By Sydney Friedt
College is said to be the best four years of your life. You meet new people, prepare yourself for the adult world, and learn life lessons to help you become more successful as time goes on.
However, students tend to put their own wellbeing on the back burner while trying to reach their goals. Fortunately, self-care is simple and can be done through physical lifestyle changes.
1. Eating In A Healthier Manner
Food has a large impact on our everyday lives, and eating healthier food is a form of self-care on its own. Specific foods have vitamins and properties that help with the chemical balances of serotonin and dopamine when you eat more healthily, but unhealthy food can have the complete opposite effect, making you feel more lethargic and depressed.
Healthy foods are easy to find and come in a wide variety so you won’t get sick of them. For example, fruits and vegetables, nuts, and foods rich in fatty acids like salmon help increase and strengthen mental health.
2. Journaling
Simple things like taking a few minutes out of your day to journal can help increase your mental health and wellbeing, especially during busy periods of a student’s college career.
Set aside time for yourself and take a break in order to help you breathe, even if it’s just for a few moments. Journaling helps students reflect on the day and track everything that happened, while letting a bit of creativity flow, taking their mind away from all the stress and assignments.
3. Exercise
Exercising isn’t only good for your physical body; it’s proven to help strengthen mental health and wellbeing. Working out may not be your favorite thing in the world, but it can help take your mind off of the world around you and all the stress that you are placing your body under.
Not only are you toning your body, but you are also training your mind to be more resilient as you push through your designated workout. Exercising also improves your mood right away, especially as you feel accomplished for pushing your mind and body through something that could be seen as rigorous.
4. Going on a Walk
Don’t worry, if you don’t enjoy the intensity of working out, there are other ways to fuel and heal your body and mind. Taking a walk is a quick and easy way to escape your life for a moment and take in the world around you. Even walking for 20 minutes is known to help increase your mood and let you think through anything that is currently stuck on your mind.
You also get to immerse yourself in nature and see sights that you might’ve been originally too stressed to notice. Walking gives you time to yourself to reflect over the past few days and cool off from anything that has been bothering you.
Self-care doesn’t have to be complicated, especially not in college. There are simple ways to take care of yourself while you are striving to reach your career and future goals. While working hard to be successful, remember that it is just as important to take care of yourself.