is an important part of your self-care routine. Life can be so fast paced and brimming with activity that time for you is important to your mental, emotional, and physical health. There are many benefits to slowing down the pace and spending some time concentrating on you. Pampering is an opportunity for relaxation and rejuvenation of the body and the mind.
There are an abundance of ways in which you can pamper yourself, some you may not have previously thought of as pampering. However, if you change your mindset, you can look on some activities that you may have previously seen as chores and now look on them as “me time,” an opportune moment for a pamper session.
In these unprecedented times when you are no longer able to pamper yourself in a spa, you can use some of the ideas presented in this article as simple ways to pamper yourself at home.
More on How to Pamper Yourself
- 40 Self Care Techniques To Rejuvenate And Restore Yourself
- How to Customize a Self-Care Plan That Works For You
- 5 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Stress and Relax Completely
Featured photo credit: Maddi Bazzocco via unsplash.com
Reference
| [1] | ^ | Toms of Maine: How pampering yourself makes you happier |
| [2] | ^ | Mayo Clinic: Relaxation techniques |
| [3] | ^ | Healthline: Reflexology 101 |
| [4] | ^ | Essential Oil Experts: Essential Oils for Anxiety & Stress – Top Calming Essential Oils |
| [5] | ^ | Psychology Today: 20 scientific reasons to start meditating today |
| [6] | ^ | Healthline: Benefits of Reading Books: How It Can Positively Affect Your Life |
