{"id":14397,"date":"2015-07-14T13:26:55","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T13:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/postgraduate\/?p=1522"},"modified":"2015-07-14T13:26:55","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T13:26:55","slug":"how-to-beat-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2015\/07\/14\/how-to-beat-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to beat stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"lauren-bishop\"<\/a>Studying can be stressful, particularly when we have exams looming or multiple deadlines piling up.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to look after yourself throughout these times to keep the negative effects of stress at bay.\u00a0 That means making time for yourself no matter how much work you have to do; if you burn out you won\u2019t be able to get the work done anyway, so best to invest some time into your wellbeing to prevent this from happening!<\/p>\n

Fortunately, maintaining and improving our wellbeing isn\u2019t exactly rocket science, especially since the New Economics Foundation<\/a> developed the Five Ways to Wellbeing<\/a> to break it down into five simple areas.\u00a0 Here I\u2019ll run through the Five Ways, what they mean and give some examples of my own favourite ways to take care of myself.<\/p>\n

First is Connect<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is about being connected with the people around you.\u00a0 So, simply making time to spend with people we care about is a great way to keep ourselves feeling good.\u00a0 Personally, I like to schedule in lots of coffee dates with good friends to keep myself grounded and connected.\u00a0 Joining a BU club or society<\/a> is also a great way to get connected with people who share your hobbies and interests.<\/p>\n

\"Hot-chocolate\"<\/a>For me, a coffee date with a friend is one of life\u2019s true pleasures, and one of the best ways to keep stress at bay!<\/em><\/p>\n

The second of the Five Ways is Keep Learning<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is pretty self-explanatory, and fortunately for us postgrad students we\u2019re already doing this anyway!\u00a0 It can be good to learn something outside of our formal studies to keep our brains active though, so personally I\u2019m learning a spot of Italian using Duolingo<\/a> over the summer.\u00a0 I\u2019ll also be sure to make use of Languages@BU<\/a> for opportunities that will support my learning!<\/p>\n

Thirdly is Keep Active<\/strong>.\u00a0 The positive effects of physical activity on mood<\/a> are well documented, so it doesn\u2019t come as a surprise that this made it into the Five Ways.\u00a0 Being active isn\u2019t all about doing structured exercise; going for a walk, housework, gardening and DIY all count too.\u00a0 When endless hours are spent sat at a desk studying, it\u2019s important to make sure you keep moving.\u00a0 Personally, my favourite activity is cycling – which has the added benefits of sunshine and connecting with nature \u2013 lovely!\u00a0 But my activities can also be as simple as running up and down the stairs a few times while having a break from staring at the computer screen.\u00a0 You can find out about sporting activities available at BU here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\"Beating-stress-slider\"<\/a>\n

Getting out on my bike is a great way to keep active and take notice of my beautiful surroundings.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fourth is Take Notice<\/strong>.\u00a0 When we\u2019re stressed it can be so easy to get bogged down in endless to do lists and pressure to get things done.\u00a0 The Five Ways to Wellbeing encourages us to take the time to notice what\u2019s going on around us, as well as inside our minds and bodies.\u00a0 Being aware of our emotions can help us to recognise when we need to set some time aside for ourselves to keep healthy.\u00a0 Personally, I practise mindfulness<\/a> meditation, which really helps me to connect with myself, as well as taking notice of my surroundings more in everyday life.<\/p>\n

Last but by no means least is Give<\/strong>.\u00a0 Doing something for someone else is a really powerful way to boost our mood and self-esteem.\u00a0 So, by helping others you help yourself too!\u00a0 This could be anything from cooking dinner for a friend to volunteering for a charity.\u00a0 Admittedly I probably don\u2019t put as much time into giving as I\u2019d like, although I\u2019m trying to get involved with volunteering to get more women into cycling<\/a>.\u00a0 You can find out about lots of ways to contribute to charities at BU on the Raising and Giving<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

So, there we have it. Five simple steps to beating stress and maintaining our wellbeing.\u00a0 Try them for yourself and see how a small change can have big benefits!<\/p>\n

By Lauren Bishop<\/strong><\/em>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Studying can be stressful, particularly when we have exams looming or multiple deadlines piling up.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to look after yourself throughout these times to keep the negative effects of stress at bay.\u00a0 That means making time for yourself no matter how much work you have to do; if you burn out you won\u2019t be… Read more » about How to beat stress<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1444,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1658,1663],"tags":[130,48,1233,1996,2186,2202],"class_list":["post-14397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-archive","category-postgraduate","tag-bournemouth-university","tag-bu","tag-health-and-wellbeing","tag-lauren-bishop","tag-postgraduate-study","tag-public-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1444"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14397\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}