5 ways you can improve your mental health at university - Debut

5 ways you can improve your mental health at university - Debut Going to university can be a quite challenging and difficult period for many students for a number of reasons. Many people find themselves juggling studying for exams, working part-time to support themselves while trying to maintain their social life and enjoy their time through university life. This can cause difficulties for your mental health at university. All of this can put a lot of pressure on people. Thankfully, there is plenty of advice and support available out there to help you through tough times so that you can get the most out of your time at university. Tip 1. Exercising This may be obvious but engaging in physical activities can be beneficial in many different ways, not only to your health but also to your mood and overall state of mind. It can be a wonderful technique to reduce feelings of stress and worry and improve your physique at the same time. Most times students tend to spend loads of time seated starting at a computer screen. Though this is understandable in times when deadlines and exams are approaching, it can never be a reason to neglect your mental or physical health.  For example, allocating time for revision early on the day and then joining a yoga or gym class later on could give you a sense of balance and would increase your productivity, as opposed to staying up all night cramming and sleeping the whole day after. Tip 2. Eating well Another significant factor in how you feel is your diet. Maintaining a balanced diet is key to ensuring your mental health at university is on track and you’ll find that you don’t need to deprive yourself of the food you love so much. You don’t need to change everything about your diet completely; you can start small by changing a few things at first and adding some healthy options afterwards. Sticking with something for a long time will give you motivation to continue to improve your diet. Tip 3. Reading With the right diet and a good exercise routine you can achieve a lot, but you can always do more when it comes to self-care and development. One more useful tip that you could incorporate can be reading. This one is quite easy as there are so many things you can read depending on what you like. All you need to do is set some time after a long and difficult day, brew a cup of nice tea and open that book you’ve been claiming you will read for a while, and enjoy the peace and quiet this activity can offer. Reading about someone else’s thoughts and problems, immersing yourself into a whole new world is a perfect way to distract yourself from what’s going in your life. Tip 4. Talking Although all of the above can help you a lot, there are just some days when nothing seems right and all you want to do is talk to someone without being interrupted. This is why those are the times it is best to call a good friend of yours to get things off your chest. It could also be a good idea to visit the mental health and wellbeing department at your university and see what services they offer. Also, you can try popping into your Student Union and check if there are services run by students, for students. For example, University of Sunderland offers schemes such as Buddie and Peer Coach which are both aimed at improving students’ mental health. Tip 5. Volunteering Volunteering is strongly encouraged by University as it is one of the best ways to develop new skills and enhance your CV. Nevertheless, volunteering is much more than that; it can boost your confidence and make you more open-minded. You will meet new people and at the same time you can learn more about an industry you’re interested in. The best part is that there are always new opportunities to take part in and if you can do it as often as you wish. This particular activity can give you a sense of fulfillment and make you feel proud of using your time in the right way. So, next time you pass by your student union, make sure you stop by and check out what opportunities they have as there might be something that can spark your interest and bring you a new adventure.