Imagine this: Snow glistens in your backyard from last night’s blizzard. You tug open the patio door. An icy winter breeze hits your face, turning each exhale into a miniature, misty cloud. As you take your first steps outside, snow crunches under your winter boots. The sun shines brightly in your eyes. You lean backwards, falling gently into the snow. It catches you like a pile of pillows. Your snow pants and bulky winter coat tightly embrace you as you create a snow angel. You close your eyes and smile.
While playing in the snow was once the most exciting part of winter, it has become nonexistent for most high school students. Nevertheless, this activity still presents the same benefits we felt as kids. In fact, spending time outside can lead to higher mental and physical energy, according to a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Playing in the snow is a fun way to engage in self-care, which is a variety of practices that improve health. Self-care is often neglected in high school, whether it be because of homework or other commitments.
Winter break is the perfect opportunity for us to focus on ourselves and discover new self-care techniques. We should explore different options over these next two weeks, and once we return to school, we should try to incorporate the habits we started during break into our lives.
There are several self-care practices we can engage in that are both quick and easy to add to a daily routine, such as mindfulness. Mindfulness-focused apps and videos offer sessions as short as five minutes. Listing things to be grateful for before bed, writing thank-you notes, giving compliments and other expressions of gratitude are also exercises in self-care. According to a University of California, Davis study on gratitude, those who kept a gratitude journal felt more optimistic about their upcoming week and better about their lives as a whole, as compared to others who journaled about life events or hassles. And of course, we can practice self-care this winter break by embracing our inner child and playing outside.
Self-care helps us be our best selves. We need self-care tools at all times to improve and take care of our mental and physical well-being. Even when we’re not on break, we must engage in self-care. Embrace the time off this winter break by truly taking a break.