Positive Psychology 

Health and Wellness offer drop-in workshops and a seven-week group series to help students develop research-based skills that increase motivation, positive relationships, and meaning in one’s life.

Drop-in Workshop

These workshops are offered throughout the quarter and designed for students. Topics include 36 questions to make friends, gratitude, kindness, communication skills for building positive relations, optimism & goal setting, stress management, self-compassion, and mindfulness. They are led by our professional health educators and health & wellness interns.

The Happiness Challenge Team Series

This is a seven-week positive psychology workshop series. As a group each week, we learn and practice two positive psychology tips that help us thrive.  This is a support group to help improve relationships, increase meaning, and build community.

This workshop series is facilitated by one of our professional health educators with additional support from an H&W Intern.

Mindfulness Meditation

Health and Wellness offers a variety of drop-in mindfulness meditation sessions on campus for students each weekday (Monday-Fridays) and a eight-week workshop series to help students develop foundational skills for self-compassion and stress reduction. Each quarter, we offer an off campus half-day commuter retreat for students interested in deepening their practice. 

Drop-in Meditation Sessions

These sessions are offered five days per week and designed for students at all levels of experience. They are led by our professional health educators and peer meditation interns, who are trained in the facilitation of mindfulness meditation.

Guided Meditation with Joshua Steinfeldt

Joshua Steinfeldt is a professional coach, mindfulness teacher, and a positive psychology teacher. His meditation sessions will include research informed practices, brief practical teachings, and the principles of learn, practice, and embody.

Joshua is kind enough to volunteer his time with us, meeting weekly to share his practices with students and engage in various forms of meditation.

Sleep Initiative & Sleep Health Education

The Health & Wellness department launched a healthy sleep initiative in Fall 2015 to promote healthy sleep habits for students. We provide sleep health education, weekly nap stations, and host a seven-day sleep challenge each quarter. We also work with campus partners to create physical environments that promote a culture of healthy sleep habits.

Campus Nap Pods

Through partnership with the UC Santa Barbara Library, Health & Wellness has placed four nap pods and seven egg chairs in our wellness lounge in the library to promote short study breaks or naps. There is also one nap pod in the Atheltics building for student athletes to use. The nap pods allow students to enclose themselves in a lounge-like chair that can play calming noises and set timers for healthy nap times. Since the time of the arrival of the MetroNap Pods in late Summer 2019, tens of thousands of naps have been recorded. Most students are adhering to the recommended 20-minute duration. The nap pods see full capacity use throughout the entirety of the day, and we are always receiving requests to install more. If funded, a new nap pod would cost $14,450. 

UCSB Sleep Challenge

This program is hosted on the Health & Wellness website and provides sleep education, covering a range of different topics within the challenge. Topics include the following:

• sleep debt and sleep deprivation
• role of the biological clock and circadian rhythms in regulating sleep
• learning and memory benefits of sleep
• optimal sleep environment (room temperature, lighting, and sound)
• relaxation routines that promote or prepare the body for sleep
• technology, blue light and the impact of melatonin
• effects of substances such as nicotine, alcohol, caffeine and OTC's on sleep
• benefits of power naps and when napping interferes with a regular sleep schedule
• role of physical activity to promote sleep
• time management and strategies for prioritizing sleep

This research driven and online curriculum was developed by the Health & Wellness professional and peer educators in the guidance of Sharleen O'Brien, PsyD, licensed psychologist(PSY 20314) who has expertise in sleep health, and the web-based platform by our technology interns with the support of professional educators and our Student Information Systems & Technology department staff.

Nutrition & Cooking Skills Education

Health & Wellness is the home for the campus collaboration that teaches nutrition, cooking, shopping on a tight budget, meal planning, and food sourcing to students. We aim to serve our full campus, and the primary goal of this program is to contribute a skill building curriculum to our campus basic needs initiative.

UCSB Cooks

During this hands-on six-week program, students learn kitchen basics and cook a range of dishes, focusing on healthy cooking on a budget. As part of this program, students cook each week and share a free meal they cooked in class(ingredients provided by the department). They are also provided with essential cooking supplies to take home (pans, cooking knife, cutting mat, etc.), a bag of groceries, and community dinner to celebrate completion of the program. The program is also offered digitally over Zoom. Attendees on Zoom are able to learn how to cook from the comfort of their own home, including group-learning with roommates and cooking with their own equipment.

$6,600 per quarter to run two in-person series and one digital series

$110 cost per student 

If you would like to donate to help keep this program running, please click the link below. Any amount helps.

Donate to UCSB Cooks

Your donation helps Health and Wellness to provide Sexual Health & Relationship knowledge to our entire campus community through education, workshops, and resources. Sexual Health is incredibly important for college students to make informed and thoughtful decisions that can impact their social, physical, and emotional wellbeing. Thank you for your consideration of giving to our program that empowers students of all walks of life, whether they choose to be sexually active or choose abstinence.

Safer Sex Peers

This is a 4-part certification series we offer, where students can  learn accurate and comprehensive holistic sexual health including STI's, contraception, communication, anatomy, self-agency, and more. This allows them to be a non-judgmental resource for peers to help make informed and thoughtful decisions about their physical, emotional, and social well-being.

Wellness Center for Stress Reduction

Health & Wellness has its own wellness center located in the Student Resource Building.  Students can drop-in at any time to unwind, use the space for study, or simply take a break during their busy academic days. The Wellness Center also offers free tea and snacks for students looking to rejuvenate; keeping these resources stocked for students costs $100 a week. The center is open from 9AM- 7PM on Monday - Thursday and 9AM - 5PM on Friday. 

The Health & Wellness department encourages students to study and work in health promoting ways. One strategy for cultivating a wellness culture and encouraging balance is by integrating wellness opportunities, amenities, concepts, and structures in the immediate environment where students are engaged in study and work so they can easily dedicate time for breaks. 

Rejuvenation Station

Once a week, we offer an event called Rejuvenation Station in our center. Students are welcome to unwind and immerse in self-care. Registration to the event includes tea, mindful activities, and a place to relax. We also offer mini-massages for the entire 4-hour duration of the event from professional massage therapists. This is a great opportunity for students to connect with each other and receive high quality wellness care. 

"Just what I needed today!! Made my day so much better and was a great little break from a stressful time being on campus."  - Rejuvenation Station attendee, 2023

Study Break

Once per quarter right before finals, we also collaborate with the Library to put on Study Break. Students can use this space to nap in inflatable nap pods, make origami, drink tea, or study quietly. We also offer the professional massages at this event. 

The Body Project

Eating Disorder Prevention and Healthy Body Image 

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The Body Project is an evidence-based based eating disorder prevention program that fosters body acceptance and reduces the risk for developing Eating Disorders among high school and college-aged women and men.

This is a four-week, peer-led educational group with a clearly outlined, weekly plan delivered in a small group format. We provide two to three women's groups and 1-2 men's groups each quarter. Group is facilitated by three Health & Wellness peer educators who provide a forum for UCSB students to confront unrealistic beauty ideals and engage in the development of healthy body image

The curriculum for this program was developed as a peer-to-peer delivery model by Eric Stice, PhD, a nationally recognized expert in eating disorder prevention. Three of our health educators in Health & Wellness, and two dieticians in Student Health were trained to supervise peer health educators in the delivery of this program in Summer 2019, and the women's program was first implemented at UC Santa Barbara in Fall 2019. The Men's Body Project was launched in the winter of 2023.

Students currently volunteer their time to teach this program. It would cost $130 for one student's stipend for a quarter of helping run this program. It would cost $390 for student stipends to run 1 group.