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Science-Backed Ways to Make the Most of your Wellness Days

By Madison Headen

 

UNC has decided that with the stressors associated with taking classes completely online, the students deserve designated days to preserve their mental health. The university is acknowledging these days as “wellness days”. These wellness days occur three times throughout the spring semester, and the university has encouraged professors to abstain from providing work on these days and recommended that students take these days for themselves. Although, many students might find themselves wondering what types of self-care are known to be beneficial for mental and physical health. Self-care can have a large impact on one’s life when they take the necessary time and actions to devote to themselves.


Science-backed methods of self-care can be very simple. Two methods that can easily be implemented into the life of a busy college student are meditation and regulation of their sleep schedule. Meditation has been shown to have many benefits including reduction of stress levels and an increase in focus abilities. Meditation helps to reduce unwanted thoughts, so many therapists recommend the “Calm” app to help those who want to start meditation. Sleep, although slightly more complicated than frequent meditation, is extremely important for mental health and well-being. Sleep needs to be a priority, which can be hard for a full-time student with many responsibilities. Therefore, wellness days should be used to take time away from drinking caffeine and establishing a definitive sleep schedule.


Another way to boost mental health is by eating healthy. Healthy eating is another struggle for many college students because it does involve more time than eating things out of a box or having food delivered to your home. However, many of the chemicals that are found in processed foods have been shown to alter moods. In addition, low blood sugar levels and dehydration also affect one’s mood in a negative way. Therefore, wellness days could be used to start meal-prepping and planning. By cutting up food and having recipes and meal ideas prepared for weeks in advance, one can improve their diet without spending extra time preparing meals.


Lastly, exercise is known to improve both physical and mental health. Regular aerobic exercise is known to stabilize the mood, improve self-esteem, improve sleep, and decrease tension. Exercise can also seem like a small priority compared to the school work that students have on their schedule. With wellness days, students should take the time to look at their schedules and find spaces in which they can exercise. A common misconception is that exercise needs to be elaborate or that one has to be skilled and have a lot of knowledge about the gym. This misconception is entirely false because exercise is for everyone. It can be as elaborate as taking a 45-minute cycling class, or as simple as a 30-minute walk. The important aspect is that the body is moving.


Wellness days are a privilege that not every university is offering to its students, so we should all take full advantage of this opportunity. Focusing on our own wellness is so important to maintain mental and physical wellness amidst a busy life as a full-time student. Furthermore, longitudinal studies have shown that mental health correlates with academic success. Therefore, even the smallest actions that we take, such as going on a walk, can have a great impact on our personal health and can translate into our grades.



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