9 Self Care Tips for College Students

It's easy to get caught up in the fast-paced environment of your college and forget to take care of yourself. This is one of the many common college freshman mistakes. Doing so can result in a variety of issues that may negatively impact your happiness, performance, and health.

In addition to your new responsibilities in college, you're also responsible for taking care of yourself. This means making sure you're sleeping well, eating well, and getting the exercise your body needs.

In this article, we're going to take a closer look at a few self care tips for college students so you know how to take care of yourself.

Self-Care Tips for College Students

In college, some students give up necessities, like sleep and eating, in order to meet the demands of college life. They try to complete assignments, study for exams, attend social events, join clubs, hold a part-time job, and have fun.

This can result in issues that can take a serious toll on your ability to do well in school, including everything from high levels of stress to anxiety issues and even depression.

While college students may see self-care as a priority, they need to find ways to insert self-care into their daily routine.

Here are 9 helpful self care tips for college students.

1. Discover Yourself

The number one self-care tip for college students must begin with you being mindful of your mental, physical and spiritual needs. You must make yourself a priority and take the time to address your needs.

It can be easy to get so busy that you don’t notice that your aches and pains have slowly gotten worse. Or, you are having more times of sadness than before. Addressing issues like this early on can prevent a more crisis event.

To do so, start focusing on yourself today and pay attention to what your body is telling you.

2. Sleep Like a Rock Star

There have been numerous studies showing the connection between good sleep and positive mental and physical health. Many college students do not receive a proper amount of sleep, which should range between seven and eight hours for this age group.

Change your sleeping habits now so you can be rewarded with more energy, better concentration, better memory skills, improved mood, and even a better immune system to fight off viruses that travel through college dorms.

3. Write Your Memoir

Keeping a journal is a self care tip for college students that has many benefits. It improves writing skills and helps you organize your thoughts, so they don’t stay clouded in your mind. Journaling can also help you compare the progress, or lack of progress, you have made over time.

This valuable insight can guide you in getting needed help to make positive changes in your life. Plus, you will be writing your memoir. How cool is that?

4. Be a Creative Beast

Having hobbies and participating in creative activities is a must for taking care of yourself. It is a beneficial self-care tip because it lets you have fun, while also giving you a feeling of reward.

Hobbies are self-care tips for college students that give you an outlet to relieve stress and distracts you from the everyday challenges of college life. Hobbies can be anything if they are positive. You may want to start a blog, paint a mural, write a book, design clothing, or exercise. There are hundreds of ideas to choose from, so pick one that meets your goals.

5. Hang with Positive People

Attitudes can be contagious. If you are hanging out with someone who is always negative and complaining, you may start to do the same. A person with a negative attitude makes you feel a range of emotions, none of them positive.

On the other hand, hanging around students with positive attitudes can lift your mood and make you feel happier. Who you surround yourself with really does matter when it comes to self-care tips for college students.

6. Ditch the Tech for a Day

This self-care tip for college students may seem frightening to some. After all, college students use their technology for just about everything they do.

Too much technology, however, can be a bad thing. The more you use your technology, the higher you have a risk for getting a mental health disorder. You may even notice you do not sleep well and feel stressed more often than you should.

Taking a break from technology occasionally can help. Even one full day without technology can have positive benefits.

7. Reach Out to Resources

On-campus, you have access to numerous resources that are waiting to help you improve personally or academically. These are typically free resources, something many people would love to access to but can’t. Reaching out for help is an important self-care tip for college students.

If you need a little extra help academically, like tutoring or studying for an exam, reach out for academic resources. If you are feeling anxious before exams, reach out to the counseling center. If you feel you could benefit from peer mentoring or joining positive peer group activities, reach out to the agencies or clubs that provide those opportunities.

It truly is okay to ask for help.

8. You Are What You Eat

Okay, so maybe you will not turn into a slice of pizza because that’s all you eat while in college, but your mental and physical abilities will be affected. The foods we eat influence chemicals found in your brain and gut.

Healthy foods allow these chemicals to release happy messages and boost your mood. Unhealthy foods suppress happy messages, preventing you from feeling positive. Instead, they make you feel sad, take away your energy, make your skin appear unhealthy, and can lead to other mental and physical problems.

It’s okay to have pizza at midnight occasionally, but for most of the other time, eat fewer processed foods. Meet with a nutritionist on campus and develop the right diet for you.

9. Get Out of Your Dorm Room

Spending time alone is great if it’s not all you do outside of class. The final self-care tip for college students encourages you to get out and do something. Exercise, go to an athletic event, walk around campus, or eat a meal in the cafeteria.

Participating in activities can reduce stress dramatically among college students.

Participating in activities can dramatically reduce stress among college students.

Your mental and physical health will improve by being more active throughout your day.

Being successful in college involves many things. You must study, show up for class, and pass exams. It also means being social. To accomplish this, you must take care of yourself.