7 research-backed things for your mental health this weekend

The readers of this newsletter are either students, researchers, or professionals in the field of mental health and psychology, which means theoretically, we should be exceptionally good at taking care of our own mental health. Theoretically. By virtue of being humans we sometimes forget to practise the very things we spend our lives reading and talking about. More often than not, we already know what helps and what doesn’t. Old behavioral patterns create inertia, keeping us from going for that morning walk or making that phone call to an old classmate which we know will feel rewarding later. 

We just need reminders, so consider this yours! Today we bring a couple of research-backed things to do this weekend that can help with your mood and give your mental health a tiny nudge in the right direction. They're deliberately simple, mostly free, and don't require purchasing a Himalayan salt lamp or joining a ₹30,000 wellness retreat in Manali.

This one our parents and especially Indian parents would love! no one’s asking you to get up early at 4 am and do pranayam while watching the sunrise, which you definitely could do, no shade! But getting daylight earlier in the day is genuinely useful. 

Light is one of the strongest environmental signals regulating our circadian clock. A 2024 real-world study of more than 1,000 adults found that greater outdoor daylight exposure, specifically regular morning exposure was associated with better well-being and fewer depressive symptoms, with sleep and routine regularity partly explaining the relationship. And if you can turn it into a walk, even better: a 2026 umbrella review synthesising 81 meta-analyses, more than 1,000 studies and almost 80,000 participants found that exercise reduced symptoms of both depression and anxiety. 

The gut-brain axis is a rapidly increasing topic of research that has attracted attention from psychologists, gastroenterologists and other health professionals. Communication between the gastrointestinal system and the brain involves neural, endocrine, immune and microbial pathways. What we eat is therefore relevant to both physical and psychological health, although claims that a particular food will somehow “heal your anxiety” deserve considerable scepticism.

Even something as boring as eating more fruits and vegetables may be worthwhile. A systematic review of controlled interventions found little evidence for improvements in psychological well-being, although effects on anxiety and depressive symptoms were small and uncertain and the authors emphasised the need for better trials. But knowing that you’re eating something healthy could just be rewarding and a great talking point the next time you meet your gym instructor.

Most of us spend an extraordinary amount of time in our heads, we’re living in a cerebral world! Getting your hands working with tasks that require relatively lighter cognitive load could actually be beneficial. There can be something surprisingly restorative about temporarily switching from the abstract to the tangible. You could: crochet, knit, paint, cook, garden, make pottery or even repair something.

A 2024 review examining 25 studies of needlecraft activities including crochet, knitting, sewing and embroidery identified recurring benefits around well-being, social connection, purpose, achievement and satisfaction. A broader 2025 systematic review has also examined crafts-based interventions as potential tools for supporting mental health and well-being, although the evidence base remains methodologically varied. Importantly, you don't have to be good at it. The point is partly that you've spent an hour interacting with the physical world and, at the end of it, there is something in front of you that did not exist an hour ago.

If you’re living in a city, there is a kind of fatigue that comes from spending time in man-made and artificial spaces. So, simply being around natural environments appears to help. A 2024 meta-analysis examining nature exposure among adults experiencing symptoms of mental illness found improvements across outcomes including depressive symptoms, stress, mood and quality of life.

The mechanisms are probably multiple: changes in attention, reduced exposure to urban stressors, opportunities for physical activity, sensory experiences and simply being somewhere that doesn't contain fluorescent lighting. Try and touch some grass this weekend, or really pay attention to the birds around your place.

Social withdrawal can become self-reinforcing. You don't make the plan because you don't feel like making the plan, and then you could feel disconnected, which makes making the next plan even harder.

Research consistently links social isolation and loneliness with poorer psychological well-being, although the relationship is complicated and not every association can be assumed to be causal. More importantly, intervention research suggests that social and psychological approaches can produce small-to-moderate improvements in loneliness and social connection. You don't need a huge social circle, think of one person you reliably feel better after talking to. Then do the slightly uncomfortable bit and initiate.

We’re constantly consuming something, music while walking, movies while eating, podcasts while commuting and reels while doing absolutely nothing. Somewhere along the way silence has started feeling like something that needs to be filled. Spending a few minutes without external stimulation can give your attention a chance to settle and make you slightly more aware of what is actually going on inside your head. One way of deliberately doing this is through meditation or mindfulness.

Meditation and mindfulness-based practices have a fairly large body of research behind them. A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis covering 30 studies and more than 24,000 participants found overall improvements in anxiety, depression and stress. Sit somewhere quietly for 10 minutes, notice your breathing, the sounds around you and whatever thoughts show up without immediately trying to change them and it might be something you find fruitful.

writing down your thoughts, feelings and the complex and crazy that goes on in your head out on a piece of paper can give some structure and expression to thoughts and feelings that otherwise remain floating around in your head.

A meta-analysis of 31 experimental studies involving more than 4,000 participants found that expressive writing produced small but significant reductions in depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Interestingly, some of the benefits appeared more clearly at later follow-ups rather than immediately after writing. Take a piece of paper and spend a few minutes writing whatever has been occupying your mind lately, without worrying about grammar, coherence or whether it sounds intelligent. Nobody is peer-reviewing your diary, lol.

There’s a lot you can do with journaling and, in case you’re interested in exploring it further, here’s a video on how to do it better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=416ILEnwoEc&t=192s

None of these ideas are revolutionary, and that’s the point. It’s the simple shit that we most often forget to do. These are not meant to be prescriptive or a panacea, but simply a few research-backed things worth trying on days when we don’t quite feel like ourselves. Pick one, try it this weekend, and see what works for you.

Have a great weekend, stay awesome!

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