Caring For You While You Connect:

Meditation, mindfulness, and breathing are common strategies for addressing mental health concerns. They can help lower our stress and anxiety, improve our mood, and help us feel more calm and relaxed. Meditation involves using a particular focus to train one’s attention to bring about a sense of calm or relaxation. Practicing mindfulness, which can be a form of meditation, involves being fully aware in the present so that we do not get overwhelmed by what has happened in the past or what is going to happen in the future. Breathing is the practice of using your stomach (belly breathing) rather than your chest to circulate air through your body. This depth of breathing allows greater re-oxygenation of the blood and reduces cortisol, the “stress hormone.” Breathing Apps like Headspace can be very helpful for starting this journey.

Sleep is a very crucial part of your body's health. Not enough sleep can not only affect your physical health but mental health as well, resulting in memory problems, poor concentration, fatigue, and irritability. It is important to recharge your body with at least eight or nine hours of sleep per night. Make sure you stop using devices and your TV at least 45 minutes before bedtime, establish a clear bedtime routine, lower the temperature in your bedroom, and make sure it is dark and quiet. If you are having trouble falling asleep, apps like Headspace and Sleep Cycle can help.

If you are a student, be sure that you are taking a break from studying every 45 minutes. Our brains cannot accommodate information effectively for longer time periods than this and breaks are necessary. Be sure to save your most important study information for right before bed as this information will get stored into long-term memory. If you have large projects, break them down into smaller tasks so that you don’t feel overwhelmed and can feel a sense of accomplishment when you complete the smaller tasks along the way. You might also try the app Forest app. You can set a timer to “plant a tree” for however long you want to work and during that time it will block out unhelpful and distracting websites. If you give up on the timer, the tree dies. It can be good motivation to keep your tree healthy.

There are many positive mental health benefits to exercise. The primary way exercise helps us is that it depletes the “stress hormone” in our bodies called cortisol. When cortisol builds up it can lower our immune systems, making us more prone to getting sick. Exercise also helps release “feel good hormones” called endorphins. If you don’t know where to begin, start out by stretching or taking a walk. Simple ways to get moving can improve your mood tenfold. Try doing this a couple times a week. There are also many resources and youtube videos online to help you get started.

Our bodies need fuel to stay healthy and active. The type of fuel that we put in them matters. During times of stress, it is important to avoid processed foods and those that are high in sugar. These foods may temporarily give us a boost, yet we experience a “crash” right after and crave similar foods again, resulting in weight gain. Eating foods that are high in antioxidants, ones that help deplete cortisol, the “stress hormone,” are better for us. We can find antioxidants in fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Also, drink plenty of water and limit your use of alcohol.