Last updated on July 28th, 2021 at 09:30 am
Do you know what the most precious days of life are? Its college days!
It can be stressful for some of you if you ignore self-care. There are essential and practical self-care tips for college students to help you overcome the challenges and enjoy college days.
According to studies, every 1 out of 5 college students suffers from either anxiety or depression.
It’s really challenging to balance academic loads, the stress of being away from home, and dealing with roommates and personal relationships.
However, If you adopt the following self-care tips, you will excel not only is academic but metal, emotional, and physical.
Before going to the tips, let’s understand what precisely self-care is?
Self-care is your habits and actions that help you to reduce your stress, keep you happy and enhance your overall health.
In other words, It is taking care of your mental and physical state. Self-care is a crucial aspect to succeed inside and outside of the classroom.
So, Why is self-care important for college students?
Have you ever heard that a student is the future of the nation?
Well, it’s true. You are not just a student who will get lost in the crowd of millions of people. If you are reading this, I bet, At least you are not that person.
Following self-care tips for college students are designed to help you manage the daily stresses such as academic pressures, tricky interpersonal relationships, and uncertain plans.
Every student has a different ability to deal with these challenges, and their preference for self-care is also different.
This summer or semester, spend your time evaluating your need and understanding your mental health.
Here are 9 essential Self-Care Tips for College Students:Â
1- Take Adequate Sleep
Well, there are many essential reasons for putting sleep on top. Sound sleep patterns help to restores our energy to prevent sickness and exhaustion by increasing our immune system.
It also helps to think more clearly and creatively, which is essential for students. Most importantly, it enhances memory and creates a more positive feeling, which is helpful in performance throughout the day.
You may think, How does Lack of sleep affect college students?
Well, It does in cruel ways. Lack of sleep loss or daytime sleepiness is exceptionally problematic for college students. It affects their overall academic performance.
Most importantly, It weakened mood and increased the risk of vehicle accidents.
The most important question- What is the best time to sleep for a student?
Well, a college student requires an average of 7-8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, most of the students fail.
However, If you sleep around 10:00 pm, you will naturally wake p between 5-6 am.
So, One of the essential Tips for College Students is to sleep on time.
Also Read: 5 Best Books For College Students: Must-Read Before Graduation
2- Include Physical Exercise
The Harvard School of Public Health Study of College Health Behaviors revealed that regular physical activity has significant effects on emotional behavior, mental health, and social interactions.
I agreed that finding time to exercise is really challenging when you have so much to balance in college life.
However, lots of hostels provide gym facilities these days, choose one of them. Exercising is the best way to stay in shape while you are studying. Also, you develop a habit of workout for a long time.
Studies say that exercise before study helps you focus because physical activity produces blood to flow to the brain. Blood flow fires up your neurons and improves cell growth in the hippocampus.
In other words, daily exercise is one of the useful tips for college students.
3- Healthy Diet
Most of College students struggle with eating healthy. It is because of their busy schedule. Study says that college students are not consuming the recommended amount of fruits or vegetables.
I am sure you too will agree with this.
So, What is the correlation between a proper diet and student academic performance?
Well, Lack of nutritional diet affects the physical and mental health of the students. It influences their decision-making abilities and increases the chances of health problems.
Research says that students who eat regular meals, including breakfast meals with higher fruit consumption, can achieve a higher academic score.
Now, the most important question is What is the best diet for college students?
Include lots of fresh or dried fruit, unbuttered popcorn, rice cakes, or whole grains
If you got a refrigerator, consider uncooked vegetables such as tomatoes, broccoli, spinach. Also include more protein-based products like sprouts in your diet.
In other words, Eat more vitamin c, Calcium, protein.
A healthy diet has a significant connection with higher grades, memory, focus, and faster information processing.
So, one of the essential tips for college students is to consume a healthy diet.
Also Read: Being Different: 8 Characteristics That Makes You Different and Blessed
4- Take Breaks To Recharge Yourself
Unfortunately, most of the High-achieving students develop a habit of nonstop study. Continue spending time with educational books can lead to a significant decrease in their academic performance.
Most importantly, It can cause mental health issues like anxiety, insomnia, and depression.
Research says that taking a break for a few minutes help to relax the muscles, boost productivity, and develop a positive mental attitude.
