Chances are, most of you have skipped a meal to study, or pulled an all-nighter, or pushed through many hours of work without taking a moment for yourself. We’ve all had it happen – the cramming for the exams, the upcoming deadlines. It’s normal to feel this stressed; it’s part of the college environment.

But in the college environment, it’s easy to neglect taking care of what matters most: Ourselves.

Students should focus on looking after themselves, and make themselves a priority. Mental and physical health is not something to be pushed off in order to cram for an exam, and tending to oneself properly over time can actually make us more productive.

A lot of this comes down to time management. This is the most important skill a college student can master. Shannon Anderson, outreach coordinator for counseling and psychological services, emphasized the importance of planning time in your schedule for breaks, and plan a time to stop working. And it’s easier to be productive when the end is in sight.

Brenda Cleaver, graduate staff assistant for UREC and online coordinator for Wellbeing, said time management is key.

“Scheduling time for your own self-care is critically important,” Cleaver said. “People tend to chuck self-care out the window as soon as they get stressed.”

Now, self care is different for everyone. It could be reading a book, taking a bubble bath, or spending time petting a cat. It’s the elusive “me-time” where we do things simply because they make us happy. And it’s often the first thing we sacrifice when the stress levels increase, because it seems frivolous. But it’s not frivolous. In fact, it is incredibly important for physical and emotional wellbeing that students take the time to look after themselves, and learn what self-care is for them.

Anderson said students will often learn how to take care of their own emotional health by seeing a counselor, or through simple trial and error process. Friendship and community is important for emotional health, but what friendship and community looks like will vary from person to person.

It’s important to identify what that looks like for you, and embrace it.

Physical exercise is one good way for students to take care of themselves. According to a study published in the Harvard Medical School Special Health Report, a regular exercise regimen could have effects similar to antidepressants on depression patients, though the antidepressants did work faster. While it may be tempting to blow off a trip to the rec in favor of doing something else, it’s important for physical and mental health to go to the gym or take a run.

Your brain will release dopamine – the feel-good brain chemical – after just eight minutes of a strenuous workout, Cleaver said. “So just hang in there for the first eight minutes,” Cleaver said with a laugh.

Though self-care may be highly specified for each person, a few things are unilateral: students need to be aware that sleeping, contrary to popular belief, is actually important, and eating regularly and healthily is necessary to physical and mental health.

In fact, we burn more calories by sleeping than we do sitting around watching TV, Cleaver said.

Sleep also is when we commit short term memory to long term memory – so really, sleeping is another form of studying.

Regular eating, too, is critical to both physical and mental health. Cleaver stressed the importance of eating three times a day at least, with snacks, in order to keep emotions stable and physical health in shape. Without food, it’s harder to focus and be productive.

It’s too easy to get caught up in the chaos of the day-to-day. People need to take a deep breath, calm down, and schedule some time to look after themselves.

“You can’t take care of other people and you can’t take care of your day-to-day function if you don’t take care of yourself,” Cleaver said.

Michelle Fredrickson is a senior communication major from Issaquah. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.