Tips for Healthy and Restful Sleep

Thank you to Health Education and Promotion for contributing to these helpful tips below. 

Sleep has a powerful effect on our mental and physical health. It can boost our immune system, keep our metabolism and digestion strong, and help with your mood. We all need a minimum of 7 hours of quality sleep each night. Here are some tips to help you go to sleep faster and have a better quality of sleep.

1. Put away your devices (TVs, smartphones, tablets, and other screens) 30 minutes before it's time to go to sleep.
2. Don't consume caffeine after 3pm.
3. Use your bed for sleep only - don't do homework, watch Netflix, or complete other work there, if possible.
4. Don't consume alcohol before you go to bed.
5. Try starting a gratitude journal. Keep a notebook at your bedside and write down something that you are grateful for or made you happy that day. HEP offers a digital gratitude journal that you can print out at https://www.wku.edu/crw/hep/

Exercise while Social Distancing

Information Provided by Campus Recreation and Wellness.

So we all know that exercise is not always the easiest thing to do and with losing the accountability and motivation of group exercise it can feel impossible to keep it up and stay healthy at home. Here are some tips to help you with your workout blues!

• Find an “accountabilibuddy” - someone who can help you stick to your fitness goals. They don’t have to be in your household and using zoom, FaceTime, or calls can help with keeping each other going. 
• Find a good time to workout when you feel the most energized. Planning to workout provides accountability for yourself to do it.  
• Create a space where you can exercise. This can be outdoors, in the living room, or even the garage! But create a space that makes you feel excited to workout! 
• No equipment? No problem! You can use common household items in your workouts (you would be surprised how great a workout you can get with a case of laundry detergent) or even just do body weight exercises.
• Find a resource for your at home workouts. WKU Campus Recreation and Wellness has many workouts to chose from and new ones are posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in various formats.
• HYDRATE!!!
• Any movement is good movement! Don’t feel like  you have to have extensive structure to your exercise. Yard work, cleaning, runs and walks are all good ways to get some movement into your day. I always feel a good sweat when I mow the lawn 😂
• Lastly, meet your body with today’s energy and know that you can’t always do what you used to do because you don’t have yesterday’s energy and you have yet to receive tomorrow’s energy. Listen to what your body needs today and honor that. Don’t feel obligated to workout more often just because you have more free time. 

Five Tips for Healthy Eating at Home

Prepared by WKU Dietitian.

1. Include fruits and/or vegetables with all meals - the more color the better!

2. Choose balance meals that include quality carbohydrates, lean protein, healthy fats, and color from fruits and vegetables. Examples include: rice, chicken breast, avocado, mixed veggies such as peppers, onion, broccoli, and carrots. 

3. Choose snacks that will help fuel you by including a fruit or vegetable with a source of protein. Examples include: banana + peanut butter, apple + cheese stick, carrots + hummus, or Greek yogurt + berries.

4. Drink water with all snacks to limit excess calories - be mindful when snacking of how full you are. 

5. Stick to a schedule of eating so you are not eating out of boredom or convenience 

WKU Nutrition Coordinator Cory Eakins uses a food first approach in order to help students through one-on-one counseling, individualized meal plans, nutrition education, group presentations, grocery shopping tours, and cooking demonstrations. 

Fun and Healthy Ways to Express Yourself while Social Distancing

Thank you to Health Education and Promotion for contributing to these helpful tips below. 

1. Turn up your favorite music and sing your heart out, or listen to your favorite artist. Many musicians are doing live concerts these days.
2. Draw, paint, or color whatever is on your mind. 
3. Start journaling or writing. We are making history and somebody’s gotta write about it.
4. Plus, Campus Recreation & Wellness has a gratitude journal you can check out.
5. Or, maybe this is a great time to start a podcast – share your knowledge and humor with the world
6. Host a virtual Netflix Party 
7. You could even make a TikTok for WKU Campus Activities Board's #TikTok Tuesday

In a time of major change and transition, it’s very easy to focus on the negatives: being “stuck” at home, not being able to spend time with friends, and for some of us, missing out on the “lasts” of our college experience. Now more than ever, it is important to remember that you have the power to shift your mindset, focusing on the things you HAVE and the good things in your life. We've come this far, let's finish this semester strong!

Keeping a Schedule

Prepared by the Advising & Career Development Center.

1. Get up at a regular time each day, and get ready as you normally would. Showering and non-pjs are very helpful in setting your brain into work mode. 

2. Designate a space in your home for work/school. This will help you keep your sleep space for sleeping, and work space for working.

3. Schedule breaks in your day for food, stretching, walking outside, etc. Make sure to still schedule study/tutoring time. (Tutoring appointments are still available on our TLC website. wku.edu/tlc, schedule on TutorTrac)

Learn more

Ways to Relieve Stress While Practicing Social Distancing

Thank you to the WKU Counseling Center for contributing to these helpful tips below.

1. Be creative. Write, paint, journal, play music, etc.
2. Practice yoga or meditation exercises
3. Breathe deeply and slowly.
4. Try something new.
5. Go for a hike outside (remember social distancing).

Find new ways to be with friends virtually:

1. Play online board games.
2. Stream a movie together.
3. Start a book club.
4. Listen to a podcast together.
5. Play video games.

The Counseling Center has more resources available for you, such as quick tips, blog posts, and even a video on productive shaking from Dr. Karl Laves.

Learn more