We all know what time of year it is: Midterm season. Getting 8 hours of sleep, working out, eating nutritious meals, taking time to relax — it all drifts away as school slowly becomes the predominant priority in our lives. If I told you that backing away from all these other activities is actually hindering your academic success, you probably wouldn’t believe me. But it’s true! Here are 3 ways to take care of your mind and body that will actually promote focus and motivation!
1) getting some sort of exercise everyday
Exercise is one of the best ways to improve information retention and help motivate you. Studies show that after exercise, more endorphins (feel-good hormones) are released into the brain which help to reduce stress and improve your mood. Exercise also increases blood flow to the brain, which helps with memory and focus. Now, I know we all see the gym rats on TikTok that are spending upwards of 3 hours at the gym each day. That is extremely unrealistic in a college environment. At home pilates, bodyweight exercises, or even just taking a 20 minute walk is SO beneficial for your body and your brain. It might sound awful to stop what you’re doing and get up to exercise, but you’ll come back to your homework feeling more refreshed and ready-to-go than ever!
2) eating balanced meals
Another thing we never seem to have time for is cooking nutritious meals in college. Once in a while, I totally get needing to make a quick bowl of ramen or calling it a day with a bowl of cereal, but this is not sustainable! Take it from someone who suffered through the freshman 15 – I learned the importance of eating a balanced meal very quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t have time to cook a five-course meal every single day, but something I found really helpful is meal-prepping. Choosing one day to cook for the week and just having to warm it up during busy times is a great way to save time while staying relatively healthy. There are also some fabulous websites that have recipes for college students, knowing we probably don’t have the most time and/or care to put into it.
3) something besides your phone in the mornings
This one sucks to hear, I know. But I’ve started reading 20 pages of a book when I wake up in the morning (time-permitting) and my days have become so much more productive and happy. To put it scientifically, our bodies run on a cortisol cycle (especially for women). When we wake up, our cortisol – AKA stress – is at its peak, and it slowly declines throughout the day. Our phones make it a little too easy to procrastinate, and when nighttime hits and we realize we still have a days work to do, it throws off our cycle! Waking up and reading a book, or going for a walk, or even getting right into homework/studying is so much better for our bodies, and once you make the change, I promise you’ll feel better than ever!