A message from the Student Wellbeing Team 2

Let's Be Happy

Being happy is something we all want, something that we all have personal definitions for and most likely experience in our own different ways.

The focus for this newsletter came from conversations with some students during the first week back this term. When asked what they did during the holidays that made them happy, whilst some said “nothing”, others mentioned that spending time with their family and friends, sleeping in and chillaxing made them feel happy. 

Some online research that our team did, identified the following things that we as adults can do to “be happy”. You might want to reflect on these, share what makes you happy with your kids and whilst we can’t all be happy all the time, research suggest that if we schedule time to make some of these practices part of our daily/weekly routines, over time they become part of our everyday way of thinking and living. 

• Smile – smiling causes the brain to release dopamine, which makes us happier and apparently, even practicing real smiles is a good thing to do. Smiling can reportedly improve our attention and help us perform better on cognitive tasks.
• Get plenty of sleep – vital to our good health, brain function and emotional wellbeing.
• Eat well – food choices can, as we know, impact our overall physical health and wellbeing – commit to making one better food choice each day.
• Give a compliment - performing acts of kindness can help us feel more satisfied.
• Help others – 100 hours per year (or two hours per week) is reportedly the magic number to make ourselves feel happier.
• Declutter – even setting aside 20 minutes a day to tackle a seemingly overwhelming task can help.
• Connect with friends – no man is an island as the poet John Donne famously wrote. 
• Plan our week – blocking out time for the must, should and could do tasks.
• Take care of our bodies – exercise and maintain regular health check ups.

Gail Inniss

Student Wellbeing Manager