Top tips to improve student mental health

Student mental health is extremely important to us here at Scape; we understand that there can be a lot of pressure put on you first year students, whether you’re feeling the impact of living away from home for the first time or finding the workload stressful. We’ve put together some wellbeing tips to help improve your mental health at university and get you set up for success and an enjoyable experience. And don’t forget to speak to a professional if your mental health is suffering - Scape has trained counsellors on site for you to talk to, and an app chock-full of resources that can help. Your university will also have pastoral care facilities in place for you to use If need be. Keep reading to get some advice on how to improve your mental health!

Take time to properly rest

It’s important to make sure to take the time to properly rest. Although attending your lectures regularly is important, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by all the new information so taking breaks is key. Make sure that when you’re working on assignments or studying, you leave your seat to take walks and get some fresh air every few hours. If you really need to, take a day off from socialising to practice some self-care. We all need to take time to unwind from time to time and burning the candle at both ends will eventually lead to you feeling depleted. It’s fine to take some time for yourself in order to recharge.

You don’t always have to be available

While taking opportunities is good, knowing when to decline an invitation can help to improve mental health. Setting your own ‘closing hours’ can be immensely helpful. Say for example, no calls about projects or assignments after 10pm or even no calls after 6pm, except for emergencies. Setting boundaries is a vital part of practicing better mental health; FOMO is real and it needs to be dealt with – if you don’t feel at your best, or you have a busy week ahead of you, don’t feel bad for saying no. Understanding how to prioritise is a skill that’ll take you far.

Get plenty of sleep

There’s a stereotype of student life being about late nights and all-night cramming, partying, whatever, but consistently staying up late is an easy way to wreck your body and put yourself under unnecessary stress. Although there might be times when you have no choice in the matter, don’t let it become a habit. Sleep is essential, especially for maintaining good mental health; deep sleep (or NREM sleep) is when your body repairs itself and helps us to retain information learned in the daytime. Sleep deprivation can lead to hallucinations, poorer memory, stress, and paranoia amongst other things, none of which are beneficial to anyone let alone a student. Try to get around 8 hours of sleep a night; to help with this, avoid using your phone or laptop at least an hour before bed.

Eat a balanced diet

Food is vital, no two ways about it. And what you eat is just as important as eating itself. Take-outs, microwave meals or fast food everyday don’t provide the necessary nutrients for your body to function properly.   Vegetable, fruit (remember your five-a-day?) and proteins are just some of what you need to include in all your meals. If you don’t already, learn to cook for yourself – it can be fun and experimental to make your favourite foods for yourself or recreate delicious meals you’ve tried elsewhere. There are plenty of recipe books and YouTube channels dedicated to teaching beginners how to cook. You can even make it a joint effort with your flatmates and take turns cooking meals for each other!

Get moving and exercise

Going to the gym and participating in sports has been difficult these last 18 months, so it’s understandable if you’re a little apprehensive to get back into the swing of lifting weights and racing on treadmills. However, exercise is a great way of improving your mental health; activity lowers the levels of stress-related hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol (which are necessary at times) and boosts ‘happier’ endorphins. Don’t worry if you’re not exactly sporty – simple things such as taking walks, dancing, or stretching also count. And the great thing is that you don’t have to be in a gym to get fit (although Scape does have lovely gym facilities in each building). If you’re uncomfortable working out around other people, you can easily skip or stretch in your own space.