While students get into the groove of things while school progresses, stress is pretty much inevitable. Between classwork, jobs and campus commitments, many of us tend to neglect our own well-being for the sake of success. Here are some ways to make sure you’re taking care of your physical and mental health while getting that degree!
mindful breathing
Not everyone is able to meditate – it requires a lot of concentration and clearing your mind. If you’re anything like me, then your head is going a million miles a minute and making it empty just isn’t a thing that’s easy to do. That’s what I love about mindful breathing! You take about 3-5 minutes (you can always do less or more) out of your day to just breathe. Sit comfortably, relax your body and just breathe. You don’t have to do anything but focus on your breathing!
Here is a link to a great guide for a 6-minute breathing meditation: https://www.mindful.org/a-five-minute-breathing-meditation/
Journaling
Journaling can be a great form of self-care! Sometimes, you just have too much on your mind and no outlet. You can grab a piece of paper or notebook and write down whatever your heart desires! It can be as coherent or noncoherent as you want. You can look up guided journal prompts if you want to write but don’t know what to write about, but don’t feel pressured to go with a specific topic!
Warm bath + skincare routine!
For me, sometimes life gets too busy and I neglect my skincare! Taking a warm bath (or shower) and doing my skincare routine afterwards can be a great way to de-stress. The warmth of the bath or shower totally relaxes your muscles and washing the day away is like a weight lifted off your shoulders. Making sure your skin is nice and prepped for the day (or bed) always makes me feel fresh and new as well! Add in a good smelling body lotion and it’s like I’m a new person!
take a walk
Walking is another great form of self-care. It’s a simple way to get active without overexertion. It’s fall time in Ohio, so feeling the crisp breeze on your face while the leaves fall create serotonin like no other for me! Put on your favorite tunes and walk as quickly or slowly as you want! It allows you to really take in your surroundings and feel at peace.
yoga
If you’re unable to go out for a walk, yoga can be fantastic as a form of self-care, too! Now, most people think yoga can be hard or requires crazy flexibility. Though that can be true, it can also be as easy as your body allows! It also isn’t extremely time consuming. My favorite YouTube channel is Yoga with Adrienne. She has all types of different yoga tutorials for different difficulties or scenarios! Her videos can be an hour long or five minutes long! It’s totally up to you and your time availability!
Here’s a link to her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/yogawithadriene/videos
clean or Declutter
Sometimes life gets in the way and it can be hard to make sure your space is clean. It happens to the best of us! I know when my space gets too messy or cluttered, it can stress me out even more! However, picking up my space and throwing out things I don’t need anymore help me out a lot! It allows for you to focus on one thing when you’re finished it’s like a totally different room or area!
read or listen to music
Books and music have always been my safe space. It can be nice to take some time out of my day and solely focus on listening to a new album or pick up a book I’ve been wanting to read. Take 15 minutes of your day and focus on one medium. Allow yourself to totally immerse in the music or literature. It can be a great way to get away from your responsibilities and totally relax in a way that doesn’t require too much brain power!