Mental wellbeing is very important, minding it sets us up for success to deal with everyday tasks, overcome any difficulties and achieving the goals we have set ourselves. Minding our mental wellbeing can reduce anxiety, increase self-esteem, improve relationships, bring a sense of calmness and lead to clearer thinking.

Here are some ways to maintain mental wellbeing...

Sharing your feelings

Talking about how you are feeling and coping with stress and anxiety helps maintain good mental health. Speaking with someone you trust, will lift the heavy load off your mind, bringing a sense of relief. It’s normal to be afraid or feel embarrassed for speaking about how you feel but don’t be. The ones you love are there to listen and help you. If you are not comfortable with sharing how you feel with someone just yet, write them down in a journal. It can be helpful talking to someone impartial - there are many supports available in UCD to help you when needed.

Stay active

Exercising regularly can improve concentration, clears the mind, and boost your self-esteem. Not only does it make you feel good, but it keeps your vital organs healthy and functioning adequately.

• 30 minutes of exercise every day is recommended to maintain good mental and physical wellbeing.
• 30 minutes of exercise can be done in 3 x 10-minute bouts across the day, meaning you do not have to do the full 30 minutes all in one go.

Find out more about ways to  keep active on campus.

Stay in touch

Technology has blessed us with the ability to ring, text, face time, skype and zoom our friends and family. Keep in touch with them, they are only a call away. Speaking to your friends and family will lighten your mood and may even brighten up their day.

There are also ways to connect on campus through joining a UCD Club or Society,  there are lots of options to choose from.

Take up a hobby 

Doing something you love can reduce stress and takes your mind away from it for a while. The list of things you can do is endless:- cycling, running, swimming, working out, painting, reading, playing a musical instrument...and can bring a sense of achievement and increase self-esteem.

There is something for everyone in UCD - check out a UCD Club or Society  to see what might interest you.

Staff clubs and groups offer a great opportunity for employees to connect with each other.

Reduce screen time

We all know the effects of doom scrolling - taking breaks from devices regularly throughout the day can help with feelings of overwhelm. Avoid all screens at least 30 minutes before you plan to sleep. Instead of using the phone or watching tv,  grab a book, write in a journal, or listen to music and wind down.

Mental Health is important and should not be neglected. If you are struggling with exam stress, have lost interest in things you love or don’t feel like yourself, remember things will be ok. Speaking about how you feel is not a sign of weakness, coming forward and asking for help takes courage and shows strength.

The (opens in a new window)Health & Wellbeing Collection is curated to support the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of members of the UCD community. Our collection builds upon material acquired through the 'Books on Prescription' scheme which was initiated by UCD Student Health.

Making sure we get enough quality and quantity sleep every night is just as important for a healthy lifestyle as the food we eat and activity we do. But it’s often put at the bottom of the list when we are at our busiest, especially when assignment deadlines build up and exam season approaches. We ask a lot of our body and mind every day, so it’s essential that we give it time to rest and repair at night. However, it can feel like we live in a world that’s on the go 24/7, especially with smartphones and social media always within an arm’s reach, making it tricky to switch off and snooze. With that in mind, let’s look at some simple tips to help you take back your bedtime.

Create a Relaxation Routine

I’m sure most of you reading this had a ‘bedtime routine’ as a child. Well, as adults, it turns out we need one too! Having a night-time routine that relaxes your mind and body is the best and first step to help you drift off. In the hour before bed, make it your mission to power down. This means reducing or eliminating screen time – television, tablet, phone, you name it. That can seem challenging to do, as we use smart devices for many things from social media, to emails, to texts and calls. A large amount of smart screen activity before bed will only keep your mind stimulated, and in addition to this, smart devices emit light with a high concentration of ‘blue light’, which has been found to suppress our sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin, causing a delay in the onset of our sleep. Instead of scrolling through your social media feed, why not try reading a book, chatting with your family or partner, listening to calming music, or engaging in a short meditation? See if you notice a difference for the better.

Create a Caffeine Cut-off

Caffeine, which we mostly ingest through consumption of coffee and tea (and perhaps energy drinks, particular at exam time) is a stimulant. It has a half-life (i.e. the time it takes to eliminate half the caffeine you ingest) of approximately 5-6 hours. So if we don’t time our intake right, we may end up with a lot of it in our system quite late in the day when we are trying to switch off. Additionally, due to our genetics, each of us varies in the speed with which we metabolise caffeine. The average 200ml cup of coffee contains about 90-100mg of caffeine. An upper limit of 400mg per day is what has been deemed safe for most healthy adults. If you’re struggling with sleep, take a closer look at your caffeine intake over the day. And remember, decaf does have a little bit of caffeine in there too. A handy rule of thumb is to try not to consume caffeinated beverages after midday, to ensure as much of it is out of your system as possible by the time you hit the hay.

