The following is my final essay for the persuasive writing college class that I took at the beginning of 2021. It's a long one (3500 words, 10 double-spaced pages not counting sources). 

Cats, Rest, and Lo-Fi: Three Specific Suggestions for Maintaining Mental Health

Introduction

With society's increasing focus on mental health and wellness, researchers and therapists have shared many techniques that people can use to take care of themselves and improve their mental health. Ranging from medical advice for mental disorders, to simple but practical ideas for living a good life, such suggestions have helped many people to enjoy life more than they have before. This paper will give more suggestions—ones on the simple-but-practical side of things, ones that aren't related except through having positive mental effects. I'll explore the research, techniques, and benefits of three strategies that people should implement to maintain good mental health: living with a cat, planning a weekly day of rest, and listening to lo-fi music.

These ideas are not prescriptions from a doctor, nor are they inflexible demands on your life. In fact, it is my hope that you will read about these strategies and make your own personal decisions about how to implement them—if at all. The purpose of this paper is not to convince you to follow every piece of advice, but rather to show you their positive effects and leave you to do with them what you will. You may be unfamiliar with these strategies, or not. Maybe you know of them but need additional information before using them. The goal is to give such information, and also to provide a starting point for your own ideas—ideas for the small and simple things you can do in your life to create an ideal environment in which you can thrive.

Cuddly Cats

It is widely accepted that pets can be beneficial to people of all ages. Entire Instagram accounts are dedicated to happy dogs, silly birds, cuddly cats, and other pets. People find solace and love in their wide variety of pets, and serious consideration should be given to what kind of pet you want when buying or adopting. We'll talk specifically here about cats and their contributions to humans' mental health.

Cats are calming, loving creatures; their company brings peace to many a cat owner. They understand and lift their humans' moods, and their quiet natures and soothing purrs will allow people to focus on their work or schoolwork—or simply sit and relax. On the whole, cats are wonderful pets for people who need a peaceful friend.

Emotional Recognition. According to Gezy Vaughan, cats have been living with humans for about ten thousand years and are commonly said to have domesticated themselves—that is, chosen to live among humans in mutually beneficial relationships (Vaughan). What started out as a job hunting rodents on farms became a position of companionship, and today cat owners receive many psychological benefits from their cats, while feeding them and giving them shelter in return. People with mental health needs will sometimes have emotional support cats, for instance, and those cats give them company and motivation. But anyone can benefit from having a cat. A study from 2020 found that cats can recognize emotions in human expressions and sounds, not just cat expressions and sounds, and they reacted to the humans as well as the cats. The researchers suggested that this ability was "innate in domestic cats" because the cats were "able to recognize and interpret unfamiliar human emotional signals" (Quaranta, et al.). Cats can use this familiarity with humans to understand their owners and offer comfort when needed. Another group of researchers found cats to "react sensitively to the human mood" when interacting with their humans (Turner and Rieger, 45). When not expressly interacting with humans, the cats were more neutral to the moods, but the researchers took this to mean that "they are always available for the owner, no matter how that person feels" (Turner and Rieger, 45). Cats will not judge, so to speak, when their human is in a bad mood; and if the human reaches out to them in distress, they will reciprocate with their company. The level of responsiveness will vary between breeds and individual cats—and prospective cat owners can research this beforehand, with certain breeds like Birmans or Russian blues known to be particularly calm and loving. People can also visit shelters and get to know individual cats to see if they will be companionable. Still, cats can generally be said to be good emotional companions.

Peace and Quiet. Cats are certainly not the only animal to recognize and respond to human emotion; other pets such as dogs can do the same. And as mentioned above, individual cats (or dogs) will have their own personalities that affect their interactions with humans. However, in general, cats are a great pet for people with sensitivity needs, whether that be a specific condition like misophonia or a general sensory sensitivity. This is because cats are generally quieter than dogs or other pets. Where a dog might bark out the window at a passing stranger, a cat will sit silently at the window or maybe chirp quietly at birds. Cat owners generally don't have to worry about loud and obnoxious noises from their cats while they're trying to focus or relax.

And when cats do make noises, those noises are beneficial to humans. Cats purr at specific frequencies that scientists recognize as physically healing, both for the cats and for nearby humans (Fedyniak). Cat owners tell stories of their cats lying with them in places where they're hurting, and purring to relieve headaches and other problems. This ability does not replace proper medical treatment, of course, but having a cat around when you're feeling under the weather can provide physical as well as psychological benefits. Cats can stay quiet, hold friendly "conversations" with their owners (meowing and chattering back and forth), or purr, and these behaviors will relieve stress, reduce loneliness, or even reduce physical discomfort. Regardless of the sounds, cats will add to a peaceful, loving environment for their humans.

