As college students, we’re constantly busy and under great deals of stress. This has become our new normal, as we’re constantly going from class to work to the library to your internship to your club meeting to your dinner date.
Sometimes, there’s a break in your schedule or you just feel like you physically cannot make it one more day and you need a break. Mental health days are extremely important, not only as busy college students but as people who need to rest. Humans were not built to be busy and constantly going all day, every day, which is why a mental health day is not only nice to have, but pretty necessary to your overall wellbeing. Here are 15 things to try the next time you want to take one, but don’t want to lay in bed ALL day (just some of the day).
1) Sleep in.
Nothing is more important to your overall well-being than getting at least eight hours of sleep a night—and let’s face it, as college students we usually get around four to five a night. Take the morning of your day off to just let your body do its thing and get some sleep.
2) Make yourself breakfast.
It’s an old cliché parents love, but it’s true—breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it so often falls to the wayside and is replaced by a venti Starbucks latte and a granola bar while you’re walking to class. Take some time to actually make yourself some breakfast, even if that means just pouring yourself some cereal before you keep binging “Big Little Lies”.
3) Avoid your planner, email and Blackboard notifications.
If you’re one of those people who needs to schedule every second of your life down to when you fall asleep, take this day off to detach yourself from your assignments. Turn your phone on Do Not Disturb and forget about your planner, even if it’s just for five minutes.
4) Enjoy your coffee or tea.
Tired of chugging a venti black coffee between classes to stay awake? Use this time to actually take a second and enjoy drinking your coffee or your tea, and see how much better you feel instead of basically shotgunning it for energy.
5) Take a long, hot shower or bath.
Showers or baths are a great way to de-stress, ruminate on your day and get some you-time in. What could possibly be better for a day to relax than taking a nice long soak? Make sure to light some candles or play some music to really make it relaxing.
6) Do a face mask.
Your skin probably needs some love, especially because stress is terrible for your skin. Make a homemade one, use that expensive Lush one you’ve been meaning to try or even give your face a good wash—it’s incredibly relieving to have bright, happy skin.
7) Call a relative.
Your parent/grandparent/uncle/sibling/cousin would absolutely love to hear from you, and now that you actually have time to talk try giving them a ring. You know what they say, ~family is forever~
8) Do some yoga, go to the gym or try another relaxation technique that gets you moving.
If your only exercise is sprinting from the library to your next class, you should use a minute to try some yoga or go to the gym for an hour. Getting yourself moving, even if only for 15 minutes, can make you feel so energized.
9) Clean your space a little.
Having a messy room can generally make you more stressed out, and as a college student you have enough of that already. Do your laundry, change your sheets or simply take a minute to organize your clothes—you’ll be surprised at how much better you will feel, even if you’re only tidying one corner.
10) Take a walk.
Not a harried, I-have-class-in-20-minutes speed-walk; but a leisurely, remind-yourself-why-you-chose-to-live-here walk. Take in the sights that you usually miss while you’re running around campus, and remind yourself of how beautiful your campus really is.
11) Unplug for a while.
Don’t tell your Snapchat fam about how happy you are about your day off and log off of Twitter for half an hour for some “you” time. Our lives are so consumed by social media that it’s easy to forget what “living in the moment” is like.
12) Go to a new restaurant you’ve been wanting to try.
Go to that new noodle bar/burger joint/coffee shop that opened up that you remind yourself to try when you walk by it, but are too exhausted to a majority of the time. Who knows, it could end up being your new favorite spot.
13) Color, paint or attempt a new craft.
No matter if you’re Van Gogh or someone who relies entirely on tracing, coloring or crafting can have a very positive effect on stress—ever wonder why adult coloring books are such a hit? Try a new craft or break open some paintbrushes; you might be surprised at how relaxing it actually is.
14) Pamper yourself.
Do your nails, exfoliate your skin, deep condition, moisturize and make yourself feel clean and happy. Self-care in college usually means you brushed your teeth and threw on some dry shampoo for the third day in a row, so use your mental health day to give yourself some well-deserved pampering.
15) Start a new book.
Think about the last time you read that wasn’t a textbook or assigned novel—bet it’s been a while, right? Take an hour to start that new book that’s been sitting on your shelf for a while, and remember how fun reading used to be before it was about the Pythagorean Theorem.
Hopefully, you’re looking forward to your next mental health day so you can try out some of these. What do you like to do on your mental health days? Let us know!
Sources: cover photo, gif 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15