Available online at:
https://cc.arcabc.ca/islandora/object/cc%3Apsycjournal

J Camosun Psyc Res. (2021). Vol. 3(2), pp. 28-42.
Submitted Winter 2021; accepted July 2021.

What are Effective Self-Care Strategies?
Authors: Forest Moon-MacSkimming*, Jennifer Cunningham, Isabela Mayo, and Ally Crowe
Supervising Instructor & Assistant: Michael Pollock and Kristina Andrew, Psyc 110
(“Experimental Psychology”)
Department of Psychology, Camosun College, 3100 Foul Bay Road, Victoria, BC, Canada V8P 5J2
*Corresponding author email: forestomusic@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
In this paper we looked for the best methods and practices to improve self-care with the goal
of creating good mental and physical well-being. Previous research has shown effective methods
of self-care include daily exercise, quality sleep, self-compassion and spending time outdoors in
nature. In our correlational study, we tested the value of these practices for quality of self-care by
examining naturalistic daily changes in their variables longitudinally over a two-week period.
We measured exercise intensity, level of self-compassion, sleep quality, and daily ratings of selfcare all on subjective scales, and we measured time spent outdoors in nature each day in minutes.
Data pooled across participants in our correlational study showed significant correlations of
quality of self-care with intensity of exercise, time spent walking outdoors in nature and feelings
of self-compassion, but not with quality of sleep. While causal conclusions cannot be drawn
from correlational research, our work does provide support for claims that the addition of
moderate exercise, time spent walking outdoors in nature and attention to self-compassion can
greatly benefit an individual's quality of self-care.
1. Introduction
1.1 Research Problem
There are several potential benefits of
finding good methods of self-care:
remaining grounded and clear of mind,
staying afloat when tough situations arise,
and feeling healthy and alive throughout the
day. Good self-care can make the difference
between moving through the day with ease
and becoming anxious or discouraged.
Remaining grounded is important not only
for our own well-being, but for showing up
well for our friends, coworkers and loved
ones. Finding out what practices one can do
from the moment they wake up to the

moment they fall asleep to help improve
self-care can provide keys to a healthy and
happy life. We are researching this topic
because we believe having good methods of
self-care is essential to moving through daily
challenges such as school, work,
relationships and personal experience and
maintaining a good quality of mental health.
1.2 Literature Review
One factor previously found to improve
self-care is exercise. A study by
Bartholomew et al. (2005) randomly
assigned a group of 40 participants (15 male
and 25 female) who were all receiving
treatment for Major Depressive Disorder to
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either 30 minutes of moderate-intensity
aerobic exercise or 30 minutes of quiet rest.
Each participant in the exercise condition
was instructed to walk on a treadmill for 30
minutes (at 60-70% age predicted maximal
heart rate) and then answered questions from
the Profile of Mood States scale and the
Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale 5
minutes before and 5, 30, 60 minutes after
starting to walk on the treadmill. It was
determined that the participants who walked
on the treadmill experienced both positive
impacts to their well-being and
psychological vigor. Based on these results,
Bartholomew et al. (2005) concluded that
exercise provides a positive boost in daily
self-care for people diagnosed with Major
Depressive Disorder.
An additional factor previously found to
improve self-care is quality of sleep. In a
survey of volunteers solicited from an upper
division psychology class at a midwestern
university, Pilcher et al. (1997) measured the
sleep quality of each subject by using the
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index ), which
contains 10 questions relating to sleep
habits. Quality of self-care (defined in the
cited study by four major components:
general satisfaction with life, positive affect
balance, negative affect balance and general
mood) was assessed using three independent
scales. The Satisfaction with Life Scale
contains five statements regarding subjective
opinions of life and subjects agreed (7) or
disagreed (1) with each statement using a
seven-point scale. The Bradburn Affect
Balance Scale contains ten yes/no questions,
five of which indicate a positive affect and
five a negative affect. General mood was
measured using the Profile of Mood States
scale, which provides a list of words related
to six mood states: tension/anxiety,
depression/dejection, anger/hostility, vigor,
fatigue, and confusion/bewilderment.
Subjects determined their mood levels using

