Caring Beyond the Classroom: LSST’s Approach to Student Wellbeing and Self-Care Tools
At LSST, we believe that study-related success begins with personal well-being. We understand that student life comes with pressures, from deadlines and jobs to personal responsibilities and emotional struggles, which can all impact well-being. This is especially true for mature learners, who often juggle study-related commitments alongside family, financial, or caregiving responsibilities. Research highlights that mature learners are at greater risk of psychological distress and may require tailored wellbeing help to succeed (MacCann, Fogarty, and Roberts, 2020). That is why LSST is fully committed to helping our learners beyond their study-related journey.
This commitment is embedded across all our campuses through dedicated Student Wellbeing Officers, Personal Academic Tutors (PATs), and a wider Student Support Team, all working together to ensure that every student feels helped, listened to, and guided throughout their time at LSST. We believe that the student journey goes beyond study-related excellence. Our comprehensive help structure is highlighted on our website, where we outline our student- centred approach to safeguarding, wellbeing, and study-related success (LSST, 2024a; LSST, 2024b). This is because we want you to know that you’re not alone. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or uncertain, we’re here for you—whether that means having a chat, connecting you with helpful services, or simply checking in to see how you’re doing.
A Full Support System at Every Campus
Each LSST campus has a dedicated Student Wellbeing Officer available to offer help, guidance and to signpost learners to relevant resources. In addition to this, we run Student Progress and Review (SPAR) check-ins and provide opportunities for regular one-to-one wellbeing conversations, ensuring consistent and accessible help across all campuses.
Students are encouraged to set up monthly wellbeing check-ins with their given Student Wellbeing Officer if needed. These can be arranged through self-referral, or learners may be referred by their lecturer or Personal Academic Tutor if more help is needed. This is important to us and to you as research has shown that proactive and embedded wellbeing initiatives, such as regular check-ins and open referral systems, can significantly improve student engagement, emotional resilience, and study-related confidence (Hughes and Spanner, 2019).
We encourage learners to speak up, seek help, and support healthy communication with their lecturers, tutors, and help staff. Every member of the LSST team is here to help you through challenging times and, when necessary, guide you toward specialist services.
Self-Help Tools: Curated Mental Health and Wellbeing Apps
In addition to one-to-one help, LSST recognises the importance of self-help and personal resilience. Many learners receive help from having access to self-help tools they can use independently and in their own time. So, in this article, we have put together a list of suggested emotional wellbeing and wellbeing digital tools, which cover areas such as stress management, anxiety reduction, better sleep, and emotional tracking.
These digital tools can play a vital role in encouraging self-awareness and early intervention, especially in a fast-paced study-related environment, because the evidence is that the use of mobile digital emotional wellbeing tools can support wellbeing as they are as accessible and effective resources to manage emotional distress, improve coping skills and increase a learners sense of autonomy over their emotional wellbeing (Firth et al., 2017).
Please note: These external tools are not affiliated with or endorsed by LSST. They have been carefully selected as potential self-help tools based on common student needs. We recommend that learners explore these tools at their own discretion and use what best suits their personal circumstances.
Wellbeing Apps
Here are a few selected tools that you can explore to help your emotional wellbeing and wellbeing:
Brain in Hand is specifically designed to help neurodiverse learners, particularly those experiencing high levels of anxiety, stress or overwhelm. It offers 24/7 access to personalised help and on-demand coping tools to help support wellbeing and prevent emotional escalation. This app is ideal for learners with autism or anxiety, providing structured routines and real-time strategies to manage daily challenges.
Student Health App is a free and NHS-approved resource holding over 900 pages of trustworthy health advice, including guidance on mental wellbeing, healthy lifestyle choices, relationships and managing stress. Co-created by practising doctors and learners, it provides medically reviewed, accessible information specifically tailored to student life.
For Stress, Anxiety and Low Mood
The CBT Self Help Guide is designed by the NHS to help users learn how to manage and control negative thoughts, emotions, and behavioural patterns. Based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques, it includes a wide range of self-help features such as guided audio exercises, mood tracking, thought journalling, and goal setting tools. These CBT methods are widely recognised for helping individuals regain a sense of control over their emotional wellbeing.
Wellmind is an NHS emotional wellbeing app developed to help users cope with stress, anxiety and depression. It includes mood tracking tools, soothing music, relaxation techniques, and crisis planning features. The app also has helpful information about emotional wellbeing conditions and where to get help, making it a useful companion for both daily mental wellbeing and moments of distress.
