You might have heard the saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away', but what are we doing each day to look after our mental health?  

Studies have shown that people who do certain activities regularly tend to have better mental health than those who don’t do these things. MindSpot has led research to identify the five types of activities we can do daily to improve and maintain our psychological health.  

This innovative research project has proven that doing these activities regularly can help us to stay mentally healthy and bounce back from challenges that come our way.   

The Big Five are the five key groups of activities we found were most closely linked to good mental health. Doing these at least 3 times a week helps people stay mentally healthy, and are summarised below. 

Meaningful activities 

• These are actions which give us a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction  
• These can be major projects or even simple activities such listening to music or watching a favourite show (the key is that the activity is meaningful to you) 
   

Healthy thinking 

• This involves keeping realistic thoughts about ourselves, the world, and the future, and keeping a realistic perspective  
• An underlying theme of healthy thinking is the importance of treating ourselves with kindness and respect, particularly when times are difficult  
   

Goals and plans 

• Having a goal or a plan can not only keep us motivated and energised 
• Having goals and plans also gives us something to look forward to and stops us from dwelling on past problems  
   

Healthy routines 

• These include regularly performing routines, like going to sleep, and waking up at the same time, which set us up for the day  
• These also include making sure that we take regular breaks in our day, week or month to recharge and recover 
   

Social connections 

• This involves staying connected to people we love and respect (our family, friends and/or tribe)  
• Regular contact with people we love, and value helps us to feel validated, part of a community, and reminds us we belong  

MindSpot has now launched the Big Five self-assessment sheet to help people be more mindful and aware of how often they’re including these activities into their routines. It also includes suggestions and examples as ideas we can use to do these activities more frequently. 

Download The Big Five information and self-assessment sheet 

The development of an early version of The Big Five was partly funded by the Mental Wheels Foundation and a current clinical trial is partly funded by the Western Australian Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA). MindSpot thanks the Mental Wheels Foundation and WAPHA teams for their generous support.