Start here to feel better every day. Explore simple tips and resources to help you build healthier habits around sleep, stress, eating well, physical activity, and more.
Physical Activity
Physical activity does far more than build muscle and bone. It sharpens your focus, stabilizes your mood, boosts your energy, and builds resilience against chronic disease. And here’s the good news: you don't need to become an athlete to see benefits. Even small additions to your day — a short walk between classes, stretching at your desk, a quick workout — can meaningfully improve how you feel, think, and perform. MIT Health and the community offer accessible ways to move together, whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just starting out.
MIT Health resources
Schedule a free lifestyle health consultation at MIT Health. Meet with a wellness coach for help getting started. You’ll get support and motivation for all your healthy lifestyle goals, including physical activity.
MIT resources
MIT Recreation provides access to excellent fitness facilities on the MIT campus. Recreation memberships are available to eligible members of the MIT community including employees, retirees, and family members. All MIT students have free access to MIT Recreation facilities, and students’ family members can purchase memberships at a reasonable cost. Sign up for a free tour and info session.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Fitness Center offers memberships to all Lincoln Laboratory personnel. Tours and a “try us for free” session are available.
getfit is MIT’s annual team-based fitness challenge, organized by MIT Recreation and cosponsored by MIT Health. Exercise, track points, win prizes. Learn more.
MIT Physical Education & Wellness classes are available to undergraduate students and count toward the Physical Education and Wellness General Institute Requirement.
A fitness reimbursement of up to $150 is available to MIT employees covered by an MIT-sponsored health plan. Visit Blue Cross Blue Shield
Stress Management & Mindfulness
Mindfulness practices and healthy coping skills are powerful tools that can transform how you manage pressure, improve your sleep and focus, and strengthen your emotional resilience. The best part? You don’t have to figure this out alone. MIT Health and the broader MIT community offer numerous opportunities to learn and practice these skills together, creating a culture of support and collective wellbeing.
MIT Health resources
Mindfulness and relaxation practices can help the brain and the body manage stress. MIT Health offers free Unwind relaxation classes and mindfulness mini-courses for all levels of experience. Learn more and register.
Schedule a free lifestyle health consultation at MIT Health. Meet with a wellness coach for help getting started. You’ll get support and motivation for all your healthy lifestyle goals, including stress management.
Student Mental Health & Counseling at MIT Health provides a variety of on-demand self-care resources, including videos and podcasts you can access anytime. Created by clinicians who understand the MIT experience, these resources are targeted to students but may be equally useful for other members of the community.
Our Relaxation Tip Line offers a guided three-minute relaxation exercise and is available on demand. Call 617-253-CALM (2256) any time of the day or night.
MIT resources
MyLife Services offers professional guidance for stress management, individual and family counseling, relationship help, and more. They can also provide referrals to local mental health counselors. These services are free of charge to MIT employees, including post-docs, and their adult family members.
MIT Physical Education & Wellness classes include courses on stress management, meditation, and other mind-body topics. Classes are available to undergraduate students and count toward the Physical Education and Wellness General Institute Requirement.
Workplace Wellbeing for You + Your Team is a learning bundle available through the Atlas Learning Center (Touchstone login required) and curated by MIT Health. The resources and practices included in this learning bundle can be used for individual wellbeing goals, such as making healthy lifestyle changes, or can be incorporated into team culture to promote healthier workdays.
Search Inside Yourself is a free mindfulness and emotional intelligence course from MIT Human Resources. The course aims to help participants experience greater overall well-being, build resilience in the face of challenges, manage stress, and more.
A mind and body reimbursement of up to $150 is available to MIT employees covered by an MIT-sponsored health plan. Learn more (PDF).
Sleep Health
Quality sleep does remarkable things: it consolidates what you’ve learned, sharpens your focus, improves your performance and productivity, and keeps your immune and cardiovascular systems strong. Sleep isn’t a luxury; it’s essential to thriving at MIT, no matter your role. Discover resources that can help you improve your sleep, starting tonight.
MIT Health resources
Mindfulness and relaxation practices can help the brain and the body fall asleep more easily. MIT Health offers free Unwind relaxation classes and mindfulness mini-courses for all levels of experience. Learn more and register.
