For adults who are completing education and career training programs, managing multiple responsibilities in addition to classwork can add to the challenges of being a student.
In a 2023 Gallup poll of U.S. college students, for example, 66% of respondents reported feeling stress during the prior day. And a 2023 survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) shows that, for adults, concerns ranging from family responsibilities to health issues are also causing stress — and the emotional, mental, and physical problems that stress can create.
But the competing demands that adult students often face don’t have to derail their education and career goals. By engaging in self-care activities for students, from exercising to practicing mindfulness, adult students who are considering a career change or pursuing their passion can lessen the impact of the health concerns that can get in the way of their education and career training.
What Is Self-Care?
To understand what self-care is, it’s helpful to first learn what it’s not. Contrary to a common misconception about the term, self-care does not simply mean frivolous behaviors that people engage in as a treat to themselves. While activities like bubble baths and facials can be part of a self-care routine, the term refers to a broader range of actions aimed at improving or protecting a person’s well-being.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes self-care as the ability of individuals, families, and communities to protect and maintain their health and prevent or manage disease and disability. For students, the ability to provide self-care promotes the healthy lifestyle choices that make it easier to adapt to potentially stressful experiences like learning new skills and studying new subject matter.
Why Self-Care Is Important for Students
Self-care activities can be an important way to cope with the challenges that higher education and training can present for students. Studying new concepts, for example, carries with it a host of expectations that can leave students burned out and in poor physical or mental health.
From preparing for tests to completing class projects, students must juggle assigned tasks and due dates. Additionally, because the material they are learning and the experiences they are having might be new to them, they may be stretching themselves in ways they haven’t in the past.
Self-Care for Adult Students
For adult students, self-care activities can be especially valuable. The APA’s 2023 survey showed that, about a quarter — 24% — of adults rate their stress levels at eight or greater on a 10-point scale. The stressors they face in their household and on the job can lead to health concerns. Especially when combined with the challenges they can encounter as students, this stress can lead to outcomes such as:
Headaches
Weakened immunity
Depression
Digestive issues
Fortunately, self-care can help to mitigate the impact stress can have on one’s health. Its benefits include:
Easing mental health concerns
Building resilience
Improving a person’s mood
Lowering stress
Strengthening immunity
5 Self-Care Activities for Students
Even for those who recognize the importance of self-care activities for students, it can be difficult to know where to begin. After all, juggling the responsibilities of adulthood and school can leave little time for a self-care routine — or even learning how to start one.
But plans for self-care are individual to each person, so the actions that a student includes in their self-care activities can vary according to their interests and schedule. Some self-care activities take as little as a few minutes each day.
Following are five ideas for self-care activities for adult students:
1. Follow a Routine
Although the demands of school and other responsibilities can command long and unpredictable hours, it’s important to follow a regular schedule as much as possible. Establishing a plan and sticking to it can make a student feel more in control, and this can lower stress levels and improve health.
For students whose schedules fluctuate regularly, setting specific times for even a few of the day’s typical activities, such as waking up and studying, can be beneficial.
2. Move Your Body
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults move more and sit less, noting that at least 150 minutes of physical activity a week can provide a variety of physical and mental health benefits. Students with demanding schedules can break this time into small chunks, dedicating a few minutes at a time throughout each day to reach the weekly goal.
Moving around outside — taking short walks, for example — provides even greater benefit.
3. Get Enough Water
For 20 years, the recommendation has been for men to consume at least 125 ounces of water each day and for women to consume at least 91 ounces, Cleveland Clinic reports.
Inadequate hydration can cause health problems ranging from headaches to mood disorders, but meeting water consumption recommendations as part of a healthy diet doesn’t have to mean just drinking plain water. Including foods high in water content, like cucumbers or strawberries, in the diet can enhance a person’s well-being.
4. Engage in Mindfulness
Mindfulness, or the practice of focusing on the present moment, can provide health benefits such as:
Lessening the risk of depression
Helping to regulate emotions
Improving memory
Enhancing focus
Reducing anxiety and stress
Whether they meditate, pray, or focus on things for which they’re grateful, students who include mindfulness as part of their self-care routine can enjoy better health.
<h3>5. Focus on Sleep</h3>
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Healthy People 2030 campaign, about 70% of people age 18 and over got the recommended amount of sleep — at least seven hours a night — in 2022. But that number is a decline compared with 2020, when 72% got enough sleep.
While this trend is concerning for a variety of health reasons, for students, it can also create academic problems and the increased stress that often accompany them. A 2023 research article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) estimated that every hour of sleep lost early in the academic term led to a 0.07-point drop in GPA by the end of the term.
Self-care activities such as sticking to a consistent sleep schedule and creating a restful environment can help students get a healthy amount of sleep.
Get Career-Ready Quickly Through Focused Training
If you’re looking for an opportunity to prepare for a new career or seek advancement in your current field, explore the career training programs at Fortis.
From nursing to skilled trades and dental occupations to commercial driving, you can find a program that allows you to grow professionally while also making time for self-care.
Discover how Fortis can help you pursue your career goals.
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Five Tips to Help Juggle School, Work and Family