FINDING TIME FOR WELLNESS

I’m about to get fat.

I can feel it. I’ve only had a few runs this month, and I haven’t been to Group Fitness since the start of the year! I can feel my body getting used to the low daily step counts, and I’m still eating the same or more than I did in the summer.

One massive problem for sticking to a Wellness schedule has been the insane scheduling difficulties of the first month of school. You might be in the same situation: after week 1 & 2 you’ve figured out your classes and what times you need to do homework, and around week 3-4 you added a few clubs, student orgs or picked up a side job. However, don’t let your schedule be complete without some sort of fitness scheduled in.

Fitness is an important part of your daily lifestyle, and if you don’t get some sort of exercise each month, studies show that side effects like depression and lower endorphin rates. Make sure to put it into your daily or weekly planners, because it’s not the sort of thing that happens by itself.

            Exercise isn’t the only part of wellness that I want to focus on. Another part of wellness that may not get as much attention is mental health. As a demographic, college students are one of the hardest hit by depression. It’s real. We suffer. However, there are always things you can do to put yourself in a better place.

            Whether it’s making sure you have a day off scheduled during the week, or it means taking a 15 minute walk each day, mental health is a physical responsibility that you have to care for, like hunger or thirst. One technique I use is putting my phone down for a few minutes and just sitting in silence, taking time to think about the day’s ordeals. Another thing I had done is Yoga, but now that my semester schedule is different, I have to find a way to fit that in.

            Remember that Wellness is a journey. Please, do not expect results after the first few times. In fact, a benefit of scheduling exercise and mental fitness is that you force yourself to stay in a routine. It will be tough to stick too once the novelty wears off, but the results have been worth it for me. I would encourage anyone to try to pick up a Wellness routine, no matter the amount of time you commit. Your body will thank you.

I hope you reach your Wellness Goals

Ethan Maurice