Return to Campus Wellness Strategies | | When you return in the Fall, you will be balancing your academics, work schedules, social programming, and much more. As you plan your return to campus, now is a great time to strategize how you can prepare to participate in wellness strategies. While you can always reach out to the Health and Wellbeing services, Student Affairs, and others, here is a list of other ways for you to stay healthy. (Adapted from Rutgers University) Sleep - Take a nap. If you have the time during the day, a short nap can do wonders for your energy levels. Just make sure not to nap too close to bedtime or for too long, and a nap will do your body good.
- Don’t do work in bed. Working in bed can make getting to sleep harder. Keep your work space separate from your sleep space to keep insomnia at bay.
- Stick to a schedule. With different classes and work hours every day, it can be hard to stick to a schedule, but keeping sleep times similar from day to day can greatly improve your chances of getting a good night’s sleep.
- Discuss bedtimes with roommates. When sharing a room with someone, it can be hard to go to bed when you need to and not get woken up when you don’t want to. Try to work with your roomies to make sure each of you get the sleep you need.
- Create a bedtime routine. If you have trouble falling asleep at night, you can help yourself by creating a routine that will let your mind and body know that bedtime is approaching and that it should get into sleep mode. After a few weeks of practice, this should help you fall asleep when you need to.
Stress - Create a routine. If you get yourself in the habit of studying, working out, and sleeping at certain hours, it will be easier to fit in all the things you need to do in a day without feeling too stressed out.
- Put limits on work hours. You can’t work all the time— fun and relaxation have to be part of your routine as well. Limit the times when you will work to give yourself time to sleep and rest up so you won’t get sick.
- Give yourself a break. If you’ve been working steadily for hours, give your eyes and mind a chance for a rest by taking a break. You can come back feeling more refreshed and ready to go.
- Be realistic. Sometimes there’s just no way you’re going to get done everything you’d like to in one day. Be realistic about your goals and understand that you can only do so much.
- Understand you can’t do everything. While you might want to go to class, work, play a sport, and participate in clubs and social activities, the reality is that sooner or later you’re going to get run down by trying to do so much. Focus on doing the things you truly love and forget about the rest.
- Get help. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, reach out and ask for help from professors and friends. They may be able to give you more time or help you to complete projects and studying more quickly.
- Don’t let yourself get run down. With so much to do, it’s easy to get run down. If you feel yourself getting stretched too thin, take a step back and evaluate your schedule and work load to determine what’s really important.
Mental Health - Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Many people feel embarrassed or ashamed to ask for help with their depression or other mental health concerns. But many of these experiences are normal and treatable. You don’t have to deal with it alone. Call or email the Counseling Center to request an appointment with a counselor. It’s free, it’s confidential, and available five days a week.
- Keep in touch with family and friends. You can help beat homesickness and loneliness by keeping in touch with friends and family members.
- Build new friendships. A big part of the college experience is meeting new people and forming new friendships. So get out there and meet new people whenever possible.
- Expect things to change. Things will change both at home and in your school life over time. You will grow and so will the people around you.
- Understand that it may take time to develop friendships. Most people don’t make best friends on the first day of college. It takes time to build friendships, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t find your community right away.
- Don’t let stress get the best of you. Stress can be a major factor in many students’ depression. If you are feeling stressed out, make sure to take a break and set aside time to relax. (See the tips in the section above!)
- Realize you don’t have to please everyone. There is no way that you can make everyone happy all the time. Concentrate on making yourself happy first and you’ll cut out lots of stress and hassle from your life.
- Get involved on campus. Joining clubs and social groups can help you to meet new friends and keep you from feeling lonely or isolated.
- Set goals. You’ll be more motivated and positive if you give yourself goals to work towards throughout the school year.
Exercise - Stretch first. Help avoid injuries by stretching each time you exercise. Simple stretches before and after you work out or engage in physical activity can help keep you active and pain free.
- Join an Intramural. One way to get motivated to exercise is to make it a game by playing a sport. Join an intramural team or play a COF club sport. You’ll get active and have fun at the same time.
- Use safety equipment. No matter what sport you’re playing, make sure you always use the proper safety equipment. It will keep you from getting hurt, which will allow you to stay active more consistently. The Sports Center offers equipment training!
- Take advantage of group fitness. Wellness and Recreation offers several group fitness classes such as Yoga and Zumba, to help you stay active.
- Incorporate different kinds of exercise in your routine. When you work out, don’t just stick to one kind of workout. Incorporate strength training, cardio, and stretching exercises to make your routine well-rounded.
- Make it fun. You’re probably not going to work out if you are bored with your routine or find going to the gym torture. Find a way to make it fun for yourself and you’ll be much more likely to keep it up.
- Bring a friend. With someone else relying on you to show up, you’ll be much more likely to make the effort to work out. Plus, working out with a friend can be a great way to make working out more fun.
Nutrition - Vary your meals. When the Fens or Bartol has your favorite foods daily it can be easy to return to those old favorites. Changing up your meals from day to day is an important part of good nutrition so take advantage of the variety of selections available to you.
- Drink water. Drinking enough water can help boost your concentration. Make sure to keep hydrated as you go through your day by bringing water with you.
- Make it convenient to eat right. Buy snacks and stock your mini-fridge and room with them to ensure they’re the first things at hand when you get hungry.
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