There are unfortunate stereotypes out there about cats being mean or even evil, but hopefully it is now evident that those stereotypes don't hold water. Rather than be unresponsive, cats recognize and respond to human emotion. Rather than cause stress in people's lives, cats bring calm and even healing. We all have stressors in our lives, and having a cat as a pet can help mitigate stress and other negative emotions. The quiet company of a cat is very valuable. Many people will find their lives better with a cat to spend it with.

A Day of Rest

Adopting and caring for a cat takes time and money, but the next suggestion for self-care takes only time. With the busy demands of life, moments of peace and quiet seem hard to find. Rest and recuperation, however, are important to maintaining our mental health, and we need to make time for them. One way to do this is to set aside one day of the week every week as a day of rest. Sunday for Christians, Saturday for Jews, the day of rest is typically seen as a religious ritual—but it can also provide important rejuvenation and recommitment for anyone, whatever day of the week they choose. I'll discuss the three main benefits of a day of rest—time to rest, reflect on our lives, and reconnect with loved ones—and you'll be able to see how you can improve your mental health with this practice.

A Day of Rest. We all need time to relax. Running on full power is impractical (not to mention impossible), yet we run the risk of overexerting ourselves if we don't actively take time to rest during our week. Relaxation and time spent on enjoyable activities will help us build up energy for the tasks ahead of us. Specifically, choosing one day of the week for this rest creates a space of peace, in which we can step back from the busy routines of life and give ourselves time to reset. We can—and should—spend a few minutes to rest every day, and Margarita Tartakovsky explains that rest "is literally vital for our physical and mental health" (Tartakovsky). However, in addition to quiet moments during our regular days, it is also relieving and rewarding to block out times of rest in larger segments, in which we truly have time for self-care.

What types of things do we do while we're resting? Tartakovsky acknowledges that "it's common for boredom to arise when we try to rest," but she explains that we get to choose what we do in these times (Tartakovsky). It matters less what we do and more our state of mind— "being, rather than doing," according to therapist Sarah McLaughlin (Tartakovsky). I personally find reading books, taking walks outside, and cooking to be restful activities, but others may prefer knitting, taking baths, or meditating. It depends on the person and what gives them peace and rest.

One caveat. Tartakovsky warns that using our phones to scroll through social media or play games is not true rest. "It's actually exhausting," she says, since we are exposing ourselves to overwhelming stimulation (Tartakovsky). Practices like checking email or reading news can also add undue stress to our minds. This doesn't necessarily mean we need to avoid our phones during our day of rest—although that's an option—but it does mean that we should be intentional about our restful activities, making sure that we are getting the benefits we hope for. As we set aside a day for such beneficial activities, we are making regular investments in our mental health.

A Day of Reflection. A second use of our day of rest is as a day of reflection. We can think back on our week: what went well, what we want to do better next week, and how we might improve. Jennifer Porter, an executive coach, defines reflection as a practice that "gives the brain an opportunity to pause amidst the chaos, untangle and sort through observations and experiences . . . and create meaning . . . which can then inform future mindsets and actions" (Porter). As we step back from our responsibilities and reflect on them, we can work out strategies to improve ourselves and work more efficiently. We can also practice positive thinking, like self-compassion and gratitude. Reflection helps us see the many good things we have in life, and it helps us plan to live life to the fullest.

Some would argue that reflection is incompatible with rest, as it requires uncomfortable recognition of failure and other hard parts of our week. This is completely understandable: confronting our shortcomings, according to Alex Moore, can easily "lead to self-criticism, de-motivation, and a sense of failure" (Moore). However, it is possible to use goal-setting (and other forms of reflection) as an opportunity for growth. We can set specific and realistic goals and take time to recognize when we reach them, even if they're small. "Goals with no specific aim can . . . be bad for your mental health," says Moore, but if we apply thoughtful goal-setting techniques like writing them down or telling a supportive friend about our goals, they can have a positive effect (Moore). Self-compassionate practices like affirmations can also help. On the whole, we can use our day of rest as a scheduled time of reflection to evaluate our lives and commit to making them better, whatever that may look like.

