By Claire Leibowitz, Marketing and Outreach
Sometimes, it’s hard to know what’s best for your body when you’re being constantly overworked. It’s easy to romanticize not sleeping, not eating enough and agreeing to too many commitments at once, as long as things look successful. From an outside perspective, yes, this seems productive. But in order to have a happy and sustainable life, it’s critical to prevent burnout and calm down after periods of mass stress.
Whether this stress comes from midterms, a Halloweekend bender, or feeling emotionally drained, the solutions are simple.
There are easy ways to organize work to make more time in a day, but there are also easy ways to get into self care that do not involve punishment, guilt or regret if not every day is “productive.”
Improve Your Sleep Schedule
Sleep is what fuels the body to help perform daily tasks. According to Southern New Hampshire University, adults ages 18-60 need at least seven hours of sleep each night. It’s easier said than done to fix a broken sleep schedule, but aim to wake up and go to sleep around the same time daily, limit caffeine intake, avoid electronics right before falling asleep, and adjust your sleep space to your comfort. And no, you can’t make up for lost sleep during the week by getting over 12 hours on the weekends.
Invest in an Emotional Support Water Bottle
There’s a lot of different recommendations for how much water we should drink in a day, but it comes down to how the body reacts. Invest in a reusable water bottle that you can take everywhere and constantly fill. Set a goal for yourself by aiming to refill it a certain number of times per day. Drinking water is essential for the body, so make your amount achievable, and don’t get frustrated if you don’t hit your goal one day.
Eat Three Meals a Day
According to Iowa State University, eating three meals a day keeps the brain heart and healthy. It helps to incorporate a variety of foods into your diet, even if meals are simple. Try to aim for a balance of protein, grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy, but not every meal will have all five components. Always make sure to have water with your meals to combine two self-care goals in one!
Take an Hour Off
Each day, try to do at least one enjoyable activity to take the stress and pressure away. It’s important to leave your work alone, decompress and come back to it with an open mind. This is in your control and can be something different every day. Some examples could include reading, baking, cooking, seeing friends, exercising, spending time outside, playing video games and more. It’s especially good to move your body. According to the University of Colorado, daily movement has benefits for muscles, bones, joints, the brain, the heart and lungs. The work will still be there when you come back, but you’ll have a much clearer head after doing something small for yourself.
Make a Routine
Take care of yourself in even smaller ways! Generate an elaborate morning routine with skincare, a big breakfast, stretching, reading and calling your mom. More of a night owl? Decompress with a luxurious shower with scrubs, soaps, moisturizers and conditioners, followed by relaxing music, writing, watching your favorite show as you prepare for the next day. More of the last-minute, spontaneous person? Make an effort to try a new practice daily, or set a few baseline goals you’d like to incorporate into your life. Make it accommodating to your lifestyle and what makes you feel good.
Reflect
As consistently as you can, reflect on what you’re grateful for and journal a little bit each day to track your progress, feelings and observations. Journaling has several benefits and is really easy. It’s important to monitor your goals and intentions, but if you’ve had a bad or hard day, don’t get discouraged, simply start fresh tomorrow.
Start small and work your way up to a goal. It’s important to not punish yourself for not doing everything in a day; there’s always tomorrow. It isn’t selfish to put yourself first in situations, especially when it comes to self-care. The bad days will still come, but hopefully, they’ll become easier to grow around.
