Well-being & Resilience

This module places sustainable performance alongside academic achievement, grounding each habit in current evidence. Students learn why 7-9 hours of sleep, regular aerobic exercise and brief mindfulness practice protect cognition and mood, and how to recognise early warning signs of burnout. By the end, learners can design a weekly well-being plan and know when and how to seek help without stigma.

Learning Outcomes

Explain the cognitive consequences of sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night.

Prescribe weekly aerobic exercise consistent with cognitive-benefit evidence.

Describe the acute and chronic stress response and its effects on learning.

Identify the early warning signs of burnout and perfectionism traps.

Apply mindfulness and self-compassion techniques backed by trials.

Reframe help-seeking as a strength through a growth mindset.

Design a daily routine that respects caffeine timing and screen-time limits.

Use nature exposure and recovery micro-breaks to sustain focus.

Topics Covered

Sleep need (7-9h) and consolidation

Exercise and cognitive performance

The stress response and allostatic load

Resilience and recovery routines

Help-seeking as strength

Perfectionism trap

Growth versus fixed mindset

Burnout warning signs

Mindfulness evidence base

Caffeine half-life and timing

Screen-time before bed and melatonin

Nature exposure and attention restoration

Self-compassion practice

Social support networks

Nutrition basics for cognition

Skills Developed

Sleep-routine design Exercise programming for study weeks Stress self-monitoring Mindfulness practice Help-seeking communication Caffeine and screen hygiene Self-compassion reframing Burnout risk screening

Suggested Resources

{'title': 'Why We Sleep', 'author': 'Matthew Walker', 'source': 'Allen Lane, 2017'}

{'title': 'Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain', 'author': 'John J. Ratey', 'source': 'Little, Brown, 2008'}

{'title': 'Self-Compassion', 'author': 'Kristin Neff', 'source': 'William Morrow, 2011'}

{'title': 'Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfil Your Potential', 'author': 'Carol Dweck', 'source': 'Robinson, 2017'}

{'title': 'Burnout: solve your stress cycle', 'author': 'Emily & Amelia Nagoski', 'source': 'Vermilion, 2019'}

{'title': 'Attention restoration theory', 'author': 'Kaplan & Kaplan', 'source': 'Journal of Environmental Psychology, 1995, 15(3)'}

{'title': 'NHS Every Mind Matters', 'author': 'Public Health England / NHS', 'source': 'nhs.uk/every-mind-matters, 2024 update'}

Assessment

Learners build and trial a two-week well-being plan with a short reflective report plus knowledge checks.

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Practice bank: 176 MCQs · Timed mock & self-paced modes

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