Looking after your wellbeing during exam year

STUDENT wellbeing has become one of the most important developments in education in many years.

Thankfully, the curriculum now includes wellbeing at Junior Cert. This focus allows students to learn some of the key skills they need to take control of their own personal wellbeing. The hope is that young people will develop the capacity to look after their mental wellbeing.

The Leaving Cert, however, can test the wellbeing of all students. The stresses, worries and setbacks that students inevitably face over the year can be difficult to manage.

As well as that, when we become focused on a single goal and it takes over most of our thoughts and time, it can be easy to stop doing the things we know to be good for both our physical and mental health. That is why focusing on wellbeing over the course of the next few months will not only help students manage their wellbeing but will also allow them to be more productive and motivated.

Putting the foundations in place

Our mental wellbeing relies heavily of our physical health. Sleep, diet and exercise are some of the most important factors in our wellbeing. For many students, revision and schoolwork can quickly take over their lives affecting the amount and quality of sleep we get. Getting enough sleep (typically 8-10 Hours for 17/18 year olds), helps calm the mind, retain more information and allows access to the logical part of the brain. Not getting enough sleep or sleep deprivation can lead to low mood, cognitive impairment, and anxiety.

When we are not sleeping enough our diets also tend to worsen as we crave sugar hits to keep our energy levels up throughout the day. Relying on energy drinks and junk foods can cause spikes and drops in blood sugar levels and it can be very difficult to sustain effort and motivation over long periods of time.

When we are not sleeping and eating well it can then also be difficult to exercise, which is very important to give mental space and reduce stress level. To ensure students are at their best, it’s important that they focus on getting enough quality sleep eating as well as possible and getting regular exercise.

Focusing on what we can

control

When faced with a stressful and busy time in our lives our thoughts can begin to race as we try to manage the many things we need to get done on a daily basis. It can be difficult to focus on one task when we have many tasks to complete. This can create a lot of anxiety for students. Anxiety is our minds way of trying to solve future problems. The problem with this is that we never know whether these problems will ever materialise, as they only presently exist in our minds, therefore we can waste a lot of our energy worrying about things that might never happen.

When this happens, a good way of managing this anxiety is by focusing on what you have control over in the present. What tasks do we need to complete, what will you do with your free time, or when feeling overwhelmed taking much needed time out.

Meeting our needs

A common mistake made by Leaving cert students is failing to meet their needs over a long period of time. Becoming so focused on exam preparation they neglect to keep active, stay connected with friends and family and stop doing the things they enjoy and having fun. Although time will be more restricted over the coming months, it is still important that students make time to meet these needs.

Our wellbeing quickly suffers unless we take care of our needs. There are some simple ways that we can notice when one of our needs isn’t being taken care of and take action to rectify this:

· When we are feeling isolated, meet with friends or talk to someone we trust.

· When we are feeling frustrated, have difficulty focusing or feel lethargic, get moving, exercise.

· When we are feeling low, do something fun, relax or make time for a hobby.

These simple things can help sustain us when we are feeling stressed and anxious about something in our lives.

Appreciating the little things

We often complicate the concept of wellbeing. There are countless books written on the subject, and it can be easy to spend a lot of time and money trying to learn all there is to know about how to manage stress and anxiety.

Although there is a lot of value in the vast amount of knowledge available these days, sometimes it’s the simple things that can have the biggest effect on our wellbeing.

When going through challenging times its important to appreciate the small comforts we have in our lives and to have at least one thing each day to look forward to. This can be something as simple as what we will have for dinner or watching our favourite programme. These small things are called anchors in our day and help to keep us grounded when the world becomes stressful.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alan White is a second level teacher, 6th Year Head, and wellbeing author at Bishop stown Community School.

He also facilitates wellbeing workshops for companies and or ganisations.

For more information, visit www.change swellbeing.ie linkedin Alan White or Changes Wellbeing on Facebook