Surviving the winter at Uni

January is over (hoorah). Possibly the most depressing month of them all after all the fun had over December with Christmas time. Seeing as I struggled in the winter months at university this time last year, I thought I'd write out some tips that myself and others have found work for us.

If you're feeling homesick or a little bit down after returning to university last month, don't worry, a lot of us have been there. I was surprised how many of my friends admitted to not wanting to go back to university after Christmas in their first year, it really is a normal feeling. Freshers is over, it's cold outside, exams are looming and you're leaving your family behind. Fortunately, this seems to be different in the case of second year, almost all the friends (including myself) who felt this way last year, were excited to go back to university this time around. For me personally, this was because of the living environment, I really love the house we live in in Falmouth and our flat are making a conscious effort to do more together, whether that be go to to cafes every Sunday or eating and cooking together. Little things like this can go a long way, which brings me to my first point:

Busy Yourself

Last year I succumbed to the cold (yes, even in Cornwall) and found myself staying in bed watching Netflix for the majority of my days. Something that was incredibly lonely and after a while took it's toll on how I was feeling mentally. University schedules differ depending on your course, some may be busier than others and you might be reading this thinking "how on earth did you have time to stay in bed?" but it was less about my timetable and more about how I chose to spend the free time around my timetable.

I'd occasionally go to the gym (I'll get to that in a bit) but other than that the only time I'd really go out was when we went out drinking for the night - an activity that meant I was only really going out once it had gone dark. A major problem with this being how much daylight I was getting, something that can genuinely have an impact on your wellbeing (look into Seasonal Affective Disorder if you want to learn a bit more about that). Disrupting your internal body clock and not giving it the right signals through daylight cues can have a negative impact on your mood - something I experienced last year from sleeping in late and the nights drawing in. Another factor in this that didn't help, which I've mentioned before, is the fact my room in halls overlooked a brick wall (how riveting) so I never really got much daylight from inside my room but didn't want to go outside because of the cold. One thing I've learnt and have made an effort to change this winter is how much daylight I'm getting. I wake up earlier, I get out into the daylight as early as I can and I make sure to keep myself busy. By busying myself I have less time to sit and wallow in the cold and I end up getting more daylight, I'm alone less and find myself in a good mood almost every day. Whether that be going out to a café to do your work, going to the gym or simply just going on a walk, I've found just getting out and actually doing things with my days has significantly boosted my mood. It's also nice to plan things to look forward to and to take yourself to different places. I've found working in different cafés instead of the library time and time again has really made writing essays a lot more enjoyable (if that's even possible).

Exercise More

Swiftly moving on to exercise, this time last year I started going to the gym again. I'd previously gone to the gym during my years at 6th form (admittedly I didn't really know what I was doing but the effort was there) and abruptly stopped when I got to university. Something I'm actually not sure as to why I stopped considering how much I had enjoyed it previously, all I can say is how glad I am I started up again because it significantly helped me through the winter at university. It was an activity that actually got me out of bed and got me moving. It doesn't necessarily have to be the gym that you take up, any form of exercise works: dancing, running, joining a sports team or even just going on walks, it's all scientifically proven to boost your mood. I think the key is to find something that you enjoy, otherwise you won't stay consistent with it. Luckily for me I found this in my love for resistance training in the gym, something I'll go into more detail about in it's own blog post as I've had a few people ask me what I do. But whatever you chose to take up, the exercise itself can have such a great impact on your mental wellbeing. Granted, it's not something that's exactly really easy to get up and do - especially when it's cold outside - but it's the sort of thing that once you reap the benefits of you'll want to carry it on. Do it enough and it even becomes a habit; the gym (or some form of exercise at least) is part of my daily routine now and I've actually started to dislike the days when I'm not moving.

Eat Well

Seems self explanatory but it's very easy to look for comfort in food which can sometimes mean more processed foods - nothing wrong with them, I'm all for balance, it's just knowing the balance. This time last year I actually participated in Veganuary so I started eating more vegetables and now my diet is mostly plant based and generally very healthy. There are numerous benefits of eating less processed foods, from energy levels to helping your skin, I'm obviously not an expert but those are some of the benefits I've had from personal experience. At this time of year it's easy to get caught up in dieting, there's so much controversial information out there regarding diet, especially with some companies or social media accounts pushing fad diets. The key is to just eat a balance of everything, try to eat less processed foods but don't deny yourself processed foods either. Eat what you enjoy, don't force yourself to eat a certain way because you've been told you should, eat what works for you and just try to include a lot of veg in there too.

In Summary

If you find yourself feeling this way, these are just some things that have personally helped me and might help you. I'm enjoying second year so much more because of these steps I've made. Even though a lot of it was to do with environment for me, without changing some of these things I don't think I would've started to enjoy second year as much as I am now. Don't get me wrong, I still have moments where I really miss my family but that's normal and nothing that a phone call or a trip home (ha, not for me) can't fix.

If anyone is feeling this way feel free to message me, I felt quite alone in feeling this way last year but since starting my blog I've spoken to so many people who have felt similarly and it's really not uncommon among uni students. Once again, let me know if there's anything in particular you want me to write about, vegan/veggie meals and my gym routine seem to come up quite a lot so I will probably touch on those in the next few weeks.

I hope some of these tips help and I'll be back next Sunday with another post!

Emily x

Gylly Beach, Falmouth