Healthy Bodies

Healthy Minds and Bodies

Good psychological wellbeing describes healthy ways of thinking, feeling and creating meaningful relationships. Living alone for the first time and being responsible for making sure you eat well, exercise, and get enough sleep can be challenging and is often a trial and error process.

Your wellbeing is often connected to how you are feeling physically and can be related to things like nutrition, exercise, and healthy sleep.

Exercise tips and resources

 

Adults are recommended to try and get at least 150 minutes of exercise per week (only 20 minutes per day). This can be any kind of moderate exercise that causes your heartbeat to speed up a bit.

Recent research findings suggest that regular exercise can improve psychological wellbeing and quality of life, whilst protecting against low mood and anxiousness. The exercise can be for as little as 15 minutes, 3 times a week, and can be aerobic (eg. running or jogging) or non-aerobic (strength training, flexibility, and relaxation) exercise.

Monash sport offers a range of services and resources to students who are looking to exercise and improve their fitness. Based at many campus locations, it is a great option for affordable gym memberships. Some free options are also available including Live Workout recordings , exercise demonstrations, mindfulness, and running groups to encourage you to reach your cardio goals.

Activity groups provide a fun and safe environment to learn a new skill, exercise, or meet other students with similar interests. There are many groups around Monash, based in all Australian campuses, that you may wish to try out.

 

As a Monash student you might be eligible for free swimming classes through the Monash Sport Water Wise program.

This program is designed to help adults learn how to swim and to be safe around water. Learning the basics of swimming and water safety is very important in Australia and is crucial to your safety when swimming in our beautiful beaches or lakes.

Sleep tips and resources

Sleep foundation 

The Sleep Foundation recommends between 7-9 hours of sleep per night, for adults between 18 and 65 years old. However, between 6 and 11 hours of sleep could still be appropriate.

Just making sure you get enough sleep is not always enough to make you feel rested and refreshed. Poor sleep quality can also impact your mood and thinking. Sleep hygiene theory describes behaviours and environmental conditions that can promote healthy sleep. A recent analysis of sleep hygiene research identified some tips with the strongest evidence;

Moon sleeping

Lights

Having bright light upon awakening in the morning and avoiding bright or blue lights near bedtime. Bright and blue light can make your body feel more alert, as you naturally associate it with the daytime.

Avoid Dairy

Eating foods high in dairy or protein can help wake you up. To help with sleep, try eating foods with low sugar and protein at night. Try to eat at least 2 hours before bed to make sure you don’t go to bed hungry.

Nicotine and Alcohol

Avoid nicotine (smoking) and alcohol, as they can impact your sleep quality and duration.

Exercise

Exercise regularly, but refrain from exercising near bedtime.

Caffeine

Avoid caffeine right before bedtime. This includes coffee, tea, energy drinks and dark chocolate.

Temperature

Being too warm (or too cold) can prevent you from getting a deeper and better quality of sleep.

Priortise sleep

Prioritise and schedule sleep

With assignments and friends we are always busy. As a result, we can sometimes find that other things are competing with our time for sleep. We sometimes decide to sacrifice an hour or more of sleep so we can finish work, or meet with friends. However what we don’t realise is  that sleep loss can result in many more hours of feeling tired and  unproductive. When we go to bed late, we also wake up late. This cycle can continue, leading to us going to bed  later and later, and feeling exhausted in the morning.

Prioritising a certain bedtime and wake time can help to prevent this, and ensures you are doing everything you can to get enough sleep.

Nutrition tips and resources

 

Eating regular balanced meals is important for wellbeing, energy regulation and even your thinking and memory.

Plant-based foods can be a healthy, cheap, and sustainable alternative if you want to save money and eat better. You can also find some cheaper and healthier animal based proteins like fish (frozen Basa, Hoki or Blue Grenadier) or eggs at your local supermarket. The MSA Cookbook is a great resource for getting recipe ideas that are simple, affordable, and sustainable.

Eat well when study in Melb has cheap, easy cultural recipes and cooking videos created by international students studying nutrition and great tips on how to eat more plant-based foods. You can also challenge yourself to try new recipes or a different food budget every week, to keep things interesting.

Planning and preparing your meals in advance can help you to avoid getting take-away food. This allows you to save money by buying bulk ingredients and eat healthier with home cooked meals.

If you do feel like some take away food, Monash offers a traffic light system to help you identify healthier food options on-campus. Keep a look out for the green ‘Good Food’ stickers on campus to help you identify healthier food and drinks sold on campus.

Cheap (or free) food options

There can be big differences in food prices (especially fresh foods) between major supermarkets and local grocer or independent supermarkets.

  • Frozen fruits and vegetables are a much cheaper alternative that is delicious, convenient and can be stored for a lot longer.
  • Generic/ home brand products are just as delicious as branded items, and they are more affordable.
  • Make a shopping list to help you work out your food budget and keep a look out for foods from the five main food groups that are on special/ discount.
  • Learn more about what foods are in season with this seasonal foods guide to obtain the cheapest and freshest produce.

Monash Wholefoods, in our Clayton campus, is also a great option for healthy and cheap food (even cheaper with an MSA membership). Monash Wholefoods  is open most days on campus. Keep an eye out for free food with your student groups (Clayton, Caulfield, Parkville, Peninsula). They will often have free food events throughout the semester.

Monash Foodies is an Instagram page that posts every week about cheap eats on campus, competitions, and freebies, and month specials. Search monash_foodies on instagram!


cooking bowl

Eat well when study in Melb is a recipe website made by international students who are student nutritionists and dietitians with the intention to help other international students maintain a healthy diet while studying away from home.

They have developed recipes and cooking videos of cheap, quick (<30 minutes) cultural dishes with a focus of using little to no cooking equipment.

Learn how to make Tom Yum soup or Rava Chilla using only a pot or pan or Mackerel Summer Rolls with no equipment at all.

If you are worried about your diet you can talk to your doctor or a dietitian at the Monash health services at the BASE clinics in Notting Hill.

Living on campus can be a great way to meet new people and to get involved in activities with your Residential hall. Learn more about the living on residence experience, with Monash Residential Services.