Benefits of Self-Care

Giving yourself some YOU time is one of the biggest things that college students forget about. When we get wrapped up with studying, homework, and working, becomes one of the last things you think about. I’m gonna give you some great benefits when you take care of yourself and do some self-care!

Emotional Self-Care Benefits

Emotional self-care is when you let yourself take a “pause” on your life and just letting yourself calm down from your normal busy life. Some things you can do are things like reading a great book, or even doing something that you love doing, but haven’t been able to do in the past couple months. I think giving yourself time to do things where you can take a mental pause and not think about school, you won’t feel like you’re burning out from college. Another thing you can do to take a mental pause is journaling because you are reflecting on your day and how you’re feeling. This way you are reflecting on your mental health as well. You aren’t burning it to the ground, you are building it back up. Something else you could try if journaling isn’t your thing, is doing meditation or yoga at some point in the day. This is another great way to reflect on your day and how you are mentally feeling.

Physical Self-Care Benefits

Physical self-care are things like getting more sleep, or even implementing an exercise routine. When you are able to take time to yourself and go to the gym and exercise, you are able to think about something that is not school, and you are physically bettering yourself. Even if you go outside and go for a walk, by yourself or with friends, will help you feel more at ease and able to fully get your mind off of school. Getting more sleep helps you feel more energized, feel less stressed, and able to focus better in class. If you get 2 hours of sleep you’re going to focus on being tired and not what your professor is talking about. Physical self-care in general can help reduce/ eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, and even improve concentration.

Spending more YOU time than more not-you time is going to make you feel SO much better. The only thing is, you want to be able to know when you can do self-care and know when you need to do school work. Creating a schedule for yourself where you can build in your self-care time will help you know when you should focus more on you and not school. Just remember that you know yourself the best, so if you feel like one week you need more self-care than the previous week, THAT IS OKAY!! I hope these benefits help you realize that putting yourself more in the front of your mind is better than in the back of your mind!

– FYM Pandorah