With the first marking period ending soon, spirit week, and SMAC competitions approaching soon for our fall athletes this time in the school year can be very stressful and cause lots of anxiety. Therefore, it’s important to take some time and re-engage yourself. Check out these mental health tips, so you can have the best school year!
- Getting Enough Sleep
Sleep is one of the most important things for teenagers and to maintain your overall health. According to MentalHealthFirstAid.com and Study.com, as a teen, you should be getting 8–10 hours of sleep each night. If you struggle with getting the optimal amount of sleep each night then something that might help is creating a sleep routine. When you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day your brain will start to release chemicals that will help you get sleepy at the right times and give you happy wake-up chemicals in the morning when you wake up. Getting ideal amounts of sleep is important for your mental health because sleep is vital for teenagers to grow and develop. Without enough sleep, you will be left tired, unfocused the next day, and have more anxiety.
- Making Lists
A lot of the time we get so wound up in the day that we are so overwhelmed or forget about certain things or tasks that we have to do, and often this will cause lots of anxiety. But to help alleviate some stress, try writing lists. Whether it’s on your phone or on paper, write it down. When you write stuff down you are more likely to remember it! Also. crossing tasks off lists helps you mentally because it gives you a sense of accomplishment. So in an attempt to reduce stress when given homework, future assignments, or important tasks, write them down to try to relieve some stress for your future self!
- Breathing exercises
Oftentimes when we are stressed and overwhelmed, breathing tends to get shallow and fast. But luckily you can change this. Better Health Channel claimed that studies have shown that when you stop and control your breathing it helps manage your stress. You should start including breathing exercises in your daily routine to receive the best results. One of the breathing exercises that you can do is called box breathing. First, you start by breathing in for 5 seconds, then you hold your breath for 5 seconds, then you breathe out for 5 seconds, then finally you will hold your breath for 5 seconds again. You can imagine it like a box, so when you first breathe in for five seconds you are going up the left side of the box and then follow the box shape. You can do this breathing exercise anywhere so when you need to reset mentally, take 2 minutes to complete a couple cycles of box breathing.
It’s important to have good mental health during the school year or anytime, so if you are very struggling use these tips, or you can always reach out to a trusted adult like a teacher, counselor, parent, etc, and remember to stay positive!
