Hallo! It’s a new week!
As part of our commitment to improving your style of living, the health column will be sharing a bit on self-care and how that it is possible to have a healthy lifestyle amidst the stress on campus.
It is no longer news on OAU Campus that being a student of the university comes with a lot of price attached with stress and depression being the most discussed topics. We know stress and depression are not healthy attributes and the question is- “How do I take care of myself?”
A lot mistake self-care to be about fixing imperfect or lacking parts of our lives to be perfect individuals. This is self-improvement not self-care. Self-care goes beyond just treating oneself to feel good for some time. It is about forming and living by healthy habits with lasting benefits.
Students of the College of Health Sciences had a lot to say on this topic of stress and self-care. The major set-backs that many claimed to be the reason for lack of self-care were lack of money and insufficient time.
These ideas clearly showed students’ assumptions about self-care being something separate from their daily activities, but there is enough space for self-care in our daily activities. The truth is we had always involved subjects of self-care in our daily activities, only that most times we did them in ways that were unhealthy. I mean, we all eat, sleep and have several ways of dealing with stress and these you see are common subjects of self-care.
Nowadays, it is quite easy to monitor health-related activities such as sleep, exercise, nutrition with Phone apps. There are websites that teach stress management techniques and mindfulness practices. There is the idea of jogging, walking without having to sign up at a gym, etc. These makes it much easier to practice healthy habits without having to pay so much. Thus, on the matter of cost, self-care is quite affordable.
How can you build these healthy self-care habits?
You build by practising the following constantly and continuously:
Care for your body:
Eat balanced diets that meet your daily requirements. Go for organic food.
Perform healthy exercises. As said earlier, this doesn’t have to be in a gym. Walking a good number of steps, about 7 500 – 10 000 steps a day is healthy too.
Sleep well. High-quality sleep helps to improve the immune system so when it comes to sleep, get away from anything that can hinder a sound sleep such as lights, drinking too much before bed. Get good beddings and pillows and get some good sleep.
Care for your mind:
Talk to people and learn to spend time with people whose presence you enjoy.
Get questions about your health across to health experts.
Care for your society. It’s clear we are social beings. Let’s share knowledge on self-care as often as we can. While the system might not give enough rewards to cater for enlightening people, the reports and news on the bad effects of lack of self-care should be enough drive to share the knowledge on self-care and how that it can be a normal part of our daily routine and not just something to do only when there’s time and money.
Finally, Let’s rethink and stop unhealthy habits. Let’s work more on getting these healthy habits that are not costly as unhealthy habits can cause unhealthy situations which are costly.
-NIFEMIE
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