By LILLI MARTIN, Editor
It is no surprise how stressed and worn out most college students are. In 2014, Pennsylvania State University did a study that found that anxiety was the leading mental issue facing college students today. With these numbers rising, the need for students to take care of themselves grows even more. Self-care is not always what the media shows it to be as face masks, bath bombs and luxury items, but more of just taking care of your body.
There are tons of ways to indulge in self-care, but the main thing to do is to just make sure you are always drinking water and eating at least one full meal a day. Along with those two things, you should try to get at least six hours of sleep every night, but eight hours would be better. These three things are neve really seen as ‘self-care’, but the term really only means to take care of yourself.
There are other simple things people do to take care of themselves that doesn’t require paying anything. Here are four of them.
Go Outside
Going outside getting some sunshine will boost your mood due to the stimulation of serotonin within the brain. Also, if you walk around outside in the sunshine, then the exercise and sunshine will help you to feel unbelievably better.
Shower
Taking a hot shower can always improve a mood because there is just time to relax. Within the mess of homework, class and everything else, showers can be forgotten and pushed to the side for a ‘when I have time.’ Cleaning your body everyday will help improve your mood just from having a relaxing shower at most.
Take Breaks
Remember to take breaks when studying. It may be tempting to do everything right then to get it over and done with, but that will cause unnecessary stress on your part. Taking five-minute breaks on every hour of studying will relieve stress. If your homework or study material is really hard, then raise your break time up to 15 minutes every hour of studying.
Let People Help
Talk to people you trust when you feel like everything is getting too much. Having and including your support system will benefit you greatly in the long-run. Friends will always help you either stay on task or take a break when they know you need one. They are there to support you and want to see you succeed, but want you to succeed safely.
