Surviving college is a challenge
Ten self-care tips for St. Kate’s students
Imagine this: you are halfway through your first semester at St. Kate’s. You have three regular assignments due on Thursday, a revision of a paper due Friday, two group projects to work on (in which none of your group members have done any work), and an exam to study for on Monday. The last thing you are thinking about is self-care, although taking care of yourself is vital to managing stress. Luckily, there are many easy ways to take care of yourself and great resources on campus that will help you do so.
1. Sleep Well: The most important thing you can do for yourself as a student is to get quality sleep. First-year students may have heard about pulling all-nighters in college, but doing so is NOT good for your mental or physical health. Kelli McClintick, the health promotions coordinator at St. Catherine University, explains in her presentation on sleep during first-year orientation that a person who has not gotten enough sleep functions just as well as a person under the influence of alcohol. Additionally, electronic devices can negatively affect sleep because they have been found to emit a short-wavelength blue light. This light decreases the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone. After long exposure to electronic devices, people tend to have more trouble falling asleep and feel more tired in the morning. An easy way to battle blue light is to turn off electronic devices before bed or turn on night mode in the light settings. If you are a glasses-wearer, you can invest in a pair of blue-light blocking glasses online and send them to your St. Kate’s address.
2. Exercise Frequently: By exercising, you are not only taking care of your body, but you are taking care of your mind! Exercise releases endorphins, which are feel-good hormones that decrease stress. If going to the gym intimidates you, bring your roommate or a friend to the group fitness classes offered weekly at the Butler Center. These classes include Yoga Sculpt, Candlelight Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Kundalini (meditative) Yoga, and Zumba. Every student pays a campus activity fee at the beginning of each semester, making these classes free to any student who would like to participate. There is a schedule on the Butler Center website that is updated each semester with class times.
St. Kate’s students follow along with Zumba instructor to warm up their muscles before an hour-long dance-cardio workout.
3. Watch What You Eat: Another HUGE self-care tip is to watch what you eat! Many college freshmen worry about gaining the “freshman fifteen,” so they end up eating less than their body needs to function and maintain a healthy weight. Under-eating is just as bad as over-eating. Sodexo, the food service that St. Kate’s offers, has an app that students can download called “Bite.” This app shows the menu items for the upcoming weeks, as well as the nutritional value of each item. This allows students to plan what they will eat and decide if the cafeteria has healthy options for that day. This also may assist students with dietary restrictions and allergies, so students know what ingredients make up each option at the cafeteria.
4. Take Your Vitamins: Moving to college increases the risk of getting sick (especially if you are living in the dorms), and living in Minnesota increases the risk of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during the winter. Nationally, 3 percent of people are affected by SAD. In Minnesota, this number jumps to 10 percent, since humans get their main supply of Vitamin D from sunlight. By taking Vitamin C supplements, you decrease the risk of getting sick, and Vitamin D can decrease the risk of SAD. The Marketplace on campus sells many vitamin supplements and foods rich in vitamins, such as Vitamin D oil drops which can be stirred into food or drinks in the winter to reduce SAD symptoms.
5. Find Your Outlet: A great way to take care of yourself is to also get involved on campus. Find something that you really enjoy doing and that helps you relax. For me, this is singing in the choir on campus. Other options could be running for a Student Senate representative seat, volunteering at the St. Kate’s food shelf, or writing for the Wheel. All first-year students receive a list of activities, clubs, and organizations on campus with involvement opportunities in their orientation folder. This information is also found on the University’s website and on fliers around campus.
6. Engage in Therapeutic Activities: Getting involved on campus is a great way to take care of yourself, but sometimes students need time to themselves to work on projects that are mindless and fun and do not have a lot of pressure attached to them. The St. Catherine University Bookstore sells bullet journals, writer’s journals, and adult coloring books. More great mindless activities for students to engage in are paint-by-numbers and puzzles. These are available online for cheap and can be shipped right to students’ campus mailboxes. Another therapeutic activity is to pet a dog, cat, or bunny. There are times that St. Kate’s organizes for therapy animals to visit, which helps students de-stress. These furry and fuzzy visitors come to the library commons near midterms and finals week. St. Catherine University offers many more resources and opportunities for stress-relief: the Social Events and Experiences for Katies (SEEK) Team organizes numerous free events and crafts monthly for students to let loose, relieve stress, forget about their busy schedules, and have fun.
7. Consider Aromatherapy: The University of Minnesota published an article highlighting the positive effects essential oils can have on stress relief, as well as many other health benefits. Aromatherapy is at St. Kate’s students’ fingertips; essential oils and diffusers are sold at the Marketplace. When buying essential oils, keep in mind that good scents for stress relief include Lavender, Lemon, and Bergamot.
Essential Oils are a great way to relax and focus. The oils and diffuser pictured above are all available at the Marketplace convenience store and are redeemable with meal points.
8. Stay Organized: Another way to take care of yourself is to manage stress by staying on top of homework assignments and planning when to study for tests. Invest in a calendar or planner (both are sold at the St. Kate’s Bookstore) to write down upcoming exam days, assignment due dates, and plan time for studying. Most professors put every assignment, project, test date, and due date in their syllabi. Knowing these things ahead of time helps to relieve academic stress and reduce the risk of an all-nighter due to procrastination. The O’Neill Center, located in the Coeur de Catherine, is a great resource that offers as they offer great study and organization tips for students.
9. Contact a Counselor: Another resource offered by St. Catherine University is the counseling center, where students can talk to a licensed counselor about everyday life and mental health. Each student receives eight free individual counseling sessions per semester. Appointments can be made by phone (651-690-6805) or email (counselingcenter@stkate.edu).
10. Build Community: The last but one of the best ways to take care of yourself as a college student is to surround yourself with positive people. Find friends who get you, who make you feel safe, and who make you feel loved. Friends have the best healing power.
These suggestions are merely advice from one peer to another. Take what you want from this article, because the bottom line is, the most important thing a college student can do is to take care of their mental and physical health. Listen to your body and mind, and do what is best for YOU.