a five-point scale from “not at all” (0) to
“extremely” (4). Highly significant
relationships (from p > 0.01 to p > 0.0001)
were found between sleep quality and the
above-mentioned measures of general
satisfaction with life, affect balance and
general mood, making quality of sleep an
essential element in the development of
healthy self-care.
Another factor found to increase self-care
is walking outdoors in nature. In a study
completed by Breitenbecher and Fuegen
(2018), 181 students from a psychology
class (108 women & 73 men) were
randomly assigned to one of four
manipulated groups: resting indoors,
exercise indoors, resting outdoors, and
exercise outdoors. All groups initially
completed a scale on how they were
presently felt (with a possible negative to
positive range of 1 to 5). The exercise
outdoors group completed a 15-minute walk
outdoors being exposed to trees, a lake and
plants before filling out a posttest survey.
The data revealed that the group assigned to
exercise outdoors showed a slight increase
in positive mood and increased energy. This
study shows that if you have 15 minutes to
spare, walking in nature outside can increase
your energy and mood.
Another possible strategy to improve
self-care is self-compassion. In an online
survey of 306 university students by Fong &
Loi (2016), participants were asked to
answer 123 questions on a numbered scale
from one (almost never) to five (almost
always). The self-compassion questions
were divided into six subcategories: selfkindness, self-judgment, common humanity,
isolation, and mindfulness. The higher
participants scored on the scale, the higher
their self-compassion levels were considered
to be. Researchers also tested levels of stress
in participants over the previous month on a
numbered scale (e.g., in the last month how
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often have you felt nervous and stressed?)
from zero (never) to four (very often) to find
the relation between practicing selfcompassion and having lower levels of
stress. The survey found that individuals
who scored lower on the stress scale also
scored higher on the self-compassion scale,
thus finding that practicing self-compassion
may lead to lower levels of stress and a
higher quality of self-care.

students, and all of the participants also had
other occupations/duties: a wife, mother
with three children, and employed full-time
Legal Assistant; a community support
worker;,a full time server; and a part-time
pharmacy worker. All of the participants
were born and raised in British Columbia
and currently resided in Victoria, BC.

1.3 Hypotheses

We performed a correlational study to
test concurrently all of our hypotheses by
examining naturalistic daily changes in their
variables longitudinally. Each participant
kept a study journal with them at all times
over this study’s two-week period in order to
record self-observations of the following
five variables: (1) intensity of exercise, (2)
quality of sleep, (3) time spent walking
outdoors in nature, (4) feelings of selfcompassion, and (5) quality of self-care.
The intensity of exercise conducted each
day was measured by the participants on a
scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being no exercise, 5
being moderate intensity (e.g., a light
sweat), and 10 being maximum intensity
(e.g., elevated heart rate, sweating, heavy
breathing).
Participants measured their quality of
sleep with a rating from 1 (poorest quality of
sleep) to 7 (best quality of sleep). On each of
the 14 days in the study, participants rated
the quality of their sleep within the first half
hour after waking.
Participants measured their time
spent walking outdoors in nature for each of
the 14 days of this study. Participants logged
daily in a journal how much time was spent
outside walking in nature, if at all. All time
spent outside walking was logged
throughout the day and recorded daily.
Participants recorded at the end of
each day how self-compassionate they felt
that day using a scale from one (poorest

Based on the above literature review, we
predicted the following hypotheses:
● Hypothesis #1: If the intensity of
exercise increases, the quality of self-care
will improve.
● Hypothesis #2: If the quality of sleep
improves, the quality of self-care will
improve.
● Hypothesis #3: If time spent walking
outdoors increases, the quality of self-care
will improve.
● Hypothesis #4: If self-compassion
increases, the quality of self-care will
improve.
2. Methods
2.1 Participants
The four authors of this paper served as
the participants in its studies. The
participants ranged in age from 22 - 33 years
old, with an average age of 25.75 years, and
included three females and one male. The
participants were all undergraduate students
at Camosun College who completed the
current studies as an assignment for Psyc
110 (“Experimental Psychology”) and were
grouped together due to their mutual interest
in self-care. At the time of this study, one of
the participants was a full-time student while
the other three participants were part-time

