The due dates are starting to come up out of nowhere and the readings are starting to pile up. While it’s important to take care of all of that, it’s equally important to make sure that you are approaching these tasks with a healthy mind. There are several simple steps you can take to keep your mind functioning well. Making these part of your daily routine is sure to help you keep your grades up too.
Start with sleep. Sleeping regularly allows you to retain more information. Dr. Matthew Walker of the University of California, Berkeley explained that “sleep after learning is essential to help save and cement that new information into the architecture of the brain, meaning that you’re less likely to forget it.” Walker also estimates that a sleep-deprived student’s ability to learn new information can drop by up to 40 per cent.
As is the case in most other demanding situations in life, your attitude can either make or break the success of your response to your busy student life. Accept that it’s okay to make mistakes. There’s a lot of pressure to do well, and a lot of fear of failure, but mistakes can prove to be a blessing in disguise if you learn from them and move on rather than dwelling on them.
As journalist Kathryn Schulz argues in her book, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, it’s important “to see error as a gift in itself, a rich and irreplaceable source of humour, art, illumination, individuality, and change.” Although we associate being right and successful with contentment, Schulz argues that sometimes being wrong and making mistakes is “the more complicated, more interesting, and ultimately the more revelatory pleasure.”
That leads to the next tip: connect with others and seek their help when you need it. A healthy, balanced social life provides you with a support system that you can turn to in your time of need.
“I think a key thing to focus on are barriers to seeking needed help,” says Joel Goldberg, associate professor of psychology at York.
“If someone has a broken limb, then almost 100 per cent of people seek help for this physical problem, but we know that only one in five people who have mental health concerns actually seek out supports.”
“Our research has also found that people who are perfectionistic may be particularly prone to self-stigma. That is, they may be particularly ashamed about seeking help. When they make a mistake, they blame themselves unfairly for being a failure as a person. Yet their high standards also prevent them from seeking the help they need.”
It’s important to watch what you’re consuming too. Not only does this mean that you should eat healthy meals, but you should eat them regularly and in moderate amounts. Skipping meals is definitely not a good idea, nor is eating fast food.
Studies have shown that unhealthy diets are associated with new diagnoses of depression and anxiety disorders. These unhealthy diets generally lack vegetables, fresh and dried fruits, and whole grain cereals.
Consumption is not limited just to food. Increased drug intake, or drinking copious amounts of alcohol may offer a temporary escape from the stress of student life, but they can also contribute to mood or anxiety disorders.
Finally, make sure you have some fun. Schedule some time for your hobbies. While you may have readings to do and assignments to complete, give yourself some time to crack open that novel sitting on your shelf, or just lay back, close your eyes, and listen to some music. It’s important to take breaks to keep you feeling fresh and motivated when you go back to work.
Sobia Iqbal, Contributor
Featured image courtesy of Timothy Krause
