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Tips for your wellbeing

Are you living well? Are your lifestyle choices improving your wellbeing? This page has been created for Oxford Brookes students following recent research that has shown that lifestyle changes in several key categories/areas can improve your wellbeing.

1. Relax and recharge – reduce stress

Stress can become overwhelming, it can damage your mood and relationships, and lead to a host of serious mental and physical health problems. 

When you are able to recognise the symptoms and causes of stress, you can take the first steps to reducing its harmful effects and improving your quality of life.

This video to the right, created by the charity Mind, offers 8 tips for relaxation.

2. Eat well – ensure you are eating a healthy and balanced diet

Research shows that our diet can influence our mental health, for both good and bad. Fruits and vegetable are associated with better mental wellbeing, according to recent research from the University of Warwick.

Explore the relationship between what you eat and how you feel on the Mind website.

3. Keep moving – make exercise a priority

Physical activity has been shown to have significant benefits for your mental health.

Even low levels of activity - things such as walking or gardening for half an hour a day - can help improve your mood.

The clip to the right, created by the charity Mind, offers 5 ways to get moving and feel better.

Also read this article outlining the specific benefits of getting moving.

There are many HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts online which are quick, effective and you don’t need any special equipment to get started.

4. Get enough sleep

Sleep is as important to our health as eating, drinking and breathing. It allows our bodies to repair themselves and our brains to consolidate our memories and process information.

Poor sleep is linked to physical problems such as a weakened immune system and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

This article, created by the charity Mind, offers more information and advice on how to cope with sleep problems. 

5. Positive social interaction

Human beings are social animals and having positive relationships with others, whether at work or within our families and friendship groups, it is a vital part of our wellbeing and stress resilience. Positive social interaction improves how we feel not just about others but also about ourselves.

Here are some links to two websites and a talk that explore this idea further.

Students talking in a group