One of my professors starts each class with what she calls "a getting here moment". Often it just means closing our eyes, sitting comfortably, and taking a few deep breaths. At first, I kind of felt a bit awkward about it, but as the quarter progressed, I found that I enjoyed the moment more each day. I was able to focus better in class and often felt less stressed after the moment than before.

Mindfulness is often used as a meditation or therapeutic technique that focus on being present and accepting one's feelings instead of ignoring them or pushing them to the side. While mindfulness is often used as a technique to help treat anxiety, ADHD, and many other mental illnesses and disorders. However, anyone, even those who are neurologically typical, can work in mindfulness and mindful activities into everyday life.

Here are a few mindful activities that don't take much time or effort, but that you will feel a difference after doing them consistently:

1. Deep breaths.

It's no surprise that one of our first response when we see someone in a panic, is to tell them to take deep breaths. It's even scientifically proven that deep breaths help you relax. Deep breaths force you to focus purposely on your breathing and not on whatever caused the panic. The same idea can be applied to just everyday stress. If you're feeling particularly overwhelmed by your homework or busy day, pause, take just a few deep breaths, and it will help you focus and relax.

2. Write to-do lists.

Writing to-do lists often puts into perspective of what you need to get done, helps you be more efficient, and can help you feel less overwhelmed. The writing of the list also functions similarly to deep breaths by forcing your focus on something else and by the end of writing the list everything you have to do that day will seem manageable.

3. Drink water.

You may be wondering what drinking water has to do with mindfulness? Staying hydrated, in general, has many physical, mental, and emotional health benefits, so it makes sense that if you make a point to carry a water bottle with you and stay hydrated throughout the day you will be better prepared to handle the stress thrown your way throughout the day.

4. Relax completely.

People often carry stress in their body without noticing it. For me, it's tense shoulders or neck, however, it will vary. Taking a moment to completely relax all the muscles in your body will, in turn, cause you to relax as well.

5. Stretch.

This goes along with the last one. Stretching can help relieve tension in the body, but can also help ground you and focus on the task at hand.

6. Short meditation.

There are many YouTube videos and apps, like Headspace that offer short meditations that can be done pretty much anywhere. Even just a three-five minute meditation can help you relax between classes and be more productive afterward.

7. Listen to calming music.

It seems like whenever students walk about campus they always have headphones in. Normally, if I do, I'm listening to music or a podcast. Exchanging just one of your daily walks/drives with some calming music or a mindfulness podcast can help you be mindful while on the go.

8. Turn off notifications.

Turning off all of your notifications, even just for an hour or two, can you get out of your head and off your phone. In the current age, so much of our lives exist online, that it can often be difficult to pull ourselves off our social media accounts and live in the present. Turning off notifications can help us focus on the parts of our lives we often neglect for social media.

9. Take a short nap.

Depending on how much time you have and where you are, you may be able to squeeze in a short half an hour nap. Short naps can help us recharge without interrupting during a deep sleep cycle and often leave us feeling more refreshed than a long nap.

10. Snack.

If you find yourself hangry when you still have two classes left for the day, it will probably stress you out and it will be harder to focus cause you'll probably just be thinking about your next meal. Carry around a small snack you could eat between classes (or during if it's allowed). You'll find that you'll focus better and won't have to worry about your stomach grumbling in the middle of class.

11. Ground yourself.

Most people are extremely wrapped up in our own worries and problems that we neglect our surroundings, this can cause panic attacks. However, even if not on the verge of a panic, grounding yourself by focusing on your surroundings (with special emphasis on your five senses) can help relieve stress and any overwhelming feelings. It can also be done literally anywhere.

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Oftentimes we focus on caring for our bodies by exercising and eating right but forget to care for our minds. Taking just a few moments a day to care for your brain will help it function better and make you feel better in the long run.