Finding Your Form: The Physicality of Mental Health
Are you slouching right now while reading this article?
When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep before an 8am class the next day?
Do you wish you were more aware of the toll your body was taking?
I know who you are. We’re all a part of the same group. You’re the one that has their head down in the furthest corners of Matheson’s or Law Library level 3, eyes glued to your laptop, overwhelmed with this feeling of productivity. However, how would you feel if these exact conditions were a recipe for your body, sleep and mood to work against you?
You won’t know until the damage is done.
This article isn’t preaching for you to practice self-care - that is a given. This is more so an opportunity to raise awareness of the physical things that may happen to you, may happen to any single one of us, as we venture into exam season.
And don’t be mistaken: these are all indicators of your mental health.
The Sedentary Semester
This one hits close to home. Most of us have likely developed a signature posture: slumped shoulders, neck craned, spine contorted to fit whatever chair you have, if you even have one. Combine this with a rigorous eight-hour study session, and it turns from a one-time thing into an unhealthy habit.
The issue isn’t the sitting itself, but the fact that you’re doing it for hours. Studies show that static loading puts heavy pressure on your spine, tightens your hip muscles and weakens your core. It can also lead to tension headaches and wrist aches that we sometimes write off, particularly as this is a course that demands more typing and reading than any other.
Hopefully you haven’t been scared too badly, but wherever you study, from home, to uni, to the bench in the park, to bed (which is where I am currently writing this article!), here are some strategies you should have in your back pocket!
Have a movement timer: After 30-40 minutes (maybe use a Pomodoro timer!), simply stand up, roll the shoulders and make sure blood’s flowing. This is how we break the static posture.
Bring your screen up to eye height: Laptops that sit too low force our heads to tilt down, which creates a lot of issues. Counteract this by stacking a book or two underneath your laptop, or invest in a portable monitor stand! Otherwise, you can connect to a monitor in the library or at home and work off of that.
Watch your wrists, not just your back: note-taking marathons run the risk of a repetitive strain injury (RSI). If you want, use wrist rests; otherwise, remember to take a break from typing and to stretch. Strength exercises for your forearms do wonders as well.
Take yourself back to the basics: remember the advice your parents, guardians and teachers have imparted to you… plant your feet on the ground, support your back, rest your elbows - it may be corny, but they’re not wrong!
So turn staticness into serenity as you bring more awareness to your posture and reduce the risk of long-term pain and strain. When you do that, productivity will follow, and fulfilment soon after!
The Consequences of Weakened Rest
Posture isn’t the only thing on our minds. Sleep is another magical twinkling in our day-to-day, but to us, it seems to be an afterthought. As if it’s something we can ‘buy now, pay later’ when we decide to sleep from 1am to 7am. And when you give yourself a sleep-in, it feels like you’ve given up half the day. Quite the situation, right?
We are subjects of late-night culture: if we’re not the last one to close our laptops, we feel behind. That’s certainly how I feel, with my inner voice telling me that I need to do one more topic’s worth of notes or face failure. But this won’t cut it anymore. Sleep deprivation doesn't just make you tired - it degrades the exact cognitive functions we’re being tested on: our working memory, the ability to retrieve information under pressure and the judgment to structure an answer instead of dumping everything you know onto the page.
There’s another trap that is becoming a mounting issue: caffeine culture. Energy drinks are on the rise, and when they’re consumed late into the night, followed by anxiety-filled sleeps that are categorically too short, paired with more caffeine to compensate, it creates a cycle.
While sugar-free options are available, regular consumption can still harm your health nor does it fix the physical toll of poor sleep. So what are ways you can reel yourself in, keep yourself in as good a physical space as possible while still getting things done?
Plan ahead and know when you’ll be quitting. Before you’ve reached the tail end of your late-night studies, set a time in which you will stop. Make it non-negotiable.
Treat the night before an exam as protected, not optional. The marginal content gained from an all-nighter is almost never worth the recall and clarity lost, so do NOT study the night before - if you’re still busting your chops to catch up, that is an indication of your earlier preparation, and you should definitely reflect on that for next time.
Stay focused on yourself: comparison is truly the thief of joy. Do feel the need to ‘push through’ just because your friend, your peer or the many other inhabitants of the library are still going. Everyone has their own system, and if yours is telling you to shut off, listen.
So, what was the point of all this? Well, speaking from personal experience, where I’ve put the desire to do well over my physical and mental health for no apparent reason, I continually come to realise that giving myself the chance to just prepare ahead, change my posture and shut things down earlier works. It truly does.
A stiff neck, sleep-deprived brain and flattened mood all amount to a regrettable outcome: a lower result, a lower mark and lowered expectations of ourselves. Do right by yourself, take care of your body and watch as the rewards reap.
Written by Noah