2.2 Materials and Procedure

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quality) to seven (best quality). Selfcompassion in this study was defined on the
basis of gratitude (being thankful for what
they have), self-forgiveness (being kind to
themselves), and mindfulness (being aware
of the present moment and accepting their
thoughts).
Participants in the study measured their
daily rating of self-care with a rating of 1
(poorest quality) to 7 (best quality) at the
end of each day.
To assess the strength and statistical
significance of associations between
variables predicted by our 4 hypotheses, we
performed Pearson product moment
correlations of their predictor variables (time
spent exercising, quality of sleep, time spent
walking outdoors in nature and levels of
self-compassion) with their outcome
variable (quality of self-care). For testing
Hypothesis #1, we correlated the level of
intensity of exercise of each participant
during the day with their rating of quality of
self-care each evening. For testing
Hypothesis #2, we correlated the daily
ratings of quality of sleep for each
participant to that participant’s rating of
quality of self-care for the upcoming day.
For testing Hypothesis #3, we correlated the
length of time spent walking outdoors in
nature for each participant during the day
with that participant’s overall quality of their
self-care for the same day. For testing
Hypothesis #4, we correlated each
participant’s daily rating of self-compassion
at the end of each day with that participant's
daily rating of quality of self-care for the
same day. We performed all of the above
correlations separately for each participant
as well as using data pooled across all of the
participants. For the correlations using
pooled data, in addition to using the raw
data, we also performed correlations after
we had first transformed the data from each
participant into z-scores in order to

standardize differences in averages and
variability seen between the participants in
their data and thus make them more
comparable. A correlation coefficient was
considered statistically significant if the
probability of its random occurrence (p) was
< .05 (i.e., less than 5% of the time expected
by chance alone).
3. Results
As shown in Table 1, self-care was
significantly correlated with intensity of
exercise, time spent walking outdoors, and
feelings of self-compassion, but not with
quality of sleep. A significant correlation
between time spent walking outdoors and
quality of self-care was seen for one of the
participants (r = 0.61, p = 0.01), and when
using both pooled raw data (r = 0.50, p =
0.00061; see Figure 1A) and pooled
standardized data (r = 0.47, p = 0.0001; see
Figure 1B). No significant correlation
between quality of sleep and quality of selfcare was found for any participant, nor when
using either pooled raw data (r = 0.19, p =
0.153; see Figure 2A) or pooled
standardized data (r = 0.00, p = 0.980; see
Figure 2B). Significant correlations between
intensity of exercise and quality of self-care
were seen for all of the participants except
for one participant (r = 0.20, p = 0.49), and
were significant when using both pooled raw
data (r = 0.54, p < 0.001; see Figure 3A) and
pooled standardized data (r = 0.56, p <
0.001; see Figure 3B). Significant
correlations between feelings of selfcompassion and quality of self-care were
seen for half of the participants (with the
insignificant correlations being r = 0.28 &
0.48, p = 0.33 & 0.08), and were significant
when using both pooled raw data (r = 0.71,
p < 0.001; see Figure 4A), and pooled
standardized data (r = 0.55, p < 0.001; see
Figure 4B). Based on our pooled
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standardized data, intensity of exercise
showed the strongest correlation with quality
of self-care.
4. Discussion
4.1 Summary of Results
Based on previous research, we
hypothesized that increases in four variables
would be followed by a higher quality of
self-care: the intensity of exercise
(Hypothesis #1), the quality of sleep
(Hypothesis #2), time spent walking
outdoors in nature (Hypothesis #3), and
feelings of self-compassion (Hypothesis #4).
Data pooled across participants in our
correlational study supported the predicted
relationship of high self-care with intensity
of exercise, time spent walking outdoors in
nature, and feelings of self-compassion
(Hypotheses #1, 3 & 4) but not with quality
of sleep (Hypothesis #2).
4.2 Relation of Results to Past Research
The strong relationship found between
quality of self-care based on intensity of
exercise is in line with previous research.
Bartholomew et al. (2005) found intensity of
exercise to have a significant impact on the
overall well-being of participants. While the
Bartholomew et al. (2005) study had
participants with Major Depressive Disorder
answer questions from the Profile of Mood
States scale and the Subjective Exercise
Experiences Scale 5 minutes before and 5,
30, 60 minutes after starting to walk on the
treadmill, our correlational study had nondepressed participants report their quality of
self-care on a scale of 1-7 once each day.
The similarity of both our conclusions
despite using different research designs
suggests a generalized relationship exists

