June is Alzheimer’s and mental health awareness month. According to the World Health Organization – Mental Health, mental health disorders and substance abuse affect 13% of the world’s population.

The number of people with mental health disorders is increasing globally. Stress, lack of emotional well-being, and a lack of physical exercise and mindfulness practices contribute to these numbers. Depression, anxiety, memory loss and substance abuse are among the most common mental health conditions.

Here are 6 tips to improve your mental health:

• Make sure you get enough physical exercise and practice meditation—both improve memory and support hormone and brain function.
• Eat good food. In Ayurveda, this group is known as Medhya Rasayana—it includes Brahmi, Blue Pea, Triphala and Ghee. Also include nuts, winter squash, whole grains, and beans in your diet.
• From time to time, detoxing your body helps to reduce inflammatory markers and reduce the free radicals that damage neural well-being.
• Get enough, good quality sleep.
• Learn new skills or a new language to keep challenging and expanding your brain.
• Humans are social beings, work on how you communicate—learn to say NO, laugh out loud, let people know how you are feeling, and try not to bottle up your emotions.