50 healthy lifestyle tips for introverts

Below you will find 50 tips and recommendations for introverts to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Fitness 

1. Plan your workout ahead of time, especially if it involves other people, so you can prepare mentally. 
2. To get fit, go to a yoga class first, as they are normally quiet and you don’t have to talk to anyone, just listen, and it’s rarely working out in pairs. 
3. Download workouts at home and create a workout calendar.
4. Only go to the changing rooms in the gym if it’s absolutely necessary and shower at home to avoid chit chat with others.
5. Do your stretches. After workout, after waking up or on work breaks. Never skip the stretches. 
6. Start by going to the gym at the least busy times (ask the person on reception or check the gym app if your gym has it – the gym I go to allows me to see how many people are in it at different times of the day). Then try all of the equipment, read the instructions. You’ll feel much more confident using the equipment when the gym gets busy again. 
7. Put your headphones on when in the gym, music will help you zone out from the noise of conversations.
8. When you find a new hobby or a passion, take small steps instead of doing all of it at once and overwhelming yourself. For example, if you are going to start a new exercise program or start going to the gym, do one session a week until you feel comfortable with it. Then increase. 

General health 

9. Plan to go outside, preferably in nature every day.
10. Eat lots of vegetables and follow a healthy diet. 
11. Acknowledge that it’s OK to say no to things which would make you unhappy.
12. After a longer social interaction, plan time to be alone.
13. When you need time alone, politely tell people you live with about it and ask not to be interrupted. 
14. For alone time put a note on the door: currently busy please do not disturb, I’ll be back out in ____ hrs.
15. Get rid of some or all of these from your life: junk food, ready made meals, takeaways, cigarettes and alcohol. There is nothing more damaging to your mind which can sometimes lead to more overwhelming thoughts or anxiety. 
16. Get enough sleep for you. 
17. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep your body happy.
18. Have healthy snacks prepped and put them ready in your fridge for times when you read a book or if a particular task absorbs you. This will reduce distractions from what you are doing and enjoying, but will also give you an opportunity to eat healthy. 
19. Create a mediation practice. 
20. Use meditation to calm anxiety: for example, a balance app has a meditation for social anxiety.
21. Practice mindfulness. Focus on the now instead of what happened before or what you think may happen in the future. Use this mindfulness workbook to help get you started.
22. Write a “talk to yourself” journal to raise self awareness and help process things on paper. 
23. As much as you may love to read, reduce screen time and let your eyes take a break, particularly a few hours before bedtime. 
24. Use noise cancelling headphones and white noise if you need to focus. 

Mental Health

25. Schedule no negative, no overwhelm time for yourself: watch something you really enjoy and do not allow any overthinking in that time.
26. Find your own healthy way to deal with overwhelm and stress, for me that’s a gym workout during quietest times.
27. Don’t try to be someone you’re not, or pretend that you’re OK in a crowd if you’re not.
28. Just because everyone else is doing something doesn’t mean you need to do it too if it makes you unhappy (eg. going to a party).
29. Respect and accept yourself. You’re not alone. There are millions of us just like you.
30. Be curious about the world, read and explore it in your own quiet ways.
31. Sometimes simply listening to some good music can lift your mood if you’re feeling blue. 
32. Stop judging yourself all the time and especially don’t compare yourself or your life to extroverts.
33. Acknowledge that change is normal, things change in life so reassure yourself that if things do change you’ll be able to cope with it.
34. From time to time do something you wouldn’t normally do, either to refresh your routine or to prove to yourself that you’re OK not doing that kind of thing for a while again.
35. If you’re struggling, ask for help. Don’t just go it alone in pain. 
36. Make a list of things you like about yourself or your introversion. 
37. Make your to-dos smaller by picking only the three most important things to do that day, and finish a list by adding something to do for self care / alone time.
38. Find a positive mantra which you can use anytime you need extra power. 
39. Put your devices into focus mode, so that you are not constantly disturbed by notifications, sounds and ringing. 
40. Make a list of things which give you energy and a list of things which deplete you. 
41. If you feel overwhelmed, try looking at the situation without emotions and with focus on what is logical. 
42. Every time you do something you feel is a success – small or big – write it down in a “nice things notebook” and celebrate your success. 

Healthy Social Connections (the introverts way)

43. Tell your friends that you prefer to be texted than called, they may not know that.
44. Find a friend for whom silence is not a problem. 
45. Join introvert’s forums on reddit to have someone to connect with if you really need to. Here is my reddit account if you’d like to connect.
46. Sometimes it’s good to step out of your comfort zone and meet a new person or make a friend. Plan for it so that you’re prepared for losing some battery power but gaining a new person in your life.
47. It’s OK to leave a family party after half an hour. So long as you show your face they will understand if you talk to them about your introversion.
48. If chit chatting about meaningless stuff annoys you, find your own ways to get out of it without being rude. Say something like: “It’s been good to see you again, but I really have to run now”.
49. Understand that it is ok to leave a situation right away if you feel like you are caged or out of breath. If you can, excuse yourself and go somewhere private to take deep breaths. 
50. See your lack of need to interact with people as something flexible. If you feel a need to get out there or do something outside of an introverted comfort zone, do it and see how you feel. It’s healthy to expand our horizons. 

Hope these 50 healthy lifestyle tips for introverts help you as much as they help me throughout my life.