What’s Up? is a free emotional wellbeing app offering a blend of CBT and ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) techniques. It helps users manage anxiety, anger and depression through grounding and breathing exercises, positive habit tracking, daily goal setting, a “Get Help” section with local crisis help contacts, and community forums for peer encouragement and shared experiences. This app is ideal for those looking for both quick, in-the-moment techniques and longer-term mental wellbeing strategies.
For Better Sleep
Getting quality sleep is vital for learners’ wellbeing, concentration, memory, and emotional balance. This is especially true for mature learners, who often juggle multiple responsibilities such as family and work alongside their studies. Lack of rest can increase stress levels and reduce study-related performance. Studies have shown that improved sleep hygiene positively affects cognitive performance, emotional regulation and study-related engagement in both traditional and non-traditional student populations (Hershner and Chervin, 2014; Gaultney, 2016). Sleep-focused tools can help calm the mind through guided visualisation, breathing techniques and mindfulness practices that focus on sensory detail or calming imagery, helping users let go of worries and transition into restful sleep.
Deep Sleep is a free app that provides soothing soundscapes, guided meditations and visualisation exercises to help users gently unwind and achieve deeper, uninterrupted sleep. It is ideal for learners dealing with restlessness, anxiety, or overthinking at night.
You can find out more about free sleep apps here : www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/10-free-iphone-ahelp-you-sleep-better-tonightpps-
Download for iOS: https://tools.apple.com/us/app/deep-sleep-sounds/id1200069060 Download for Android:
https://play.google.com/store/tools/details?id=com.rocketsleep.android
F.lux (Free) adjusts your PC or phone’s light to help natural sleep rhythms. Benefit: Helps improve your sleep by adjusting screen brightness based on time of day. F.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you’re in, all the time. When the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again.
Sleepio (Paid, with Free Trial) is a six-week sleep improvement program based on CBT techniques. There are 6 core online sessions, taking 20-25 minutes each. These are spaced weekly, but you can choose exactly what times work best for you. You will also keep a daily sleep diary (taking approximately 1 minute to complete). All the advice in your Sleepio sessions is personalized to you, based on the answers you give and your diary results. More help is available from an online community of other Sleepio users, should you wish to take advantage of this. No personal information is shared. Sleepio is a proven approach which has been evaluated in many clinical trials and shown to help many poor sleepers recover their sleep to healthy levels.
For Crisis Support
Stay Alive is a lifesaving, NHS-helped app designed to help individuals experiencing thoughts of suicide or those concerned about someone else. It includes customisable safety plans, grounding techniques, emergency contact features, and crisis helplines. The app is also valuable in encouraging peer help, reminding users to check in on friends or classmates who may be struggling silently. Peer-led help and social connection have been identified as protective factors against suicide and emotional distress, especially in university settings (Riblet et al., 2017; World Health Organization, 2021).
Monthly Wellbeing Workshops
As part of our ongoing efforts, LSST hosts monthly wellbeing workshops on campus. You will often find posters in corridors and announcements in student portals. These events are designed to help learners build resilience, discover new coping strategies, and realise they are not alone. Whether the session focuses on managing anxiety, practising mindfulness or understanding stress triggers, these workshops can help learners build the emotional tools needed to thrive at university.
Sometimes, all it takes is seeing others share similar experiences to realise that what you’re feeling is valid and manageable.
Wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do at LSST. We understand that the path to study-related success is not just about grades, it’s about nurturing your mental, emotional, and physical health every step of the way and we’re here to walk alongside you.
Remember, reaching out for help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and taking even small steps towards self-care can transform your student experience.
This article was further reviewed by Dr Wendy Wigley, LSST’s Head of Student Lifecycle.
References
Firth, J., Torous, J., Nicholas, J., Carney, R., Pratap, A., Rosenbaum, S. and Sarris, J. (2017). The efficacy of smartphone-based emotional wellbeing interventions for depressive symptoms: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. World Psychiatry, 16(3), pp.287-298. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20472
Gaultney, J. F. (2016). College learners with inadequate sleep: descriptive epidemiology and study-related consequences. Nature and Science of Sleep, 8, pp.83-92. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S98305
Hershner, S. and Chervin, R. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college learners. Nature and Science of Sleep, 6, pp.73-84. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907
Hughes, G. and Spanner, L. (2019). The University Mental Health Charter. Leeds: Student Minds. Available at: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/charter.html
MacCann, C., Fogarty, G.J. and Roberts, R.D. (2020). The importance of wellbeing and emotional intelligence for mature-age learners in higher education. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, p.585619. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.585619
Riblet, N., Shiner, B., Young-Xu, Y. and Watts, B.V. (2017). Strategies to prevent death by suicide: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 210(6), pp.396-402. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.116.187799
World Health Organization. (2021). Live Life: An implementation guide for suicide prevention in countries. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240026629