between increased intensity of exercise and
quality of self-care.
Our correlational study failed to confirm
the relationship between quality of sleep and
quality of self-care reported by previous
research. Differences between the methods
of measuring quality of self-care in the study
by Pilcher et al. (1997) and the methods
used in our study could have affected these
results. The study by Pilcher et al. (1997)
assessed quality of self-care using three
independent scales: the Satisfaction with
Life Scale, the Bradburn Affect Balance
Scale and the Profile of Mood States scale.
In contrast, our study relied only upon a
single item measurement of quality of selfcare. Future studies could determine quality
of self-care more accurately by measuring
varied aspects of self-care in greater depth.
Our correlational study, showing that
increasing time spent walking outdoors is
associated with increased self-care, also is in
line with previous research. Even though
the Breitenbecher and Fuegen (2018) study
had participants in their main experimental
condition exercise outdoors for 15 minutes
while our present correlational study
measured the amount of time naturally spent
walking outdoors, both studies came to the
same conclusion that more time spent
walking outdoors improves the overall
quality of self-care.
The relationship we found between
higher levels of self-compassion and higher
quality of self-care is consistent with past
research. Fong & Loi (2016) found that
higher levels of self-compassion correlated
with lower levels of stress and higher levels
of self-care. While the Fong & Loi (2016)
study conducted a one-time survey to
measure each participant’s level of selfcompassion, our correlational study
repeatedly measured self-compassion levels
within-subjects across days. The similarities
in outcomes between the previous research
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and our longitudinal study finds that despite
differences in methodology, the outcome
remains the same.
4.3 Implications of Results
While causal conclusions cannot be
drawn from correlational research, our study
does provide support for a number of claims
about how to improve daily self-care
routines. We found daily moderate exercise
to be very predictive of self-care activity.
We found that attention to self-compassion
and walking outdoors in nature were
significantly associated with self-care as
well. Future studies could experimentally
test whether incorporating fifteen minutes of
moderate activity into your daily routine
such as hiking, jogging, and cycling could
improve self-care. Practical ways of
incorporating self-compassion in your daily
routine could include mindfulness and
meditation, expressing gratitude, practicing
self-forgiveness, using daily affirmations
and journaling of feelings, thoughts and
experiences. Taking time each day to walk
outdoors in nature, such as at the beach, at
the park or on a hike in the forest, are
expected to provide an excellent addition to
the self-care routine.
We set out to find the most effective
strategies for improving self-care. Our study
found that daily moderate exercise, attention
to self-compassion and spending time
outdoors in nature were most significantly

associated with improvements in the quality
of self-care. We encourage anyone looking
to improve their quality of self-care to try
adopting these strategies into their daily
routines.

References
Bartholomew, JB., Morrison, D., & Ciccolo,
JT. (2005). Effects of acute exercise on
mood and well-being in patients with
major depressive disorder. Medicine &
Science in Sports & Medicine, 37(12),
2032-2037.
https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.00001781
01.78322.dd
Fuegen, K. & Breitenbecher, K. H., (2018).
Walking and being outdoors in nature
increase positive affect and energy.
Ecopsychology 11-12.
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1
089/eco.2017.0036
Fong, M., & Loi, N. M. (2016). The
mediating role of self-compassion in
student psychological health. Australian
Psychologist, 51(6), 431–441. https://doiorg.libsecure.camosun.bc.ca:2443/10.111
1/ap.12185
Pilcher, J. J., Ginter, D. R., & Sadowsky, B.
(1997). Sleep quality versus sleep
quantity: Relationships between sleep and
measures of health, well-being and
sleepiness in college students. Journal of
Psychosomatic Research, 42(6), 583-596.

