Throughout your life, friends will come and go, but the one person you’ll always be stuck with is yourself. Why, then, do we all have the habit of treating ourselves so badly? Whether it’s staying up too late, working too much, or beating ourselves up for saying something dumb in front of the guy we like, we have a tendency to be our own worst enemy. I think we should all work to be a little nicer to ourselves. I’m not just talking about treating yourself to a giant bowl of ice cream. While this might make you feel better in the moment (and should definitely be done every once and a while), it won’t fix any of your true problems. Here are some tips to help you treat yourself better and improve your life for real.
Try Yoga
Whenever I am super stressed or have an anxious knot in my stomach all day, going to a yoga class helps me relax and put everything into perspective. In addition to lowering high blood pressure and reducing stress, yoga also helps improve your flexibility and strength. Plus, there are so many cute yoga tops and pants to buy for the occasion. An excuse to shop plus health benefits? Sign me up.
Take a few minutes to relax before bed
Whenever I finally finish my homework for the night, I’m tempted to just pass out (sometimes even on my desk). I’ve found though that spending a few minutes doing a relaxing activity, such as reading a book or flipping through a magazine, helps me to clear my head so I don’t go to sleep dreaming about biology. While checking Yik Yak or Instagram also works, I’ve realized that this tends to stress me out even more; it’s best to just take a break from everyday life completely for a few minutes. I also like taking a minute to write down all of the best parts of my day in my journal. This helps me focus on the positives and reflect on what I like about my life. Trying any of these will help you get a better night’s sleep and unwind from a long day.
Drink a cup of tea
In addition to being filled with antioxidants that will improve your health, a cup of hot tea can be incredibly soothing at any time of the day, especially during the winter months. This is a great way to warm up on a cold day and will help relax you.
Play your favorite music
Sometimes the best therapy is blasting your favorite song, belting out the words, and dancing around your room. No matter how silly you might look, I guarantee it will make you feel better. This can be a great study break or just a way to release stress. Also, if you’re going through a hard time, playing some uplifting songs can really help improve your mood. I truly believe that the more music you have in your life, the better.
Try these tips this semester to help you improve your happiness and health.