One could argue that Spring is a lot more than a change in season. The arrival of Spring also brings with it a few changes, starting from physiological to psychological. Spring Wellness, in simple terms, revolves around the impact on human health during this particular change in season. As we leave the winter months behind, we welcome the season of Spring, which is usually associated with renewal, growth and vitality. While these changes may seem small, It is important to know about the significance of Spring wellness and Spring mental health, which is what we will be covering in this blog. Keep reading to find your very own Spring Wellness guide.
What Is Spring Wellness?
Did you know that a significant dip in gym memberships is observed during the spring season as people and students prefer to stay more outdoors than indoors? Another interesting fact about spring is that it coincides with New Year’s resolutions, and so, students are more likely to eat healthily during this time. These are a few examples of what spring wellness constitutes.
As a student, many factors dictate how your university life will go, and one major factor is your mental health! The season of spring, especially between April to June, is considered the best time to work on your mental health. On that note, let’s also have a look at why spring wellness is important.
Why Is Spring Wellness Important?
According to a number of studies, the shorter and darker days of winter can cause a significant impact on the mental health of students. Not only are they less productive, but they also lose inclination to do things that make them happy. This happens because some people experience something called SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. It's basically like depression linked to the winter season.
Spring is like hitting the reset button on that! As the sunshine increases, so does the serotonin in our brains, helping us feel happier and more energized. This is why spring is considered the prime time to focus on your well-being – you're naturally primed to feel better! Have a look at some more reasons for why you should focus on your spring mental health below.
1. Helps Reduce Stigma
The stigma around mental health has been a long-standing issue. It is important to increase mental health awareness in order to reduce the barrier or stigma. This spring, let's try to promote mental health among your friends by talking about your mental health openly or educating them about it and its importance!
2. Helps With Early Intervention
Only after we break the barrier of openly talking about our mental health will we be able to notice any changes. With early intervention, one can get help well in time before things get serious.
3. Improvement In Academic Performance
One major importance of mental health awareness is that it helps improve your academic performance! While you have early interventions and openly talk about your mental health, you will be able to focus on things that matter with a healthier mind, which in turn helps you yield better results!
These are just some of the reasons why mental health awareness in students is important! If you are looking for more reasons, then our guide on understanding the importance of mental health will surely help you with that! And, if you’re looking for the best way to take care of your mental health during this season, have a look at some tips that can serve as a guide for spring wellness for students.
Spring Wellness Tips
Now, let's get into what this spring wellness guide is all about, and that is how to take care of your mental health in spring! Taking care of your mental health is beneficial for the simple reason that it plays an important part in your life, especially when it comes to your thoughts, behaviour, and emotions. When your mental health is down, you don't feel like being productive, but when you're in good shape, it is the complete opposite. So, to help you with that, here are 15 spring wellness tips!
1. Move More
A very basic but important spring wellness tip to improve your spring mental health is to move more, i.e. exercise more! It is completely fine even if you don't have a proper exercise routine; you can just go for a walk on a daily basis, which includes walking around your house. All you have to do is move more and sit less. Plus, you can even add a bit of stretching to help you relax and get you ready for spring!
2. Make New Friends
Probably the best way to improve your mental health is by being with people you share similar interests with! Once you are in a comfortable spot and close to people, you tend to talk about things that worry you and get advice from the people you trust! There are many ways you can make new friends, like by joining a club or by just showing that you are friendly; if you want to know methods, our guide on how to make friends will surely help you crack the code!
3. Be One With The Nature
The sun is shining, the weather is pleasant, and the plants are calling out your name! So it is best if you are one with nature and take a small walk in your local woods. You can even find a cosy spot to enjoy the sounds of birds chirping and trees rustling and feel a cool breeze blow past. Doesn't it sound alluring?
4. Switch To Healthy Foods
If you haven't already, switch to eating smart snacks and healthy foods cause that is where all the hype is! Nutrition is a major point when we talk about mental health because you are what you eat. You need to eat healthy foods to have a healthy mind and body! It also helps you exercise even more often; it's a win-win situation!