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Table 1

Correlation coefficient (r) values, with number of daily trials (n) per correlation in brackets.

Variables
correlated

Participant
#1

Participant
#2

Participant
#3

Participant
#4

Pooled
raw data

Pooled
standardized
data

Intensity of
Exercise &
Self-care

0.9 (14)*

0.2 (14)

0.54 (14)*

0.60 (14)*

0.54 (56)*

0.56 (56)*

Quality of sleep
& Self-care

0.08 (14)

-0.29 (14)

0.15 (14)

0.08 (14)

0.19 (56)

0.00 (56)

Time spent
walking
outdoors in
nature & Selfcare

0.40 (14)

0.50 (14)

0.61 (14)*

0.38 (14)

0.50 (56)*

0.47 (56)*

Feelings of selfcompassion &
Self-care

0.61 (14)*

0.28 (14)

0.83 (14)*

0.48 (14)

0.71 (56)*

0.55 (56)*

*p < .05.*
.

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Figure 1
Scatterplot of time spent outdoors in nature and quality of self-care using pooled (A) raw and (B)
standardized data across participants.

Daily Rating of Self Care (1-7 Scale, 0 =
poorest quality, 7 = best quality)

A.

8
7
6
5
4

3
2
1
0
0

20

40
60
80
100
Time Spent Outdoors in Nature (Total Minutes)

120

140

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B.

Daily Rating of Self Care (z-score)

2

-2

1.5
1
0.5
0
-1

0

1

2

3

4

-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5
Time Spent Outdoors in Nature (z-score)

Marker color indicates which participant data is from: red = participant #1, orange = participant
#2, yellow = participant #3, and green= participant #4. Some data might not be visible in the
figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 2
Scatterplot of quality of sleep and quality of self-care using pooled (A) raw and (B) standardized
data across participants.

Daiily Rating of Self Care (1-7 Scale, 0 =
poorest quality, 7 = best quality)

A.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Quality of Sleep (Rated after 30 minutes) (1-7 Scare, 1 = poorest quality, 7
= best quality)

8

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B.

Daiily Rating of Self Care (z-score)

2

-3

1.5
1
0.5
0
-2

-1

0

1

2

3

-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5
Quality of Sleep (Rated after 30 minutes) (z-score)

Marker color indicates which participant data is from: red = participant #1, orange = participant
#2, yellow = participant #3, and green= participant #4. Some data might not be visible in the
figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 3
Scatterplot of intensity of exercise and quality of self-care using pooled (A) raw and (B)
standardized data across participants.

Daily Rating of Self Care (1-7 Scale, 0 =
poorest quality, 7 = best quality)

A.
8
7
6
5
4

3
2
1
0
0

2
4
6
8
10
12
Intensity of Exercise (0-10 Scare, 0 = no exercise, 10 = maximum exercise)

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B.

Daily Rating of Self Care (z-score)

2

-2

1.5
1
0.5
0
-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5
Intensity of Exercise (z-score)

Marker color indicates which participant data is from: red = participant #1, orange = participant
#2, yellow = participant #3, and green= participant #4. Some data might not be visible in the
figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 4
Scatterplot of feelings of self-compassion and quality of self-care using pooled (A) raw and (B)
standardized data across participants.
A.

Daily rating of Self Care (1-7 Scale, 0 =
poorest quality, 7 = best quality)

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Self Compasion (1-7 Scale, 1 = poorest quality, 7 = best quality)

8

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B.
2

Daily rating of Self Care (z-score)

1.5

-2

1
0.5
0
-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5
Self Compasion (z-score)

Marker color indicates which participant data is from: red = participant #1, orange = participant
#2, yellow = participant #3, and green= participant #4. Some data might not be visible in the figure
due to overlapping markers.

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