Objective: Balancing wellness leads to academic achievement and personal growth.

Do you ever feel like things can be a little off balance?  Maybe you might be focusing more on one area of your life then the other areas. The wellness wheel shows 8 dimensions that can help you balance your life better and shows how holistic well-being influences academic outcomes.  The wellness wheel can help you identify strengths and areas needing attention to maintain overall wellness and succeed both academically and personally. Academic success is not just about studying harder, it's about balanced wellness overall, which supports focus, motivation, memory and resilience.

Eight Wellness Dimensions 

(by UC Davis Student Health Center, 2025)

You can foster your emotional wellness by: 

• Taking time for yourself to quiet your mind and reflect.

• Smiling and laughing! Sometimes humor is the best medicine to decrease stress and put life’s challenges in perspective.

• Seeking or accepting help and support from others when needed.

• Sharing your thoughts and feelings with someone you trust. Remember to listen to others’ emotions too.

• Practicing gratitude.

• Accepting mistakes and learning from them for next time.  

• Taking care of your body. Eating, being active, and sleeping – your mental & physical well-being are interconnected.

• Being kind to yourself.  

You can foster your occupational wellness by: 

• Balancing your work hours with your unit load. The chart is listed below. 

• Reflecting often – where do you find joy and meaning in your life?

• Keeping an open mind.

• Taking advantage of career service resources.

• Exploring different career and/or volunteer opportunities that arise.

• Practicing open communication and proper conflict management with your colleagues.

• Setting realistic career goals for yourself and working towards accomplishing these goals.

You can foster your intellectual wellness by:

• Being curious and open-minded.

• Listening. When you participate in active listening, you are able to fully comprehend the information that is being given to you.

• Picking up a hobby. Hobbies are great ways to increase your skill set. They can also be fun!

• Studying abroad or traveling. The best way to gain knowledge as well as an appreciation for another culture is to experience it yourself.

• Taking a class outside of your major.

• Reading for pleasure.

• Checking out a seminar or conference on something new to you.

• Learning another language.

• Engaging in research opportunities.

Foster your environmental wellness by:

• Declutter your living space to create a sense of calm and order.  

• What does your study space look like? Study in a space that's quiet and allows you to focus.

• Spending time outdoors, even if it's just for a walk during a break.

• Make small changes to reduce waste, like using reusable bags or recycling.

(Sky Hanka, 2024)

You can foster your financial wellness by:

• Starting with small changes that will add up over time (i.e. make your own coffee rather than buying it).

• Utilizing resources to expand your budget, like CalFresh and other student discounts.

• Understanding your student loans.

• Starting a savings account – add a small monthly automatic payment, if possible.

• Identifying and addressing any financial problems before they start.

• Planning ahead and setting budget goals.

• Making a list or reviewing your bank account of all purchases in one week.

• Writing a list before you go shopping.

• Asking yourself “Do I really need this?” before an unplanned purchase.

You can foster your social wellness by:

• Reflecting on yourself and your social needs. What aspects of your social life do you enjoy? What parts would you like to improve?

• Making an effort to keep in touch with supportive friends, family and mentors.

• Participating in group discussions and practicing active listening.

• Joining a club or organization.

• Participating in study groups.

• Volunteering in the community.

You can foster your physical wellness by: 

• Finding time to move your body. Try to move your body in a way that increases your heart rate every day for at least 30 minutes. You can even break up your daily 30 minutes into three ten-minute bouts!

• Using the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, if you’re able.

• Learning to recognize warning signs when your body begins feeling ill.

• Eating foods that make you feel good.

• Hydration

• Maintaining a regular sleep schedule and getting between 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

• Getting annual physical check-ups

You can foster your spiritual wellness by:

• Exploring your inner self. Take time to think about who you are.

• Meditating or practicing mindful relaxation.

• Practicing acceptance.

• Looking for a religious faith that aligns with your values.

• Traveling and experiencing other cultures.

• Engage in activities that help you connect with something larger than yourself. (Sky Hanka, 2024)

Balance is Key

All dimensions are interconnected.  If one area is really lacking, then it can affect other areas of your life.  For example, if you struggle emotionally and have a lot of conflict with friends and family, then that can get in the way of you being able to focus on your studies, hindering your intellectual development.  On the contrary, if you know how to control your emotions, you can have better relationships and a support system to help you succeed in your educational goals, and in turn, you will be able to be more focused on your studies and personal goals. 

***Remember, academic success thrives when wellness is balanced. 

Another example: Poor physical health can impact emotional well-being (stress, anxiety, depression), and also can affect social well-being by not being able to participate in social activities. 

or

If you struggle with finances and have difficulties budgeting your money, it can impact your mental health creating stress, reducing your cognitive function, and causing relationship issues and negative emotions, which can hinder your intellectual and spiritual growth. 

Self-Assess

Explore your own wellness by using the wellness wheel below.  This allows you to visually assess how balanced you feel in the eight areas of wellness. If you score really low in one area, it doesn't mean that something is wrong; it's just an indication that you might want to pay more attention in that area for a while. The eight dimensions of wellness are a framework to help you reflect on different areas of your life and how each one is contributing to your overall health.