New Year, New You? Five Self-Care Tips

5 Self-Care Tips for New Year’s Resolutions, without the guilt!

2020 has been ROUGH. It’s no surprise many are hoping for a new start in 2021. ‘New Year, New You’ is a common motto on January 1st- yet studies show under 20% of us stick to our New Year’s resolutions! Yikes!

Rather than pressurising ourselves then wallowing in guilt, we propose a new motto for 2021: Be KIND to yourself!

When we look after our own wellbeing, many of our other goals seem more manageable – so these are our top 5 self-care tips for a kinder 2021:

Hit Pause!

How often do you finish one task and immediately start planning the next? Our lives are busy, but giving our minds and bodies time to ‘switch off’ helps us deal with these pressures. Plan time for the things you enjoy like reading books, watching films, taking baths, or playing games.

Make Sleep a Priority

Research tells us sleep is essential for everything from managing stress, to learning something new. Bedtime rituals such as limiting screen time, dimming the lights, and having a consistent bedtime, can all help us get the sleep we need to feel refreshed.

Keep Active

Stress helped our ancestors run from lions (probably!), but today the things that cause us stress are harder to escape through the ‘fight or flight’ response our bodies gear us up for. Exercise that raises our heart rate helps reduce the stress hormones in our body- just 30 minutes a day can be enough to help us feel more relaxed.

Make Time for Your Cheerleaders

Spending time with our loved ones, having fun, chatting, and perhaps getting a different perspective on our problems can help us feel better about ourselves. Identify your ‘cheerleaders’ and make time for one another 😊

Try Something New

Our brains CRAVE novelty, trying new things can help our mental wellbeing by giving us increased confidence and purpose. Why not try a new hobby or craft? It doesn’t matter if you’re not an expert!

Article written by Danielle Mannion, GM Higher Outreach Project Manager, University of Bolton

Have a question about wellbeing, support, or student life?

Chat to our friendly team:

https://gmhigher.ac.uk.ac.uk/askus/

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