College can be, without a doubt, the most vibrant, exciting time of one's life. But it can also be an experience often overshadowed by stress and anxiety. For many students, college is their first experience living somewhere away from home, surrounded by new people in a completely unique dynamic. To make sure that potential stress doesn’t wash away the fun of college life, it’s key for students to prioritize their own mental and physical health.
A good way for students to make sure they’re taking care of themselves and keeping their health on their minds throughout a hectic college life is by setting SMART — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound — goals for themselves.
While some may consider it to be a cliché, the advice to live in the moment is widely repeated for a reason. Training your mind to really accept and prioritize the present moment has real positive effects. I have definitely been guilty of putting too much pressure on small decisions, which always leads to more overthinking than the decision is worth. Being a college student makes one very vulnerable to assuming every decision they make will determine their life trajectory, which makes it really easy to fall down unnecessary rabbit holes of stress at any moment.
The issue with college stress is that many of the decisions we make now create big waves in our lives, like choosing a major or a career path. Because every decision we make during these few years does feel so important, it would seem logical to spend time worrying about making the correct decision. However, our priorities are ever-changing, meaning that no matter what decisions we make, there will always be a chance of regretting them. Because the human mind is so unpredictable, it's actually more logical to trust our ability to make the best choices we can and accept the reality that things change and we may make mistakes. It would be silly to base daily decisions on long-term goals since long-term goals have so much room for change. I am not arguing that students should throw their aspirational goals out the window and live solely on current pleasure, but it would be a mistake to let eustress turn into a daily migraine.
An example of a SMART goal that would help someone live in the moment and avoid overthinking is to start a worry journal. A worry journal involves scheduling a specific portion of time in the day, usually at night, where someone allows themselves to worry about their various stressors throughout the day. For example, one could say they will write all their worries down in their worry journal for 30 minutes at 10 p.m. every night. This method allows someone to trust that there will be time to worry about things that arise during the day later, releasing them from the pressure to overthink in the present moment.
Clinical psychologist Dr. James Miller states that neuroimaging studies have actually found significant evidence that the act of physically translating one’s abstract thoughts to understandable written words reduces activity in the amygdala, the portion of the brain that promotes fear and anxiety. Writing in a journal also simultaneously activates one’s prefrontal cortex, the rational thinking center of our brain. Using a worry journal pushes people to postpone worrying until they have time to think more rationally about their various anxiety-provoking situations, allowing them to spend their time and energy more productively. Additionally, anything that wasn’t worth worrying about in the first place will probably be forgotten about by worry o’clock anyway.
You may have heard the body and mind are connected, but it's shocking how true that statement really is. The things one eats can actually have a huge impact on your mind, exemplified by the gut-brain axis. According to the National Institute of Health, the gut-brain axis is a communication network between the brain and gut, made up of neural, endocrine and immune pathways. Because of this communication system, what we eat directly affects our mood. For example, a diet full of nutrients and fibers from low or unprocessed foods would support good bacteria and mood hormone regulation, while a diet of highly-processed food may inhibit our hormones from properly regulating our moods.
Our gut stores 95% of our serotonin, a hormone and neurotransmitter key to mood regulation. Because the majority of our serotonin is in our gut, its ability to perform and send messages to the brain to stabilize our mood is dependent on our diet. Since college is the time of cup noodles and late night vending machine snacks, it is often difficult for students to access or even remember to maintain a healthy diet. Eating healthy in college is another responsibility that could be easier to achieve with a SMART goal, such as one that I find manageable: eating one green food a day.
Mental and physical health are highly discussed topics with often little followthrough on actual prioritization. College students are especially vulnerable to falling into patterns that disrupt both mental and physical health, which is why SMART goals, whatever they may be for a specific person, can be helpful to keep students in check for keeping good habits in a manageable way.
Kate Hlinko is a sophomore studying Psychology and Communication Arts. Do you agree that it's important to stay mentally and physically healthy in college? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
