We are at the end of another year of classes as the snow finally has melted and the signs of summer are now upon us. To me, summer means having that big weight of class stress lifted off my shoulders, but we can’t forget about our health over the summer along with it.
I am a health and fitness junkie and during the semesters I have a set schedule for the gym, a set health routine, and my own personal grocery list. Summer has a tendency of getting me off my groove though since I am no longer dealing with my same schedule and routine. Luckily, I have done the semester to summer change 3 times now so I have some tips and tricks for staying healthy while I’m away from school for the summer. It’s not as difficult as it seems!
For starters, I like to make a new schedule and plan when I will be able to work out in the summer since my schedule looks a bit different. Scheduling workouts helps me to stay on track and be consistent. I also don’t make as many excuses of not wanting to go when it’s already planned into my day.
Since I will be moving home to Wisconsin to work this summer, I also need to keep on track with my meals. Nothing beats mom’s cooking but for some reason I catch myself eating unhealthy when on my lunch break or after a long day of work. It helps me to pack lunches and make small grocery lists for myself so I know I won’t have the urge to get fast-food after a shift.
Those are some things I do for my physical wellness over the summer, but there are 6 other wellness dimensions to think about. WSU has some resources regarding the seven areas of wellness that go into greater detail about intellectual, spiritual, emotional, environmental, social, occupational and physical wellness.
Even though classes are over for the summer, we can continue learning in so many ways whether it be learning a new skill, taking a summer course, discussing new ideas, etc. That is what intellectual wellness is all about and even if something might not seem like “learning” at the moment, it’s always good to be exercising your creative mind.
Spiritual wellness is about what you value and believe as a person. This could be your faith or things that you personally believe in. Practicing spiritual wellness is something that can help better your life and the lives of the people you love.
Another dimension of wellness to keep in mind is emotional wellness. This is practicing self-confidence and being happy about life. Being optimistic, positive and having good self-esteem are some of the ways you can keep your emotional wellness healthy.
Environmental wellness is a very important dimension because this is your way of treating the planet. You can practice environmental wellness by simply recycling, riding your bike instead of driving and reducing your carbon footprint.
Social wellness is all about having healthy, fulfilling and positive relationships with people such as friends, family and co-workers. My friends mean a lot to me and maintaining a good, healthy relationship with them is very important to my health and well-being.
Lastly, occupational wellness is being happy with your career choice. For us college students, it is important to be happy with our career path. For me, this was finding an internship related to my career choice and doing things I like and feel passionate about.
All these areas of wellness are important to keep in mind and keep incorporating in our lives even during these summer months. See you again Winona State…