I know Students often get distracted, but taking intentional short breaks helps them increase focus and reduce the study stress.
Let me clear one thing here; the break doesn’t mean spending time on social media or with toxin people.
Instead, use this time to refuel yourself, such as a few minutes of walking in the garden, deep breathing, and listening to some soft music.
A small Pause to relax while studying is necessary because your brain needs to rest and recover.
This is one of the essential self-care tips for college students.
5- Tips for College Students/ Write Journal
A student is a complete package of skills such as reading, writing, listening, speaking. Journal writing is the best way to enhance writing skills.
It promotes reflection and allows the students to express feelings about their experiences.
Journal writing also has some Clinical Advantages. The writing habit benefits students by enhancing thinking, promoting critical thought, expressing emotions, and developing focus.
Are you thinking about how to start a journal?
Well, It’s quite simple. Take a paper, a pen, and write down your thoughts and feelings. Writing also helps you to understand yourself more clearly. If you ever feel stressed or anxious, write about it.
Most importantly, Writing journal helps to gain control over emotions and enhance mental health.
So, It’s other essential tips for college students because Writing journal promotes optimal health and develops much skill.
Also Read: Keep Your Circle Small: 9 Mental Health Secrets Behind Short Phrase
6- Practice Meditation
I am a regular meditator, and I genuinely feel that meditation should be a compulsory subject in school. So that in the future, no one fight with mental illness.
One of the research says that students who practice meditation daily for 20 minutes have higher optimism, stronger self-identity, and control over emotions.
If you have bigger goals for your college life and future, Start practicing meditation while you are in college.
Meditation not only helps to achieve higher grades, but it helps in your creativity, focus, enhance your memory and improve behavioral change.
When you meditate, You allow your brain to relax and work for the best.
Most importantly, meditation is the best way to upgrade your brain naturally. Only 10-15 minutes twice in a day will be enough. You can practice mindfulness or guided meditation.
Meditation is one of the best and most essential tips for college students.
Also Read: 11 Benefits Of Goal Setting In Personal And Professional Life
7- Plan for Your Life
If you don’t know where you are going, then the chances are that you will get lost somewhere.
Setting goals means you prioritize things clearly what is to be achieved. It is essential because it gives you a direction to progress and reaches your goals.
Without having clear academic goals, you may experience feelings of stagnation, no motivation, and a lack of purpose. Clear Goals are the fuel to the mind.
Now, you may think about how to set a proper goal for your academic success?
Here is the answer, Set Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals! The word S.M.A.R.T. says Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound goals.
Set a Specific Goal for Grades in Each Class, plan for your daily Study time, and stay in touch with Each Professor.
Also, attend Extra Challenging Course, Join some Extracurricular, and plan your future too.
Setting Goals is key to long-term success in life. Goals keep you focus on in the right direction of your life journey. After achieving success in your specific goals, you feel motivated to do more.
So, One of the most crucial tips for college students is to have goals in life.
8- Be More Social
Being Social is always Good for students. Study says that having strong social or community support improves emotional and physical health, which is essential for a student.
You might be thinking that Social Media is the easiest way for students to grow their network. At some point, you are right.
However, building a connection with people who are around you is more real and different.
I believe social media is for maintaining a connection with friends and family who are at a distance.
Therefore, Be more social with people who are around you. Get involved in group studies, join the gym, help others, talk to classmates, and roommates.
Interacting with people from a different culture will teach you more about life than any college subject. This is the best tip for students to expand their social circle.
9- Tips for College Students/ Have A Mentor
As I said earlier, student life is fun-filled at the same time stressful. Therefore having a mentor is beneficial and time-saving.
A mentor doesn’t mean only a professional coach. Your Mentor can be your professor, any senior student, or a friend who is there for you when you need it.
However, Hiring a personal coach can be more productive.
Mentors help you in planning your academic goals and work to achieve them. They guide, inspire, and provide emotional support.
One of the useful tips for students is to have mentors because Mentors also help explore career options, set goals, develop contacts, and find helpful resources.
Most importantly, having a mentor means having someone to support and encourage you when you need it. In other words, the Mentor helps in personal development.
Final Words: These are the most essential and vital self-care tips for college students. If you like to share some other suggestions, let me know in the comment box.
Stay Blessed