Things Students Can do to Boost their Mental Health

Being a full-time college student is an amazing time, but it is also a very mentally challenging time in a person’s life. Besides filling their brains with an abundance of new material, they can be faced with loneliness and the stress of being far away from home, as well as dealing with the financial strain. The results of a survey, that was conducted by the National Union of Students (NUS), found that the seventy (78%) of all students had experienced some sort of mental health issues throughout the year.

Mental health issues are a complicated subject, and there is no "quick fix" cure, but there are a few things you can do, to give your mental health a positive boost:

Enjoy simple pleasures

One of the small and simple pleasures done on a daily basis, listed below, is guaranteed to boost your mood and make you feel that your brain is restored and working at full capacity.

• Get at least 8 hours of rest a night

• Take a 10 minute walk in the sunshine

• Read a good book

• Pet a dog and cat (borrow one, if you don’t own one)

• Take a bike ride through a scenic route.

• Drink water

• Hug a friend

• Volunteer

• Get and stay organized

• Make time for hobbies and doing things you love

• Make every day count

Meditate

Meditation is great for the brain and thought process. It was studied and documented, that students who meditated for six (6) weeks, were more easily able to "think outside the box" and improve memory capabilities, than individuals who had no training in the art of meditation.

Meditation is said to reduce anxiety and depression, and shift thought patterns from destructive behaviors.

Other conducted studies, regarding meditation, suggest that the practice alters the mind and brain power. Results have pointed to mediation as having the ability to slow the process of frontal cortex thinning (which usually happens as a person ages and brain activity decreases).

Students may be interested in some technical applications that are specifically targeted toward mediation, such as "Headspace".

Exercise

It seems that clinical studies are showing that physical exercise is more beneficial to improving mental health than brain exercise.

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine was used on more than 600 volunteers, who were in their 70s and walked (or performed another type of exercise) several times a week. The results showed that they incurred less shrinkage of the brain than those who did not engage in the much physical activity. In addition, they found that brain connections were stronger when physical activity was a regular part of their lifestyle.

Limit social media use

Social connections are linked to having a positive outlook on life and more positive brain activity, which leads to overall better mental health. Social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter can be laced with all kinds of issues, should be limited, as long as they are controlled and do not become an all-consuming part of your social life. The research on this subject is extensive, and some experts say that reading positive status updates of our "friends" can make us feel worse about our own situations. This is particularly true for individuals who have a long list of "friends". It is suggested that you slim down your list to just your closest friends, and to individuals who are not prone to showing off and displaying their perfect lives.

Supplements

Supplements, that claim to boost brain power, line the shelves of vitamin shops and health food stores. Everyone is looking to avoid mental deterioration and boost their ability to remember more. Omega-3 fish oil tablets and Vitamin E and Chinese club moss, which is also known as Huperzine A, is a relatively safe and effective supplement, that is found as a main ingredient in many marketed brain boosting supplements, such as Alpha ZXT but its is recommended not to use such supplements before consulting to your doctor.

Evlin Symon is a freelance health writer from New Jersey. She enjoys learning about a wide variety of wellness issues and staying up-to-date on the latest research. You can find her on a href "https://www.facebook.com/evlin.symon"Facebook