A Day of Reconnection. My family has a tradition of playing board games together on Sunday evenings. This practice is just one of the many ways that we can add positive social interactions to our day of rest. Family Features of the magazine Pittsburgh Parent describes many benefits to family bonding, "including building confidence, creating a stronger emotional bond between family members . . . [and] providing an opportunity to make memories" (Family Features). The magazine article is written for families with underage children, but time with family is beneficial at all ages. We need love and support, and our families are often where that starts. Spending time with our families creates "mutual respect" between family members and gives everyone "a sense of belonging" (Family Features). Such social connections are vital for mental health.

Not every family, unfortunately, is in a position to have these types of bonding experience, and some people may feel highly uncomfortable with the idea. If spending time with family means exposing yourself to some form of abuse, then that shouldn't be a part of your day of rest. As important as biological family can be, it is not the only way to get the close social connection that people desire. Partners, close friends, and others can also become a family to bond with, and we can have the same social and mental health benefits through interacting with those who care about us. The goal of reconnection is to create and strengthen ties so that we can feel secure in our relationships. Our day of rest allows us to dedicate the necessary time to those ties, and we can do so through diverse activities like games, creative projects, or simply sitting and talking.

A weekly day of rest is much more than laying around all day—although that type of rest can be helpful at times! However, the day of rest will have the most benefits if it involves some combination of relaxation, reflection, and reconnection. These three activities improve our lives and our mental health by focusing on self-care, self-improvement, and social bonding. Dedicating one day each week to these positive practices will ensure that we take the time for them, and it will also give us a day to look forward to during the rest of the week. We can shape our day of rest to fit our personal needs, and we can combine it with other strategies for maintaining mental health—the other two mentioned in this paper, or something else that works for you. In our search for a happy life, self-care is an important piece. And if we keep one day apart from the rest, we create self-care habits that improve multiple areas of our lives.

Chill Lo-Fi Beats

You may have seen the videos on YouTube: "Chill Lo-Fi Beats to Study or Relax to." You may have seen the Chillhop Music raccoon on a thumbnail. The music genre lo-fi has been around for about forty years, but it became increasingly popular in the 2010s, according to Astrid Nicolson. There are even lo-fi mixes made specifically for the quarantine period of 2020 (Nicolson). Many people found lo-fi music to be relaxing and comforting in a time of uncertainty and boredom, and the genre continues to help people maintain their mental health. This help can be attributed to the psychological benefits of listening to music in general, but it also stems from some of lo-fi's unique genre characteristics.

Benefits of Music. Before getting into the specific features of lo-fi, let's take a moment to discuss the benefits of music on the whole. Humans have been making and enjoying music for thousands of years, and research has shown music to improve our focus and mood. In 2013, Marie Strand Skånland published a paper discussing the role of music in people's everyday lives, focusing on the use of MP3 players to have music available at all times (Skånland). Twelve Norwegian adults were interviewed about the effects of their MP3 players, and they shared that they used their music to regulate their moods. They used music to change their mood to a different one, amplify their current mood so they could process it, or separate themselves from the mood of the situation they were in. Such methods of mood regulation increased emotional health and intelligence (Skånland).

The key to these uses of music seems to be control. When people have control of the sounds around them, or control of the mood they're in through the sounds they hear, they have greater mental balance. Says Skånland, "While public environments and urban surroundings can be disturbing and distract from one's internal state, the MP3 player restores that focus and extends or abbreviates one's mood as need be" (Skånland). Such control over their music (and thus mood) leads to people using their MP3 players as "a medium for musical self-care" and finding valuable emotional benefits in that use (Skånland). Of course, MP3 players are nearly obsolete in the 2020s, but the function of having music at all times is the same—and people have even greater access to music on their smartphones with streaming services. Thus, Skånland's conclusions still apply to us today, and the broad ideas can apply to more than just the twelve people interviewed for the study. Personal music, and the control to play the songs we want at the time we want them, is a great tool for us to regulate our emotions and maintain our mental health.

