At the Wellbeing for Freshers:

Your first year at university…

It’s Freshers Week and while you settle in, taking care of your wellbeing is important.

It’s your first week at university? Excited? Inspired? Lost? Terrified? An overwhelming flurry of all these emotions and more? Overwhelmed may be the best way to describe how you are feeling currently. As many freshers will feel in the first few weeks of university life.

Support services and resources…

Whatever it is you may be going through, Edinburgh Napier University has a wide range of well-being and support services to assist you. Whether it be with the transition into university life, personal life or your studies. Our Wellbeing and Inclusion team are here to help. Providing a variety of support services and resources to aid you with getting the most out of your university experience. Point you in the right direction, listen and provide advice when needed. Ultimately help you to feel supported, safe and confident in your potential. At the campus libraries also offer a range of well-being resources and relaxation spaces to encourage our student community to take breaks and opportunities to wind down throughout their studies and prioritise their health and well-being.

Our study and relaxation spaces…

So, what can the library offer you regarding health and well-being support? Firstly, each campus offers a range of different study spaces and rooms which

are tailored to the needs of our student community and regular patrons. Whether you need a group-friendly study space with specific learning technology to collaborate or simply a quiet space to study where distractions and noise are kept at bay, our campus library have many which are all available to book through Resource Booker. For students with young children, we also have our family study room at Merchiston campus library which is equipped with a small table and chair set, toyboxes and child-sized bean bags to keep your little ones occupied while you are working away. Study rooms can be booked for up to one two-hour slot per day and can be booked up to 14 days in advance. Group study rooms must be booked in advance to avoid disappointment or clashes. Find out more about our group study spaces on Group Study Rooms (napier.ac.uk).

 

Need a break? All three of our campus libraries have a relaxation space with comfy, colourful couches, plants, jigsaw puzzles, colouring sheets, and craft materials to allow you the opportunity to wind down and de-stress whilst channelling some inner creativity. All of our relaxation spaces are also located next to the windows of each campus library to let in some natural light. You can find out more about where each relaxation space can be found in each campus library by visiting Relaxation Spaces (napier.ac.uk). We have an online relaxation space here right on our blog.

Our Libguide and Wellbeing Resources…

If you do end up taking a well-deserved break in one of our three campus relaxation spaces, you will also see that each of them hosts our well-being book stands and displays with resources covering a variety of topics and issues. From stories and real-life accounts of recovery and resilience to advice and discussions about settling into university and other life matters, we very likely will have a book on our well-being book display that you knew (or did not even know) that you were looking for!

All the books displayed are part of our Wellbeing Collection. Here, you will find books which cover subject areas and issues such as addiction, health, mental well-being, neurodiversity, body image, race, sleep, family & relationships,

environment and of course, university life itself. We are open to suggestions for new books to add to our Wellbeing displays, and even though we cannot always guarantee that every suggestion can be purchased, each one will be significantly considered. Email library@napier.ac.uk with any ideas or for more information.

 

You can find out more about our Wellbeing Collection, our wellbeing resources and additional support services in our LibGuide.

 

Book Recommendations from our collection…

 

Below are some well-being resources which may be useful to both new and returning students this year.

 

 

By Rachel Downie.