5 Tips for Effective Student Self-Care

By Fee Teng Liew

Despite the flexibility and reduced responsibilities students may have, that comes with it a need to manage your own time and discipline yourself to complete all your academic work whilst also having the time to socialise. This makes it harder to have boundaries between your work and life as a student, as they can often become integrated together. Some may not know how to discipline themselves or keep themselves accountable, whilst others may find it easy to overwork themselves as they’re not clocking in and out of an office at certain times each day for example. So, I’d like to share 5 student self-care tips to ensure you’re taking care of yourself, and therefore making the most of your academic experience.

1. Stick to the basics

Self-care doesn’t need to be complicated. More importantly, it should be reducing stress, rather than adding stress to your life. So, lets keep it simple and strip back to the basics of good quality sleep, regular exercise, and sufficient nutrition. Think of them as the three pillars holding you up and keeping you going - physically and mentally. 

In a culture of constant working and hustle, sleep can often be an overlooked area for our health (and therefore performance). However, research found sleep quality to be the strongest predictor of mental health and wellbeing, ahead of diet and exercise. Though NHS recommends adults to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night, remember that sleep quality is more important than sleep quantity. So ensure that your sleep environment promotes relaxation and rest, don’t consume caffeine late in the day, and ensure distractions before and during sleep are limited.

In terms of exercise, NHS recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, spread evenly over 4-5 days a week. Lastly, eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats and lots of water! Visit the NHS website for more guidance on sleep, exercise and nutrition.

2. Plan your week every Sunday

Planning will be your bestfriend to keep on top of academic work, other commitments, and fitting in time for socialising too. Simply taking 30 minutes each Sunday before bed will save you a lot of time and mental energy throughout the week deciding and remembering what you need to do each day. 

List out everything you need to get done or the lectures you need to go to that week, and schedule them into your calendar. I would also recommend including a 30-minute buffer when you can for each task/activity. I know it can be easy to want to fill every gap in your schedule to get as much done as you can, but more often than not, things take longer than anticipated. And if every minute was planned out, one task taking longer than expected or one spontaneous meet-up or errand may mess up the rest of your day or week, causing unnecessary stress. So be flexible, give yourself time to breathe, and if you don’t end up using the buffer, take a much-needed break!

3. Schedule in your self-care and non-negotiables before everything else

Have you ever fallen into the trap of scheduling in everything you need to do or places you need to be into your calendar, then fitting in self-care ‘when you can’ in between those tasks/activities? Well I’m here to tell you that this is the wrong approach to effective self-care! 

Whatever self-care looks like for you, it should be a non-negotiable for your health and wellbeing that you schedule in before you schedule in everything else. Need 30 minutes in the mornings to journal or exercise? Schedule those in first! Need 1-2 hours on a sunday evening to meal prep nutritious foods for the week? Schedule that in first! These non-negotiables should certainly include the three pillars we spoke about in tip 1 too. It’s important to set yourself up for success by getting the basics right and making sure they are a non-negotiable rather than a ‘would be nice to have’ in your routine. This also allows you to know when you are/aren’t available to other people/tasks, knowing that you’re filling your own cup first.

4. Take study breaks

As tempting as it may be to study for hours on end each day, especially as deadlines/exams approach, research has shown that humans can focus for no longer than 90 minutes before needing a 15-minute break. So though it may sound counterproductive, if you truly want to perform at your best whilst being able to maintain it over the whole academic year, taking breaks actually helps you to get more done. This includes breaks during the day, but also whole days off where you do something completely different to take your mind off studying.

Does it matter what you do in your breaks? In short, the answer is yes! A survey found that spending study breaks on social media actually made students more stressed. So instead of scrolling, you can try hydrating, having a snack, stretching your legs or doing a breathing exercise (click here to try one of ours). For longer breaks, you could do some exercise, run some errands, catch up with a friend, or simply do nothing! Remember that breaks help to refresh your brain and body, increase your energy, and allow you to come back to your work with a fresh and often better perspective, which is especially useful when you feel stuck on something.

5. Make time for human connection

Even though university/college can be seen as the epitome of a thriving social life, it can also be a lonely experience, most often for those who may prioritise academia and neglect social connections - especially with the increase of digital interactions over real-life ones. Humans were simply not created to sit in a chair and stare at a screen for hours each day. We are ultimately wired to belong and are inherently social creatures biologically and cognitively. 

So whether that means signing up to a society that interests you, hanging out with friends, making time to visit family back home, volunteering in the local community, or even finding a study buddy or study group where you can work together and also rest/socialise together - connecting with others provides a space to release your everyday stresses and helps you to take your mind off work too.

If you feel you can’t find the time to socialise regularly, you can always try pairing it with something else that you’re already doing, for example, finding a friend to workout with, do a weekly shop with, or to cook dinner with. For those that may be going out their comfort zone, know that the benefit of meaningful connections far outweighs the initial nerves that you may feel. We are all wired to belong to a community after all.

Final words

Making self-care a habit in your routine is vital to ensure that you get the most out of your experience both academically and socially. Hopefully, these tips are able to set you on the right path whether you are a college student, first year undergraduate or PhD student, and everything in between. Remember that there is always extra support available, so make sure to seek out support services at your institution if needed.