College is tough. That’s plain and simple, every college student learns that, whether it’s early in their college career or closer to their graduation date.

Making time to study and complete assignments is definitely one of the biggest stressors for those attending college.

Katie Reilly wrote a story for Time titled “Record Numbers of College Students Are Seeking Treatment for Depression and Anxiety — But Schools Can’t Keep Up,” which addresses the issue of students and stress.

“In spring 2017, nearly 40% of college students said they had felt so depressed in the prior year that it was difficult for them to function, and 61% of students said they had ‘felt overwhelming anxiety’ in the same time period, according to an American College Health Association survey of more than 63,000 students at 92 schools,” Reilly said.

Of course, an easy and pretty obvious tip is to take time away to study and do your school work, but a tip that you may not hear nearly as often is to take time away from school for yourself.

Debatably, this could be almost as important as scheduling study time throughout the week. Taking time to relax and unwind a bit is extremely important for students to maintain their sanity.

Mental health is just as important as physical health, and by doing something such as hitting the gym, you can kill two birds with one stone. Working out is often considered one of the best ways to relieve stress, and by doing that, you can also keep yourself in physical shape.

You can unwind in any way as every single person is different from the next. Everyone has different hobbies and relaxes in different ways.

Whether it’s hitting the gym for a quick workout, taking a jog or bike ride along the river or strolling through a park, cracking open a good book, jumping into some sweatpants and throwing on Netflix or playing Xbox with some friends — as long as you’re relaxing, you’re doing it right.

It sometimes feels that you shouldn’t be allowed to take time for yourself in the midst of such a busy schedule. The truth of the matter is that there should always be time for that.

Taking “you” time out of your week to spend on yourself is important. Mental health is a topic that is given a fair amount of publicity nowadays and that’s because it’s an ever-increasing issue that people need to be aware of.

Students are no different from anyone else and suffer from mental health problems just as regularly as anyone else. With the added stress of all the assignments and work that you’ll endure, this puts you at an even higher risk of developing certain health issues.

It’s easy for someone to lose track of their own well-being when they have so much going on, but it’s important to keep your mind in mind. It doesn’t matter what you do to unwind, but taking time every day for yourself and to relax is an important part of your week.