The Wellness Challenge is officially over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue challenging yourself and your wellbeing!

Dead week is usually when papers, projects, and studying for finals happens all at once. It’s an understatement to say it can be a little stressful. We hope this post can encourage you to step away from the books and screens for a while and make time for yourself.

Stress Relief Tips

-Try to stay away from caffeine. Caffeine can increase cortisol in your body, your stress hormone, and increase overall anxiety.

-Take walks outside as study breaks

-Stay off of your phone when you’re not studying. With everything online, we need to give our brain as many screen breaks as possible.

-Make time for your creative outlet.

-Take a relaxing shower if you are getting too stressed.

-Write down your goals. Why are you here? Why are you studying? Is it going to be okay if you don’t end up with the A? Bringing what you’re doing into perspective can help with motivation and stress.

Relaxing Music

Wellness Challenge: Do an act of kindness for someone, tell us what you do!

Ideas for Acts of Kindness?

-Buy someone coffee behind you in line

-Buy a friend lunch

-Cook someone their favorite meal

-Call some friends just because!

-Compliment a stranger

-Give someone an opportunity to talk uninterrupted about how they’re feeling

What is Kindness? Why is it Important?

Wellness Challenge: Send us a picture of how you got outside in the sunshine this week!

Why Quarantine Has Made Us So Tired

Being quarantined has come with everything being online. We are spending the majority of our days in front of our phone, computer, TV, or all 3 at once! This can strain our eyes, make us feel lethargic, and lower our energy and productivity levels. Daily zoom calls contribute to mental and emotional fatigue as well.

This is why taking a break and getting outside every day is so important! A positive to our quarantine situation is that we can make more time to go outside and get moving! Here are a few benefits of getting outside!

Benefits of Being Outside

1. Increased amounts of vitamin D and movement can allow for better circadian rhythms by reducing inflammation. AKA better sleep!
2. Improved energy, productivity, and focus
3. Reduced stress
4. Can help with mental health, specifically anxiety and depression
5. Improved memory

Getting Outside Ideas

• Drink your morning coffee outside
• Go for a walk or a hike
• Grab a ball and a friend
• Read a book in the sun
• Yoga in the sun
• Ride a bike
• Plant a garden
• Go swimming in a lake or river
• Zoom outside
• Eat outside
• Drive to a viewpoint and listen to music

If you are here, this is your sign to log off your computer and step outside!

Sources: https://www.businessinsider.com/why-spending-more-time-outside-is-healthy-2017-7#with-all-this-its-not-surprising-that-outdoor-time-is-associated-with-a-lower-overall-risk-of-early-death-12

Wellness Challenge: Show us what your morning or daily routine is! Create one if you don’t have one! It’s so important to have a sense of structure and productivity during these times of isolation!

Tips for creating a routine:

1. WRITE IT DOWN:
   Write down specifically what you need to do every day. Keep every day’s routine in the same spot. Create it on a word document, use a journal, or write it on your phone!

2. BE REALISTIC:
Make enough time for each thing you do. The goal is NO multitasking. Focus on one thing at once throughout your day. Don’t try to clean your whole house, car, garage, write a 10 page paper, and attend classes in one day. Let yourself have a loose schedule.

3. LOVE YOURSELF
Make time for things you love to do, even better schedule blocks in for yourself throughout the day. You will feel happier and more focused at the end of each day!

4. MAKE MORNINGS YOUR FRIEND
Right when you wake up, do something to get your day started off on a good foot. This could look like brushing your teeth, making your bed, making breakfast, or stretching! The first 6 hours of our day is the most productive!

5. LIMIT YOUR DISTRACTIONS
Don’t check your phone every 30 minutes. Try to practice professionalism from home during classes and turn your phone off or set it in another room. When you study, flip your phone over and out of sight so you don’t subconsciously start scrolling on instagram! Make time for going on your phone, but don’t let it interfere with time you set aside for your self care or creative outlets.

6. FORGIVE YOURSELF
Go easy on yourself! We usually don’t do everything we set out to do and that is life! Try to continue checking your routine throughout the day to stay on track, but don’t get down on yourself if you don’t accomplish everything you wanted to. Make a note as to why you don’t think you got everything you wanted to get done. The unexpected phone call with your grandma was probably worth more than getting the laundry done. And if you needed extra self care that day, pat yourself on the back for taking it!

Inspirational Routines

Resources:

Hey Beavs!

The Spring Wellness Challenge looks a little different this year. Here are the guidelines:

6 Weeks of Challenges starting Week 4. Keep up with each challenge through beaver tracks, instagram, facebook, or this site!

Send us a picture/video of you doing each challenge:
instagram/facebook: @osucascadesstudentwellness
email: cartwrim@oregonstate.edu

WIN gift cards by participating!

This Be Well platform will have a new post every week in order to support you through each challenge! Explore our site a little more while you’re here!