Spring Clean Your Mental Health

It’s a busy time to be a uni student.

What with assignments, exams, presentations and classes still happening, you tend to forget about your well-being. A lot of the time when uni gets stressful I tend to eat like crap, and sleep comes secondary to deadlines. While this seems like it might be the most efficient way to get things done, it’s not. Your mental health needs just as much attention as your uni work. If you’re starting to feel the weight of uni assessments start to get too heavy, try a few of these.

Hydrate

Duh. It seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how long you can go without drinking water during the day. If you’re downing coffee and RedBull like it ain’t no thang, maybe throw in a glass of water in between your caffeine. It’s fine if you want to get an energy kick, just make sure water is part of the equation. Dehydration can impair short-term memory function and long-term memory recall – kind of important if you’re studying with the purpose of remembering stuff…

Get fresh air

Another no-brainer to people who pay attention to their mental health needs. But not to everybody. Fresh air wakes you up and energizes you – outdoor exercise leads to a boost in natural killer cells, neutrophils and monocytes, which ultimately increases immune functions. Basically you’re less likely to get sick from being stuck in the library with a bunch of other sleep-deprived students.

Set a bed time

Not all the time, but just for the super busy times of year. Sleep is so important, and there are a bazillion reasons why. It’s involved with increasing immune function, memory and learning. It also curbs inflammation which is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and premature aging. Need I say more?

Cook dinner

It may seem like a chore, but setting time aside to cook your meals can make a huge difference to the way you feel. Apart from getting to eat, there are a few reasons why cooking gets you in a better state of mind:

• You’re actively scheduling time to focus on something other than uni work
• You’re getting creative and moving around the kitchen
• You stretch your legs
• You get satisfaction out of eating what you made and there are usually leftovers

Whatever your remedy is, it’s important to incorporate all of the above if you want to make it through assessment time without having a mini-meltdown. Just allow yourself the time to take things at your own pace and don’t forget about looking after your head.

Peace.

Amy.