High school students are no strangers to feeling stressed out. During busy or stressful times, we tend to neglect ourselves and our health, often without even meaning to. We are less able to positively handle the stress and chaos that comes our way when we are mentally and emotionally exhausted.

When I started putting more value into taking care of myself and my mind, I found that my mood, stress levels, and attitude towards others all improved tremendously. Self-care is a habit that all people should develop, as it promotes balance in our lives, and allows us to better recognize and take care of our individual needs. Here are six tips for practicing self-care and dealing with stress:

Meditate

Many people are skeptical of meditation at first, and I was definitely one of those people until I actually started practicing it. Taking just three minutes out of your night to clear your head makes you feel instantly lighter and puts you in a more positive mood.

The app Headspace is great for learning how to meditate, and has guided meditations directed towards what you want to work on the most. For example, better sleep, stress reduction, or mindfulness. Finding time to relieve your mind of its endless thoughts for just a few minutes is one of the best ways to relax and reset.

Pay attention to how you’re feeling

Most of us are used to feeling stressed, but we all have moments where we feel exceptionally overwhelmed and close to our breaking point. You might be studying, writing an essay, or arriving home after a long day at school, when you’re hit with everything you still need to get done.

A simple way to deal with this flood of stress is to acknowledge how you’re feeling in the moment, then ask yourself what you need to do to help yourself feel better. Sometimes it’s as easy as needing to get a snack, put on some music, watch Netflix for a while, talk to a friend for a few minutes, or relax in the shower.

Taking a break from your stress might not make it go away completely, but it will help you avoid having yet another mental breakdown, and leave you feeling more refreshed and ready to keep going.

Create a comfortable space

Making sure your room is a comfortable environment to both get work done and relax is so important for your productivity and peace of mind. For me, when my bedroom is cluttered, so is my head, and I find it hard to relax if the space around me isn’t tidy. By making sure your room is just the way you like it, you will find it easier to stay more productive and at ease when it’s time to unwind.

Burning candles and incense, or diffusing oils into your room can also help create a peaceful atmosphere. Aromatherapy is an effortless way to calm yourself, as scents can destress us and help make our spaces feel more relaxed.

Show empathy towards yourself

As someone who struggles with finding motivation, this trick never fails to give me an incentive to get things done. Thinking about how getting something done now will put you in a better mood in the future is a great motivator for both being productive and taking care of yourself.

If you have extra time in the evening, consider how relieved you would feel in the morning if your lunch was already packed the night before. Or if you have time to work on a presentation during class but know you could also save it for when you get home, try asking yourself how you would feel if you got it done in class, and were able to go home with a smaller workload and more time for relaxing.

Doing things for yourself now to be kinder to yourself in the future will not only relieve stress, but will allow you to thank yourself for making life a little easier.

Journal

For many of us, the routine of school seems to make the days blend together without much to remember or look forward to. An easy way to make each day seem a little bit brighter is to take a minute each night to write down one thing that made you happy that day, and one thing you are looking forward to the next day. It can be as simple as catching up with your friends during lunch or having a really good breakfast.

I personally have found that by doing this, I have a greater appreciation for the small things that make me happy each day, and I also have something positive to look forward to, that will help get me through the next day.

Self-care Sundays

Devoting a day, or even just part of a day, at the beginning of the week to taking time for yourself is an easy way to relieve stress and mentally prepare for the days ahead. Some of my favorite things to do on Sundays are cooking or baking a new recipe, watching a favorite movie, taking a hot bath, finding new music, doing a face mask, and spending time outside.

Sundays are also a great day to practice empathy for yourself, by getting tasks done that will reduce stress and make life easier later in the week, such as cleaning up your room, doing laundry, making sure your car has enough fuel, or planning out what things you are hoping to accomplish that week.