2. The importance of being
in balance
You have probably heard about how
important it is to “be in balance”. Think
of yourself as a tightrope walker trying to
stay balanced so as not to fall.. If you are
doing too many things and not taking the
time to look after yourself you could slip
off the rope and you may become sick,
run down, stressed or depressed. You
need to stay as balanced as you can.
3. Key elements of being in
balance
What are
some of the
key actions
you can take
to keep in
balance so as
to maximise
your learning
capacity?
4. Sleep
It is important that you try and get 8
HOURS sleep every night.
Starting the day tired (due to lack of
sleep) can only compound problems
when it comes to doing homework,
study and preparing for exams.
HONESTLY look at your sleeping
patterns.
What stops you from getting a good
night’s sleep?
5. What stops you from getting a
good night’s sleep?
Do you stay
up late
talking to
friends on
MSN or
Facebook
after you
have finished
study?
Do you
‘unwind’
after studying
by watching
TV and then
fall asleep in
front of the
TV?
Do you leave
your mobile
phone on so
that you can be
interrupted by
friends calling
you late at night
(this is
disastrous for
your sleeping
patterns)?
6. Sleep (cont.)
•If you said YES to any of these questions
or practice similar behaviours, then you
need to discipline yourself to remove the
distraction and go to bed at your agreed
time.
•If you can go to bed earlier than you are
used to for a week why not reward
yourself for the action you have taken.
•This is ONE SMALL STEP but you are
already starting to change your patterns.
•You are “behaving like study matters”
7. Commit to a bedtime routine that
you can realistically stick to.
Discipline yourself to remove or
turn off anything that may
interrupt your sleep.
Have a warm / hot shower just
before you go to bed.
Ask your friends not to text or
phone you after an agreed time.
Challenges to change your sleeping
behaviours
FourFour
OneOne
TwoTwo
ThreeThree
8. Stress
There are many signs that tell
us we are over-stressed.
That’s the time to deal with it.
Don’t ignore it or think it will
go away. If we don’t try and
reduce stress our bodies will
start to get sick.
12. Stress
If you consistently have one or
more of these symptoms then
you should speak to someone
or go and see your family
doctor.
Stress is often invisible from
the outside but can be very
dangerous to your health if it
goes untreated.
13. Stress Busters
There are many
ways that you can
deal with stress.
Remember though
it is up to YOU!
Why not try some
of these strategies.
16. Eating nutritious food is essential to get your brain ‘in gear’ for
learning. Check out the weblinks in this module for ideas of what
is good to eat for effective brain function.
17. Exercise
Exercise and physical activity is essential if
you want to be an effective learner.
Not only is exercise beneficial for your
general health but it also helps keep the
brain in peak condition for learning.
Try to do something physical every day.
It doesn’t have to be an organised sport. It
can be anything that increases the heart rate
and gets your body moving.
•Walking the dog
•Kicking the football around the back yard
•Skateboarding with friends
•Playing at the local park
•Dancing
•Karate
•Jumping on the trampoline
•Swimming
Just get up and get active……
18. Breathing
We breathe automatically without
even thinking about it.
Most of us, however, do not breath
deeply which means there is a lot of
stale air that sits in our lungs.
Get in the habit of breathing deeply
every day to get fresh air into every
part of your lungs.
This will oxygenate the blood which
will then oxygenate the brain and
improve our thinking and learning.
19. One of the most important ways of keeping
in balance is making sure you have lots of fun
while you are doing the things you do.
While you need to be diligent to get the
things done that need to be done, you also
need to make time to do the things that
“make your heart sing” - whatever they are.
Make sure you take time also to be
with people who make you laugh,
make you feel good about yourself and
who challenge you to be the best you
can be.
Having fun
20. How balanced are you?
Why not download this schedule and monitor how well you do these
things every week. This will give you an idea of what you need to work
on.
21. Want to find out
more about how
you can stay in
balance?
Why not join the
Studyvibe Community
and get weekly hints and
tips on being in the best
possible shape to
maximise your learning
potential.
