This month's way to wellbeing spotlight is on Be Healthy

Each week in May the focus is on a different element of Being Healthy and we'll be producing material to support and promote this. Please visit the other items in this menu for more details but as an overview, topics include:

Don't forget, if you want to plan your own activity and need inspiration, examples of previous events can be found here. As face to face activities aren't possible during the current situation, we'd love to hear from you with alternative suggestions. Please send these to studentsupport@manchester.ac.uk.

Resources

You can find ready-made resources here or, if you want to create your own, visit the University's brandsite for the assets you'll need (you'll need to scroll down a little to get to them!).

If creating your own, you’ll need to buy InDesign (in Adobe Creative Cloud) from the University's Electronic Software Delivery system.

You should also ask IT to install the University fonts, they can do this simply for you here.

Social media

Don't forget to follow us on instagram: @uomwellbeing.

Every Wednesday the Wellbeing Team will be promoting positive wellbeing to encourage students to take care of themselves during these uncertain times. 

We'll be handpicking different events and activites students can take part in throughout the day at home - from mindfulness sessions to live gigs.

This will be promoted through our instagram page @uomwellbeing and on our student support website. You can find a clickable PDF schedule for the day here, this will be updated every Tuesday. Further assets for social media can be found below.

If you'd like to run your own activities to promote positive wellbeing and need some inspiration, take a look at this event ideas page. Due to the current situation, we know that face to face activities won't be possible so if you have any suggestions for alternative events, we'd love to hear from you: studentsupport@manchester.ac.uk

Remember to use the hashtag #uomwellbeingwednesdays in any social media posts!

Suggested copy for newsletters etc:

Looking for a wellbeing boost? Every Wednesday your Wellbeing Team will be running ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays!'. These Wednesdays will include wellbeing events and activities that you can take part in from home throughout the day - from mindfulness sessions to live gigs. Follow @uomwellbeing to get involved!

Assets:

(Right-click to save images- social media and instagram story assets will be updated every Tuesday)

With so much to contend with right now we're bound to feel overwhelmed and lose focus. We've identified two of the ways concentration might be most affected right now, and have provided some resources to help. 

We might be finding it hard to concentrate because we’re experiencing challenging thoughts or emotions (e.g. anxiousness). If this is the case for you, take a look at the three steps in this infographic to help refocus your attention. 

Another reason for losing focus might be distractions in our home environment. It’s normal for us to get wrapped up in what’s happening around us but to give yourself the best chance of concentrating well, try to answer the questions listed in this resource.

Other ways of improving our focus include mindfulness, physical activity and good sleep quality. You can find out more about these things in this resource.

You can find all of these resources in one document, here. 

Social media versions of these resources can be found here.

Watch our focus video:

If you'd like to share this on your social media channels, the dropbox file can be found here.

Uncertain times can trigger feelings of stress in many, but stress can also be caused by a build up of much smaller pressures. As we travel through periods of uncertainty, it’s important we don’t lose sight of the smaller pressures that many students may be experiencing. We are approaching a stressful time of year for many students, with exams and final assignments on the horizon.

This year, stress may manifest itself differently from what students have experienced before, so we have collected together a range of resources that can be used for stress prevention and alleviation on this page. We’ve also put together a video of tips for managing stress which you can share with students:

If you'd like to share this on your social media channels, the dropbox file can be found here.

Sleep is one of the most important things in order for us to be healthy and support our overall wellbeing. Our quality of sleep affects many things including the way we feel, our appetite and how quickly we can recover from injuries and illnesses. Getting enough sleep also boosts our ability to remember and recall information, which is crucial for students - particularly during exam season. 

Our evidence-based student facing page contains a wide range of tips for sleep and we’ve also created some useful resources that you may wish to share with your students (or use yourself!). To assist with developing a helpful wellbeing-focussed wind down routine, we have produced this planner and we've also created a clickable infographic full of useful information on how to maximise sleep quality. 

Watch our sleep video

If you'd like to share this on your social media channels, the dropbox file can be found here.

The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 is kindness. Being kind to others and ourselves can support our mental health and promote positive wellbeing.

We all have the capacity to be kind. Kindness has been shown to have many benefits for the wellbeing of both for the giver and the receiver. Pay it forward acts of kindness (when we do something without expecting anything in return) have been shown to be particularly good at boosting wellbeing. Take a look at our random acts of kindness journal for some ideas!

Self-care is a way we can be kind to ourselves. Sleep, healthy eating habits, mindful acceptance, social support and physical activity are great ways to practice self-care. Take a look at our student facing sleep page, support network resource and gratitude journal to support you in your self-care. 

For more information about Mental Health Awareness Week, visit: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week. The Wellbeing Team will be running an Instagram campaign for Mental Health Awareness Week to get students involved and share evidence based acts of kindness. These will include our top 10 acts of kindness and self-care. Visit @uomwellbeing on Instagram for the full campaign! Our Give page also has some further helpful information about being kind.

Eating healthily and staying hydrated are key to our wellbeing. We know that it's not always easy to maintain a healthy diet whilst studying and research shows that changes in eating habits are normal when we experience stress.

Our evidence-based student facing page contains a wide range of tips and resources for looking after your nutrition that you may wish to share with your students (or use yourself!).

We’ve produced a meal planner that can be used to plan out healthy, balanced meals. It also includes space for shopping notes and tips on the benefits of mindful eating.

This guide to cooking at home is full of tips students can use to make their budget stretch further and also be eco-minded when it comes to food. We also have a social media friendly version which can be accessed here.

***Video content coming soon***

Due to the current situation, we've asked the student Wellbeing Champions for feedback and suggestions of activities they'd like to run. We'll add content here as soon as we know more.