Essentials for a Serene Spring Semester
It’s the time of year when piles of books grow atop your desk alongside the remnants of last night’s studying. The spring semester of college can leave you feeling fatigued due to essays, assignments, and early classes. Set yourself up to stay a step ahead of the semester’s stress; from self-care to nutritional suggestions and exercise.
Affirmations
Although it’s as simple as wetting an affirmation card and sticking it to your shower tile, JaxKelly Shower Affirmation Cards go a long way. Pick anywhere from 1 to all 20 cards to remind yourself of your worth, abundance, love, and more after a hard day of academic stress.
If you are looking to take your affirmations with you everywhere, write words that resonate with you on small pieces of paper to throw in your bag, tape them in a notebook, or hang them on your walls.
Yoga
When it comes to choosing a yoga practice, whether it be a 15-60 minute YouTube practice or an in-person class, there is an abundance of options. Restorative yoga helps your brain and body unwind from a long day with minimal exertion. If you are looking to sweat out the day’s scattered stressors, try a longer vinyasa flow, heated or not.
Regardless, there are benefits to any movement in the body. Pent-up emotions are often a cause of academic fatigue. So, don’t be surprised if you shed a tear or two during your practice.
Yoga Journal expert Sara Gottfried emphasizes that while yoga “has been shown to decrease cortisol and adrenaline,” it can take multiple practices to see a significant change in hormonal levels. Don’t fret if the immense stress comes creeping up again the next morning and instead return to your mat.
Vitamins
Very rarely can a college student confidently guarantee they are receiving all necessary levels of vitamins from their diet. After properly discussing with a medical professional, it is never a bad idea to compensate for missing necessary vitamins through supplements.
Research and professional advice will be your best friend when deciding which exact supplements to invest in. Whether you feel you’re lacking vitamins linked to focus, heart, lung, or brain health, or immunity, overall better health directly contributes to your school work.
Pen, or Colored Pencils, to Paper
You may be thinking, “haven’t I had enough pen to paper these last few hours of studying?” However, unwinding from a day full of required academic assignments with an adult coloring book, scrapbooking, or writing jumbled thoughts onto the pages of a journal may be what you are missing.
The amount of research that lingers on the internet linking phones to increased stress, distraction, and bad sleep is no secret to the majority of college students. Once the laptop is closed for the day and the notes are pushed to the side, pick up a coloring sheet or an empty journal and spark the creativity you may have lacked the last few hours.
Lastly, remind yourself it is okay to relax, you deserve it!
What helps you channel a serene semester? Leave a comment below.