5. Visit Your Nearest Wellness Hub
If you are going to college for the first time or even coming back from college, this tip is for you! One place you should visit if you are looking to improve your mental health has to be your nearest wellness centre! The simple reason is that you will find various counsellors, physicians, and students who will help you. From having a simple check-up to even battling your addictions, your nearest wellness hub is a place where you can work on your spring wellness. If you aren’t very comfortable with walking into a wellness hub physically, you can also try online student well-being services and support platforms that can offer you consultation with good therapists from the comfort of your new home
6. Schedule A Doctor's Appointment
This spring wellness tip might sound a bit out of the blue, but it is important to schedule a doctor's appointment when spring arrives. In addition to syndromes like SAD, it has been observed that students also go through The Allergen Effect, which is an allergy reaction due to increased pollen. That being said, scheduling a doctor’s appointment is one of the most important additions to our mental health guide for spring wellness.
7. Drink Water With A Dash of Lemon
Drinking around 8-13 cups of water a day is surely a goal for many, so how about while you are reaching this target of your daily water intake, you add a bit of zest to one of your cups and have lemon water instead? Drinking lemon water once a day has a lot of benefits that you might not realise, like strengthening bones, improving oral health, losing weight, and a lot more!
8. Maintain A Sleep Schedule
Something all students dream of doing is sleeping all day! To improve your spring mental health, you could create and maintain a sleep schedule for yourself. If you laze around all day, you are bound to become lethargic, and if you don't get enough sleep, you won't be able to work or study properly! To tackle this issue, try maintaining a sleep schedule where you get your 8-9 hours of recommended sleep!
9. Give Some Time To Your Hobbies
Another spring wellness tip to surely implement is to give time to your hobbies or to do what makes you happy! Once you start doing the things you like, your brain automatically starts producing dopamine, making you feel better about yourself and improving your mental health! Your hobby can even be the simplest thing, like going on a walk or listening to music or cooking your favourite meals!
10. Meditation Is Key
Spend some time with yourself alone and with your thoughts. Meditation is nothing but "me time", where you sit down comfortably and sort out the chaos of thoughts in your brain. There are more benefits to meditation than you think, like reducing cortisol, improvement in focus, getting better sleep , improvement in mental health, and a lot more! If you are curious about anything about meditation for students, then this complete guide on meditation for students will solve all the doubts that you have!
11. Balance Is Everything
One thing you need to consider when talking about mental health is the need to maintain balance. As a student, balance is everything because too much of one thing has never been fruitful to anyone. Let's say that you just sleep all day; you end up being lethargic. To balance that out, you start exercising. And just like that, everything that you do should be balanced!
12. Face Your Fears
Another spring wellness tip we would like to impart is about facing your fears and issues. It does sound scary, and for all the right reasons, but confronting your issues or fears is the biggest booster to your mental health. It also makes you mentally stronger while also giving you wisdom! Facing your fears can be a difficult task, but the benefits of doing this are definitely worth it.
13. Vitamins Are The Secret To Your Energy
Taking vitamins might be a habit that you might never have picked up before, but this spring, it is time to change that! A few vitamins you should consider taking include the likes of Curcumin, Vitamin C, Zinc, and Vitamin B! These supplements will not only help you feel better but also aid you in growing and exercising, boosting your confidence!
14. Spring Calls For Cleaning!
Your mental health not only depends upon the things you do, but also where you live! This spring, try to clean out your home of all the extra things and decorate your place in a way that makes you feel happy or like home, especially if you are a student going to college for the first time because there will be moments you will miss home! If you need some ideas on how to decorate your room to feel more home-like, here are a few budget bedroom decor ideas for your dorm room.
15. Learn To Deal With Stress
This spring wellness tip is for all the students who are about to enter college for the first time. There are going to be a lot of things happening at the same time, and you will be in a new environment; this can cause a bit of stress, but a wise man once said, "not my circus, not my monkey!". Start to learn to deal with stress, and you will see your mental health become better rapidly! If you need help on how to deal with stress, here are a few stress management techniques that will help you make the most of your spring wellness.
These are a few tips on how to improve your mental health this spring season! This marks the end of this spring wellness guide; we hope that you are now ready for your spring break or first semester in college! Always remember that your mental health comes before anything else!