Sponsored by Kalms

Sometimes it can be so easy for us to take our mental health and emotional well-being for granted; to prioritise other things; to put it off until next week. It can also seem too big and too hard. But it’s not.

According to new research conducted by Kalms, 1 in 5 Brits (22%) believe their mental health and well-being has significantly worsened in the past 12 months.¹ This rises to 1 in 4 for women (25%) and young adults aged 18–34 (27%).¹ In fact, only a small minority of Brits (19%) believe their mental health and well-being has improved since the COVID-19 pandemic.¹

We, as a nation, can all benefit from cultivating a little more kalmfulness into our lives; to reflect on how we are feeling and understand what we can do to better look after ourselves today and in the future.

What is kalmfulness?

We define kalmfulness as the state or quality of being calm, peaceful and untroubled in the midst of daily life. We believe it’s an emotional state achieved by bringing ease to the mind and body through a range of practices such as releasing your inner creativity, being kind to yourself and others, or implementing the use of traditional herbal remedies. It’s whatever helps you to feel grounded and more balanced.

How to achieve kalmfulness

Some self-help techniques can feel unattainable and time consuming; however, cultivating kalmfulness through the practices below can be an achievable goal on a day-to-day basis:

Adopting a mindset of gratitude – Research shows that journaling for five minutes a day about what we are grateful for can enhance our long-term happiness by over 10%.²

Being kind to yourself and others – Studies suggest that giving, receiving and even witnessing acts of kindness can release feel-good hormones.³ Just five acts of kindness a month can increase happiness. ⁴

Paying attention to the present – Just 40 days’ mindfulness meditation can help reduce depression symptoms and anxiety.⁵

Releasing your inner creativity – Just 20 minutes of colouring can minimise anxiety-related symptoms and combat negative mood.⁶

Establishing a self-care routine – Even small acts of self-care in daily life can have a big impact on our wellbeing. For example, improving your sleep quality is as beneficial to health and happiness as winning the lottery may be.⁷

If you’re looking for additional help, you could also explore the use of traditional herbal remedies. With over 50 years’ experience, Kalms is dedicated to providing traditional herbal remedies used to support emotional wellbeing:

• Kalms Night One-A-Night is a traditional herbal medicinal product used for temporary relief of sleep disturbances. Contains valerian root extract.*
• Kalms Day is a traditional herbal medicinal product used for the temporary relief of symptoms associated with stress. Contains valerian root extract.*
• Kalms Lavender One-A-Day Capsules is a traditional herbal medicinal product used for the temporary relief of the symptoms of mild anxiety such as stress and nervousness. Contains Lavender oil.*
• Kalms Rhodiola is a traditional herbal medicinal product used for the temporary relief of symptoms associated with stress such as fatigue, exhaustion and mild anxiety. Contains Rhodiola rosea Root Extract.*

To find out more about the Kalms range and how you can practice and help achieve kalmfulness, visit kalmsrange.com/kalmfulness.

*Based on traditional use only. Always read the labels.

1. Kalms Survey on 1,002 UK Respondents. Date on file. 2022.
2. Positive Psychology. Benefits of Gratitude. March 2023. Available at: https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-gratitude-research-questions/ (Accessed July 2023).
3. Dartmouth. Emotional Well-being. May 2023. Available at: https://www.dartmouth.edu/wellness/emotional/rakhealthfacts.pdf (Accessed July 2023).
4. Chancellor J, Margolis S, Jacobs Bao K, Lyubomirsky S. Everyday prosociality in the workplace: The reinforcing benefits of giving, getting, and glimpsing. Emotion. 2018 Jun;18(4):507-517. doi: 10.1037/emo0000321. Epub 2017 Jun 5. PMID: 28581323.
5. Yang, CC. et al. Alterations in Brain Structure and Amplitude of Low-frequency after 8 weeks of Mindfulness Meditation Training in Meditation-Naïve Subjects. Sci Rep 9, 10977 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47470-4
6. Nicola J. Holt, Leah Furbert & Emily Sweetingham (2019) Cognitive and Affective Benefits of Coloring: Two Randomized Controlled Crossover Studies, Art Therapy, 36:4, 200-208, DOI: 10.1080/07421656.2019.1645498
7. Warwick. Better sleep feels like winning the lottery. March 2016. Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/better_sleep_feels/ (Accessed July 2023).