The Benefits of Lo-Fi. If music in general can improve mental health, does lo-fi have a specific advantage over other types of music? In a way, yes, because there are features of lo-fi that have noticeable benefits absent from other genres of music. Lo-fi is a distinctive genre of relaxing electronic music, with sounds deliberately tailored to seem like background noise. A key characteristic of lo-fi is its use of "mellow, nostalgic, and atmospheric sounds [like] birdsong," according to the website Holland and Barrett, and the music also "deliberately contain[s] technical imperfections" ("What Is Lo-Fi Music?"). Rather than hear a symphony played directly into your ear, lo-fi lets you hear dampened beats and muffled instruments, quiet conversations and rainfall, all to create an atmosphere of sound. While this may sound annoying, it is actually quite calming for our brains. Being in an atmosphere of sound that is deliberately calculated to be pleasant means no surprising noises. And dampening the sound of the music while also using a drumbeat gives your brain a minor form of stimulation that isn't distracting. Jessica Stillman describes it like this: "Lo-fi wraps you in predictable, soft sound, protecting your thinking from the unpredictable and harsh outside world" (Stillman). Lo-fi allows for focus on work or creative projects, calm in times of stress, or just a safe place to retreat to when the outside world is too loud.

It is true that lo-fi isn't for everyone. Some simply find it boring, while others are annoyed by the beats or inclusion of lyrics or talking. (I personally avoid lo-fi songs that have music set to long conversations or speeches, as my brain finds it hard to focus on anything other than the talking.) And it's certainly true that other genres, like folk music, also create a calming atmosphere. However, lo-fi's benefits are backed by evidence that shows the neurological effects of the genre's features. Music in general is great at regulating mood, while lo-fi is tailored to creating a relaxing soundscape for your brain to listen to without stress or distraction. When looking for simple ways to improve mental health, give lo-fi a try.

Conclusion

With all this information on cats, rest, and lo-fi, I hope you've been inspired to improve your mental health with these or other strategies. Tough situations in life may call for greater measures, yes, but the three strategies described here are great for maintaining day-to-day wellbeing. They vary in their time and financial commitments—it's much easier to turn on a YouTube lo-fi radio than it is to buy a cat and all its necessary supplies—but all can be considered helpful strategies to gives your energy a boost. Beyond these strategies, the discussions in this paper can open the door to considering more ideas and implementing mental health techniques that work for you. But if the ones discussed here work—then great! On your next day of rest, you can cuddle up with your cat, turn on some lo-fi beats, and enjoy the peace and satisfaction that comes from your active steps to improve your mental health.

Works Cited

Family Features. "Spending Time Together—Benefits of Family Time." Pittsburgh Parent, 25 May 2017, https://www.pittsburghparent.com/spending-time-together-benefits-of-family-time/#:~:text=Family%20time%20offers%20many%20benefits,on%20fun%2C%20laughter%20and%20togetherness.

Fedyniak, Lev G. "Can Your Cat's Purr Heal?" Animal Wellness, 12 Sept. 2010.

Moore, Alex. "How Setting Goals Can Help and Hurt Your Mental Health." The Best Brain Possible, 25 Feb. 2018, https://thebestbrainpossible.com/goals-mental-health-brain-habits/.

Nicolson, Astrid. "A Brief History of LoFi Beats to Study and Relax With." Dance Music Northwest, 25 Jul. 2020, https://www.dancemusicnw.com/history-lofi-beats-to-study-relax-with/.

Porter, Jennifer. "Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It)." Harvard Business Review, 21 Mar. 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/03/why-you-should-make-time-for-self-reflection-even-if-you-hate-doing-it.

Quaranta, Angelo, et al. "Emotion Recognition in Cats." Animals, vol. 10, no. 7, 2020.

Skånland, Marie Strand. "Everyday Music Listening and Affect Regulation: The Role of MP3 Players." International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, vol. 8, 2013, pp. 1-10.

Stillman, Jessica. "Struggling to Tame Your Stress and Concentrate? Science Suggests This Type of Music." Inc., 8 Jul. 2020, https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/lo-fi-music-is-booming-during-pandemic-science-explains-why.html.

Tartakovsky, Margarita. "How to Really Rest." PsychCentral, 29 Apr. 2018, https://psychcentral.com/blog/how-to-really-rest#1.

Turner, Dennis C., and Gerulf Rieger. "Singly Living People and Their Cats: A Study of Human Mood and Subsequent Behavior." Anthrozoös, vol. 14, no. 1, 2001, pp. 38-46.

Vaughan, Gezy. "The Self-Domestication of Cats." The Boar, 3 Dec. 2018, https://theboar.org/2018/12/cats/.

"What Is Lo-Fi Music?" Holland and Barrett, 21 Aug. 2020, https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/the-health-hub/conditions/mental-health/mind-and-body/what-is-lo-fi-music/.