Health Tips for Writers

Our writers’ health tips in today’s post don’t focus on healthy platform numbers. And we’re not aiming for “At least I have my health” as a goal. But it is worth exploring what factors contribute to a writer’s literal health…and we mean that literally.

Lay aside that book on your novel’s character goals, motivations, and conflict for a moment. Press pause on the article about capturing a reader’s attention on the first page of your memoir. The podcast about selling 10,000 books before release day will also wait for you while you spend these minutes thinking about setting yourself up physically, mentally, and emotionally for a long, satisfying career as a writer.

Physical Health Tips for Writers:

• Set a timer to remind you move every 20 minutes. That’s the recommendation of health experts. Stretch. Get out of your chair and walk, sing, practice deep breathing, or stare out the window. Worried you’ll lose your train of thought if you do? Stop in the middle of a sentence, not at the end of a scene or chapter. If you have a few words of a new sentence waiting for you on the screen, you’re more likely to pick up quickly where you paused. Physicians often ask how we occupy our time before investigating a health concern because the addicted-to-the-project sedentary nature of the work we do can lead to chronic back and neck problems, stagnant digestive systems, and vascular concerns. Movement matters.
• Did you know many writers breathe differently while they write? Just when our brains need oxygen the most, our inhalations turn either shallow or we subconsciously hold our breath until the end of the sentence, thought, or paragraph. (And we all know what it’s like to “hold our breath” for months while waiting for a response from an agent or editor or in anticipation of first reviews of a new release. Those deep sea freedivers setting world records have nothing on us.) Fill your lungs with oxygen as if training as an opera singer rather than a writer diving into the day’s word count.
• Artificial tears can be a writer’s best friend. Blinking, like breathing, should be automatic. But screens of any kind tend to lull our bodies into thinking a blink is a nano-second of interruption. Eye health professionals say they often find unnaturally dry eyes among those who work in front of a computer screen or monitor. And it goes beyond itchy or tired eyes to threaten solid retinal attachment. Eyes are a wonder, but also delicate. Opthalmologists recommend professional writers refresh their eyes not only with planned breaks (looking at something not screen-like or screen-adjacent) and use eye hydration drops as often as four times a day. That could be accomplished on one of your get-out-of-your-chair-and-move breaks.
• Coffee, tea, diet soda, energy drinks, sports drinks… Take your pick, but don’t fall for the assumption that those options provide true hydration. You’ve heard it before. We’ve all wondered “How can coffee made WITH WATER not be hydrating?” The diehards among us (interesting word, diehard) admit they realize the dehydrating properties of sugar or chemicals or artificial sweeteners or sodium levels or excess of caffeine in our favorite beverages make them less than ideal choices for physical health. But somehow we ignore those facts if we’re writing. We can’t write without coffee, tea, diet soda, etc., can we? If proper hydration didn’t directly connect to brain and body health… Consider starting a healthier pattern by alternating your cups of deliciousness with a tall glass of water to double your true hydration and halve what your body and mind don’t need.
• If you do only one thing for your physical health as a writer, create an atmosphere that welcomes sleep. Deadlines will try to cheat sleep. A glut of social media or TV news will disturb sleep. Be proactive about making sure your body gets what it needs, especially when your writing schedule is tight.
• When ill-health, injury, or surgery creeps in or collides with your writing schedule, increase your devotion to positive health practices you are still capable of doing. You may not be able to walk, but you might incorporate chair or recliner exercises

Mental Health Tips for Writers:

• See all of the above. Physical health is a great starting point for mental health.
• Build your resilience for rejection.
• Practice allowing time (and prayer) between a disappointment and your reaction or response to it.
• Relinquish your grip on what you can’t control.
• Plan ahead. Schedule ahead. Leave buffers in your schedule for the unknown.
• Embrace the difference between excellence and perfection. Only one of the two is attainable.

Emotional Health Tips for Writers:

• See all of the above. Physical and mental health are great starting points for emotional health.
• Prioritize even brief times with friends while you’re on deadline. Losing touch with encouraging, uplifting friends while you’re writing can work against your creativity and fortitude.
• Don’t let your writing (or reviews or sales numbers) become your god. It is a passion, an interest, a career. There’s only one God who deserves that capital G position in your life.
• Have an answer at the ready when others ask, “What else do you do besides write?” If your go-to is “Read,” consider developing life-enriching hobbies like photography, art, concerts, learning a musical instrument, serving in your church or community, watching archaeology documentaries… You’ll grow as a person and a writer as well as protect your emotional health if writing–or reading–isn’t ALL you do.

What do you have to add to the list? What positively impacts your physical, mental, or emotional health as a writer?