With school starting up fast, many of us experience high stress and feel a pressure to succeed.
Our brains receive an overload of information in the first week of classes—it can be overwhelming now, but it’s even more overwhelming when you have big papers all due in the same week.
When the stress of it all finally hits, we need to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves first and foremost. Self-care looks different for everyone, but these are a few things that have worked for me in the past, and hopefully they work for you too.
Spending a Night Out with Friends
This option may seem contradictory when you’re stressed about getting your assignments done on time, but hear me out. Sitting in your room for hours on end can be detrimental to your mental health and ability to focus.
Taking a break by spending time with friends will lift your mood and release some of the school tension and stress. Socializing and going out are both important facets of the university lifestyle that lots of students crave and require.
Eating a Proper Breakfast
Let’s not pretend that we weren’t always told growing up that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I hate to break it to you, but it really is. You can’t go wrong with eating a full and hearty breakfast.
Eating a good breakfast in the morning has positive mental, emotional, and physical benefits. An egg, quick banana, bowl of oatmeal, or protein fruit smoothie can all give you the energy you need for a full day of classes or studying.
A healthy breakfast also has multiple health benefits such as keeping a healthy heart and reducing the risk of diabetes. When you’re sitting in classes all day, there’s little-to-no opportunity to run home and eat lunch, making breakfast even more of a necessity.
Exercise
If I could recommend one thing to do to take care of yourself, it would be exercise. Dedicating time to go on a run, lift weights at the gym, or do thirty minutes of yoga in your bedroom makes a big difference. I cherish the time I can get away from my screen, plug my AirPods in, and just run.
I know exercise can feel dreadful—like a burden that you simply don’t have time for—but it’s one of the most important ways to take care of yourself.
Exercise comes in many different forms, which means there’s something for everyone based on interests and physical capabilities.
Taking part in physical activity releases stress and helps you relax. For the short time you’re in the gym, you’re in a complete detox from life’s many distractions. It allows you to take time to focus on your body, which we need to take care of—it does so much for us on a day-to-day basis.
Bed Break
If going out isn’t for you, no problem. Sit down with a cup of tea, coffee, or water, and pick up a book or put on your comfort show. Complete a mindless action—your mind deserves the break.
When you’re on the move all day long travelling from classes and putting your brain to work in lectures, you rarely have enough time to sit and enjoy your own company. I cannot stress enough the importance of taking time to sit down with yourself and do something mindless.
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Whatever you do during the day, night, and throughout the school year, it’s crucial that you put yourself first. Trying to succeed also means you have to work hard in self-care, to ensure you’re mental, emotional, and physical needs as met as much as your academic ones.
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