MIT Health’s Relaxation Tip Line offers a guided three-minute relaxation exercise and is available on demand. Call 617-253-CALM (2256) any time of the day or night.
Check out MIT Health’s Quick Tips for Better Sleep and Getting Up in the Morning (PDF).
Schedule a free lifestyle health consultation at MIT Health. Meet with a wellness coach for help getting started. You’ll get support and motivation for all your healthy lifestyle goals, including sleep health.
MIT resources
MIT Sleep Reboot: This on-demand recording of our popular health coaching workshop covers all the hot topics in sleep health and will provide you with the tools and techniques you need to improve your sleep quality and make it easier to get up in the morning.
MyLife Services offers sleep consultations, individual and family counseling, relationship help, and more. They can also provide referrals to local mental health counselors. These services are free of charge to MIT employees, including post-docs, and their adult family members.
Eating Well
Food is fuel. What you eat directly impacts your energy, mental clarity, and ability to perform at your best. When you develop a thoughtful approach to nutrition and food, you're not just eating better; you’re optimizing your body and mind for the demands ahead. MIT Health and community resources can help you build sustainable, realistic eating habits that fit your life — and actually stick.
MIT Health resources
Schedule a free lifestyle health consultation at MIT Health. Meet with a wellness coach for help getting started. You’ll get support and motivation for all your healthy lifestyle goals, including eating well.
MIT resources
MIT Recreation’s nutrition coaching program can provide you with the tools you need to sustain a meal plan that fits your lifestyle. Options include coaching by phone or video.
MyLife Services offers nutrition consultations, individual and family counseling, relationship help, and more. They can also provide referrals to local mental health counselors. These services are free of charge to MIT employees, including post-docs, and their adult family members.
MIT Graduate Assistance and Information Network (MIT/GAIN), part of MIT’s Office of Graduate Education, offers MIT graduate students free, confidential access and referrals to a variety of work-life experts, including consultations with a registered dietitian.
MIT Physical Education & Wellness classes include courses on nutrition. Classes are available to undergraduate students and count toward the Physical Education and Wellness General Institute Requirement.
MIT DoingWell has resources for MIT students who have limited funds for meals, don’t have enough time to buy or cook food, or need information about where to get meals.
Nutrition support for campus meal plan holders: Any MIT student on a campus meal plan can meet with MIT’s on-campus registered dietitian to discuss questions or concerns around food allergies, dietary restrictions, or how to navigate the dining halls.
MIT’s fitness reimbursement of up to $150, available to MIT employees covered by an MIT-sponsored health plan, can be used for in-person or online weight-loss programs. Learn more.
Quit Tobacco
Breathe freely. Live better. Whether you’re ready to quit today or still thinking about it, we’re here for you. Quitting tobacco or nicotine is one of the best investments you can make in your health, and MIT Health offers the practical tools and support to make it happen — every step of the way.
The benefits start immediately. Within days of quitting, your body begins to heal. Your heart rate and blood pressure drop, breathing becomes easier, and your sense of taste and smell improve. Over time, quitting significantly reduces your risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other chronic conditions.
What about e-cigarettes, vape pens, and nicotine pouches? These products contain addictive nicotine and may expose you to harmful chemicals. While their use is rising, they are not risk-free. Quitting or reducing use provides real health benefits and brings you closer to a nicotine-free life.
MIT Health resources
Schedule a free lifestyle health consultation at MIT Health. Meet with a wellness coach for help getting started. You’ll get support and motivation for all your healthy lifestyle goals, including resources to help you quit.
MIT Health’s Primary Care providers can prescribe prescription medications and nicotine replacement products. These evidence-based tools can help reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms, so you can focus on building new habits.
MIT resources
MyLife Services offers support for quitting nicotine, tobacco, cannabis, or other substances. Counselors can help you create a quit plan, identify triggers, and develop strategies for long-term success. These services are free of charge to MIT employees, including post-docs, and their adult family members.
MIT Graduate Assistance and Information Network (MIT/GAIN), part of MIT’s Office of Graduate Education, offers MIT graduate students free, confidential access and referrals to a variety of work-life experts, including smoking-cessation programs.
Wellness classes and workshops
Join a free Zoom class or workshop from MIT Health, with topics like nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep, and more. These expert-led sessions are designed to support your health goals from the comfort of your home or office. Offerings change monthly so check back often.