Keep Active During the Day

Improved sleep is high up on the lengthy list of health benefits physical activity provides, both in terms of sleep quality and quantity. Studies have shown these improvements in those with actual clinically diagnosed insomnia, as well as the general population. However, it is important to try to avoid exercising at high intensities in the 2-3 hours before bedtime, as exercise is a form of stress to the body and activates our sympathetic nervous system responsible for that ‘fight or flight’ response we all know so well! It is generally best to try to be active throughout the day for the best benefits for sleep. It’s also recommended to try to get some of that exercise in outdoors – for example, by going for a run or a walk before work, or at lunch or in the early evening as exposure to natural light during your day, particularly earlier in your day, helps regulate our internal body clock (known as our circadian rhythm) each day.

Mental and physical wellbeing are often neglected unintentionally when it comes to studying for exams. Stress, anxiety, and worry take over resulting in endless hours being spent at the laptop studying. This article will provide some tips and advice on how to deal with stress and anxiety around exams.

What is anxiety and stress?

Anxiety is a common feeling that everyone experiences as an emotional response to stressful situations. Feelings include worry and tension as responses to potential stressful scenarios. Sample situations could be:  sitting an exam, driving or social gatherings.

Stress is our body’s response to pressure. It is any change that causes physical, emotional, and psychological strain. It is triggered when we feel like we have lost control over a situation and deflates our sense of self! Situations where you might experience stress include studying for exams, assignment deadlines or starting a new job.

Study tips

Studying for exams can be overwhelming, exhausting and stressful. If it gets too much, there are ways to help keep calm:

1. Keep a routine and regular breaks: Write out an achievable ‘to do’ list for each day, by writing things down it takes away unnecessary strain from the mind. Taking breaks are essential to rest and clear the mind resulting in improved concentration! Remember, after each hour of studying, take a 5-minute break!

2. Limit caffeine intake: Caffeine and energy drinks give short term boosts of energy to increase concentration but are not good in the long-term resulting in poor sleep quality. Increase water intake to keep hydrated!

3. Look after yourself: It’s easy to forget about yourself and your mental health when studying. Try to get a good sleep, take time to do something for yourself, whether it is doing your skin care routine or playing a game you love. Do something for you!

4. Know what works for you: Everyone has a different way of studying, find a way that is most effective for you. For example: watching videos, creating mind maps, writing notes, or reading lecture notes.

5. Leave the stress in the exam hall: Don’t take it home with you, remember that all you can do is your best. When doing exams online, leave your room/study space for a while to wind down after the exam, come back later refreshed to prepare for the next exam!

6. Ask for and accept support: Talk to your friends or family, they will help you if you are in need. It’s okay not to be okay.

A Mental Wellbeing seminar is also available here on the website, where UCD Student Counsellor Donal Kiernan discusses exam stress. This seminar is worth a watch if you are feeling anxious about exams!!

Healthy Eating tips

You might tend to throw your eating habits out the window around exam time, grabbing anything at hand to save time from cooking. Healthy eating plays a role in exam performance by improving concentration and providing energy to study. Check out our nutrition section for nutrition tips during exam time.

Mental Health is important and should not be neglected. If you are struggling with exam stress, have lost interest in things you love or don’t feel like yourself, remember things will be ok. Speaking about how you feel isn’t a sign of weakness, coming forward and asking for help takes courage. There are lots of supports available to you.

To read more about how to maintain mental wellbeing all year round, click here.

UCD offers a range of modules with a focus on Wellbeing including:

• "Sort Your Life Out and Thrive"
  • ‘Sort your life out and thrive’ is a module that focuses on your wellbeing, personal growth and coping with stress, so that you can equip yourself with lifelong skills for learning, working and being well. You will spend 10 weeks developing yourself to thrive in university life and beyond - including leadership skills for future employment - through fostering physical, cognitive, emotional and social skills that will support your wellbeing.
• "Mindfulness for Health"
  • This module introduces students to the concept and practice of mindfulness in the context of personal and professional care. Students will understand the evidence for mindfulness based interventions in the reduction of stress and burnout. Students will understand the processes underpinning the stress response and the benefits of mindfulness based stress reduction techniques to manage reactivity and foster resilience.
• "Wellbeing and Work"
  • This module will emphasise the individual’s wellbeing as a starting point for organisational and societal wellbeing using practices which can help build resilience and strengthen personal resources to manage and respond to challenges as experienced in everyday life, including the work setting, in a more skilful way. 

What is an eating disorder?

• Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that can affect anyone at any time and can impact on every aspect of a person's functioning. 
• Eating disorders can have a widespread impact on thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and cause serious and potentially life-threatening changes to eating habits.
• Eating disorders often result in physical changes in the body that can put your life and health at risk.

Eating disorders start in the mind and there are many complex emotional and psychological symptoms that influence eating behaviours. It can be very difficult to explain your eating disorder to others and often difficult for them to understand.

Help for eating disorders   

There is help available for people struggling with eating disorders. The first port of call should be to see your GP/Counsellor who can advise of next steps.

There are many types of eating disorders, from severe food restriction to eating very large quantities of food at one time or a combination of both.

Other support networks include:

• (opens in a new window)AddictiveEatersAnonymous.org
• (opens in a new window)BodyWhys.ie 
• (opens in a new window)SpunOut.ie
• (opens in a new window)Jigsaw.ie