Five ways to truly replenish over winter break!
Spend time in nature. Walk in a park or walk around the block. Bundle up and sit on your balcony or backyard. Studies show spending time in nature is associated with lower levels of stress, depression and anxiety. It also boosts attention span and mood.
Sleep! Get your 7-9 hours. A full night’s sleep boosts your immune system, your mood and your productivity. If you’ve been building a sleep deficit trying to get stuff done before winter break, now is the perfect time to re-establish a reasonable bedtime and make it a habit.
Do a creative project. Being creative increases the happiness chemicals in your brain, it reduces stress and might even make you smarter. And there are so many different ways to express yourself creatively. Paint a picture, color in a coloring book or redecorate a room. OR, choreograph a dance, sing a song, dust off your old instrument or take a lesson. OR, take photos, decorate cupcakes, journal, write jokes or a short story, twirl your baton, plan a themed party.
Play! We usually think of play as something just for kids, but adults need play too. Play is more about a state of mind than a goal. Doing an activity for the fun and joy of it, allowing yourself to be immersed in it to the point of losing track of time. And of course, fun and laughter doesn’t hurt. So watch a funny movie, play catch, go bowling, trade jokes and funny stories with someone, try something you’ve never done before, play board games. Remember, with play it’s more about adopting that playful mindset.
Connect with yourself. Oftentimes we get so focused on our to do list, that we lose our connection to ourselves. Set an alarm on your phone or watch to go off 5 times during the day. Each time it goes off, stop what you are doing and ask yourself, how am I feeling right now? What do I need right now? Do I need to ask for help or support? It might not always be possible to get exactly what we need, but the simple act of showing ourselves that we are paying attention and trying to meet our needs can alleviate a lot of stress.
Then when you do go back to school, pick one or two of these and see if you can keep them going.