Apr 7
Student Weekly Tips: Self-care and rest
This week, we’re bringing you our tips on how to get some well-deserved relaxation over the Easter break, as well as looking after yourself.
Living healthily
“What people find to be a healthy lifestyle really depends on the individual. For me, it means to find a balance between many different aspects of my life, including studies, work, meeting up with friends, doing sports and eating good food. Most importantly, I always need to have something planned for the day as that motivates me to get out of bed in the morning. I like to be a busy person, as the more things I do, the more productive I feel. Sometimes, however, I plan too many things and I just need to take a few days to rest, basically doing nothing and sleeping a lot. Finding the balance that works best for you is challenging.”— Isabella, Materials Science & Engineering
“It’s good to strive for balance in all areas of our lives, from getting enough sleep to eating healthily and exercising. Equally, student life can be very hectic and when you’re juggling assignments and trying to meet deadlines, one or more of these things can fall by the wayside. Living healthily also means letting go of perfectionism to some degree — cutting yourself some slack is one of the best things you can do for yourself!” — Olivia, Psychology
“With living a healthy lifestyle, I have found that balancing everything in moderation has the best outcome. With tasks I must do, such as cooking, I have found planning in advance will help me manage this stress a lot. I like to do as much as possible the night before so I can sleep, knowing that I have at least helped my ‘future self’ somehow! With other hobbies, I have found that not planning too much is ideal; hobbies like exercise should be enjoyable and not just feel like another chore to check off the list! I would encourage everyone to take some time to find out what you enjoy and stick to it. We all need a fun hobby to get through university!” — Iqra, Speech & Language Therapy
“Eat fruit. Honestly, during my undergrad, I would go through periods where I forgot fruit existed (I still do that now during my Master’s, to be honest). But fruit is just good, isn’t it? I heard recently that one of the best ways to wake yourself up in the morning is by eating an apple. Added bonus.” — George, Urban Design
Resting and how to get out of the always-being-productive mindset
“I don’t like holiday periods. I’m someone who prefers a relative amount of consistency, so I don’t take a huge break over ‘holiday’ times. Instead, I stick to my normal schedule, but with an extra freedom of mind to know that a deadline is not just around the corner.” — Sara, Biotechnology
“During holiday periods, I often found myself feeling guilty for not doing work, as if every second I spent doing things not related to my degree was useless. However, reminding myself that I deserve a break, and spending a few days relaxing is not detrimental to my degree. University can be intense and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking a few days just binging Netflix and eating comfort food!” — Iqra, Speech & Language Therapy
“Living in a city or urban environment like Manchester has lots of benefits but can also be harmful to our mental health. Surrounding yourself with nature can help you to relax, rest and restore. Wherever you are staying over the break, even if it’s Manchester or another city, try and get out to the coast or the countryside for a day. Even going to a village or market town is a nice way to take a break from the stress of uni and city living.”— George, Urban Design
“Downtime is important, not just for your mental health but also your studies. It can cultivate your creativity; the times when you’re not thinking about an essay or assignment you have to work on can give rise to an idea or a different way of looking at a situation. Life is about so much more than just work or study, and you will enrich your own greatly by taking time out to do the things you enjoy.” — Olivia, Psychology
Our Easter plans & experiences
“Over Easter, I plan to attend a synthetic biology conference. This will mean an entire two days of networking with like-minded people. I hope to connect with others and advertise my podcast .”— Sara, Biotechnology
“Over Easter, I usually set aside roughly 1–2 weeks to work on uni assignments or catching up on lectures. The rest of the break, I like to go travelling. The more I travel and take time to just enjoy myself, the more motivated I will be when lectures start again. The Easter break is a good time to get energised before the rest of the semester, especially with exams coming up at the end of May.” — Isabella, Materials Science & Engineering
“My Easter plan is to work on myself. With all the things that uni throws at you, it becomes hard to focus on your hobbies or even form a routine. My plan is to take on some ambitious cooking challenges, create some music and establish a routine that can guide me through uni after the break!” — Raghav Vashishtha, Mechatronic Engineering
That’s all for this week. We hope you can enjoy a restful and relaxing Easter break!
