Staying Healthy!

We are living in unprecedented times right now, and as such, we are all under more stress than we might have been under only a few short months ago. As such, it is recognized that keeping yourself healthy; mentally and physically, can aid you with every aspect of your life, including your college courses!

1. Take care of your mental health.
   • Schedule self-care into your daily schedule. Call a friend, go for a walk outside, take a bath, or watch an episode of your favorite show. It’s important to carve out some time for yourself!
2. Keep to your routines as much as possible.
   • When we’re stressed, it’s easy to fall out of our regular routines and develop less-healthy habits, like staying up late or streaming Netflix all day. Think about your normal routine, and hold yourself to it if you can. For example, wake up and go to bed around the same time, swap your gym routine for at-home workouts, and keep up your study schedule.
3. Adopt mindfulness and relaxation techniques.
   • Practicing meditation, deep breathing, and being present can help with worries and anxiety. Find free meditation and mindfulness resources at Calm.com, Headspace, and Ten Percent Happier. A lot of these free meditation apps have meditations for a wide variety of conditions, such as; focus, better sleep, managing stress.
4. If you need help, ask for it!
   • You might think it's better for you to soldier through your bad feelings, thinking that "others have it worse than me", but don't let that dissuade you from obtaining the help you need. Reach out to on-campus resources through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) if you need to. These resources are available for all UCR students, so take advantage of them and get back to feeling good!
5. Practice healthy habits and the kinds of self-care that most benefit you. 
   • Prioritize getting a healthy amount of sleep, eating well, avoiding alcohol, and moving or exercising regularly. 
6. Remember to take breaks! (50 ways to take a break)
7. Take breaks to ease your mind and distract yourself when you start to worry. 
   • Play a game. Watch a movie. Take a yoga class. Try a meditation app. For more coping skills to consider, head to activeminds.org/selfcare.
8. Let it out!
   • Sometimes expressing your emotions can be helpful - try journaling or keeping a voice diary, or let yourself be upset for a while (set a time so you don't waste the whole day wallowing).
9. Be ok with not being highly productive right now.
   • Some days you may not have much ability to focus at all, and that’s to be expected! Nobody’s life is normal right now. You may find that you have good days where you’re highly motivated to get through your work and bad days where your motivation is nowhere to be found. When work seems impossible, prioritize what you must get done that day. Get through your high priority tasks, and then let yourself have the rest of the day off. And don’t beat yourself up for not getting through your entire to-do list! It’s okay to expect less from yourself right now.
   • Though this pandemic can feel like it will be endless, it will eventually pass. Staying motivated can help refocus our attention away from these stressful changes and towards a more hopeful future. (graduate.rice.com)
10. Positive Psychology Courses
    • Take the Science of Happiness: a free online course designed to teach science-based principles and practices for a happy, meaningful life.  

    • The Foundations of Happiness at Work: Learn why happiness at work matters and how to increase it within yourself and across your organization. (Free

Additional Resources:

• Sounder Sleep
• 6 Benefits of Exercise for the College Student
• Visit the UCR Student Recreation Center website for links to online exercise classes such as; Barre Fusion, Zumba, Stretch Well, and more, including cooking classes and origami! 
• Participate in some online gaming competitive and recreational tournaments sponsored by UCR Intramural Sports. Play by yourself or grab some friends and create a team for FIFA International Teams Tournament, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Tournament, UFC 3, Pick‘Em, Words W/Friends Tournament, and Rocket League.