Everyone knows it’s hard to stay healthy in college. Whether it’s the inevitable “freshman fifteen” or the fact that your dorm is infested with bacteria, we’re doomed. Often times we’re so busy that we don’t focus on eating right, exercising, or even getting enough sleep. All of these are the most important things we need to keep our body functioning normally! It’s almost impossible to revert back to our normal high school lives where we had a schedule everyday and often played on sports teams and had good meals made. Now, it’s all up to us. Each small step will help, but we need to try. Our physical and emotional well-being is at stake!
Here are some tips I’ve complied about staying healthy at college:
1. Eat breakfast. Believe it or not, not eating breakfast not only hinders your ability to think and perform to your top potential, but it also contributes to weight gain! Starting your day off by eating something healthy is extremely important and will often determine how you feel for the rest of the day.
2. Stay hydrated. Most of the time, we don’t even know we’re dehydrated until we actually are. Just because you don’t feel thirsty doesn’t mean you don’t need to drink anything. I always carry a bottle of water in my book bag wherever I go. Water is obviously a good choice because it makes up most of our body and helps it function correctly, but if you need that sugar (like I always do), try something healthier like a Fuze or green tea. Many drinks made now contain important vitamins and minerals that are also important to the body…and taste good!!
3. Eat your meals! Skipping a meal is usually disastrous for me, because I revert to my junk food stash and it turns into a dinner of potato chips and cookies. It’s also been proven that college students gain the most weight from eating junk food late at night. NOT GOOD! Having three meals a day that are as complete as possible will help you stay more full for a longer period of time…giving you less of a feeling that you need to snack! If you snack a lot (like me), try to give yourself healthy options. My favorites are bananas, fruit cups, raisins, and low-fat
pretzels.
4. Walk! Being on a campus allows you the option to walk to class. While some people prefer driving, if the weather is nice, why not walk? Walking is said to be the best exercise because it gets your heart rate up yet doesn’t make you feel completely fatigued. Take advantage of the opportunities you have to walk around! Maybe one day you can even take the long route. J
5. Organize. I know it’s hard, but you have to admit, it feels really good when you do it. I don’t go anywhere without my planner and cell phone. Both serve as reminders for me to get things done and know where I have to be. If you schedule things out, especially by time, you’ll find that you’ll be more confident in what you’re doing. And don’t forget to RELAX! Don’t bother worrying about the test you just took. What’s done is done, and you did your best (maybe). You have to put things into perspective and go day by day. Don’t overwhelm yourself by stressing out about the big paper you have due in two weeks. Instead, plan out one small thing you can do for it each day and before you know it you’ll have the majority of it done! Manage your time well.
6. Monitor your drinking. If you’re going to drink, remember that it basically has nothing good in it for you. It will supply you with a lot of calories, but that’s about all. It has been said to decrease the number of calories you’re capable of burning as well as increases your appetite for up to 24 hours afterward! Moral of the story: think before you drink! For more information on why it's damaging to your health, check out this website!
7. Stay clean! Be sure to always wash your hands in the bathroom, take a shower daily, etc. You’ve heard it all before, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t do it! And when you think about it, you live with all of these people and they touch things that you may touch, etc. etc. Eventually, you’re doomed to get sick. The best way to stay healthy is to keep yourself clean. I always carry a little container of hand sanitizer in my bag, just in case!
8. Get enough sleep! It’s true that when we’re busy, sleep is one of our last priorities. In all actuality, this is probably the worst thing you can do. Pulling and all-nighter to study for that test you have the next d
ay is harming you more than helping you. Some people may be able to function on low amounts of sleep, but I know for sure I cannot! Having a regular sleeping schedule is extremely important and helpful to your body. Without it, it’s hard to function correctly. Taking naps may help, but tests have shown that naps are most effective when they are “power naps”, aka about 25 minutes. Sleeping for 3 hours in the middle of the day isn’t exactly a nap, seeing as how that is how much some people sleep at night. Sleeping for that long is necessary in some cases, but overall it may just prove to mess up your sleep schedule. It’s best to try and get the most sleep at night…when you’re supposed to!
...I know I'm not perfect, I struggle with these ALL THE TIME! Together, we can change!!
Here are some tips I’ve complied about staying healthy at college:
1. Eat breakfast. Believe it or not, not eating breakfast not only hinders your ability to think and perform to your top potential, but it also contributes to weight gain! Starting your day off by eating something healthy is extremely important and will often determine how you feel for the rest of the day.
2. Stay hydrated. Most of the time, we don’t even know we’re dehydrated until we actually are. Just because you don’t feel thirsty doesn’t mean you don’t need to drink anything. I always carry a bottle of water in my book bag wherever I go. Water is obviously a good choice because it makes up most of our body and helps it function correctly, but if you need that sugar (like I always do), try something healthier like a Fuze or green tea. Many drinks made now contain important vitamins and minerals that are also important to the body…and taste good!!
3. Eat your meals! Skipping a meal is usually disastrous for me, because I revert to my junk food stash and it turns into a dinner of potato chips and cookies. It’s also been proven that college students gain the most weight from eating junk food late at night. NOT GOOD! Having three meals a day that are as complete as possible will help you stay more full for a longer period of time…giving you less of a feeling that you need to snack! If you snack a lot (like me), try to give yourself healthy options. My favorites are bananas, fruit cups, raisins, and low-fat
pretzels.4. Walk! Being on a campus allows you the option to walk to class. While some people prefer driving, if the weather is nice, why not walk? Walking is said to be the best exercise because it gets your heart rate up yet doesn’t make you feel completely fatigued. Take advantage of the opportunities you have to walk around! Maybe one day you can even take the long route. J
5. Organize. I know it’s hard, but you have to admit, it feels really good when you do it. I don’t go anywhere without my planner and cell phone. Both serve as reminders for me to get things done and know where I have to be. If you schedule things out, especially by time, you’ll find that you’ll be more confident in what you’re doing. And don’t forget to RELAX! Don’t bother worrying about the test you just took. What’s done is done, and you did your best (maybe). You have to put things into perspective and go day by day. Don’t overwhelm yourself by stressing out about the big paper you have due in two weeks. Instead, plan out one small thing you can do for it each day and before you know it you’ll have the majority of it done! Manage your time well.
6. Monitor your drinking. If you’re going to drink, remember that it basically has nothing good in it for you. It will supply you with a lot of calories, but that’s about all. It has been said to decrease the number of calories you’re capable of burning as well as increases your appetite for up to 24 hours afterward! Moral of the story: think before you drink! For more information on why it's damaging to your health, check out this website!
7. Stay clean! Be sure to always wash your hands in the bathroom, take a shower daily, etc. You’ve heard it all before, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t do it! And when you think about it, you live with all of these people and they touch things that you may touch, etc. etc. Eventually, you’re doomed to get sick. The best way to stay healthy is to keep yourself clean. I always carry a little container of hand sanitizer in my bag, just in case!
8. Get enough sleep! It’s true that when we’re busy, sleep is one of our last priorities. In all actuality, this is probably the worst thing you can do. Pulling and all-nighter to study for that test you have the next d
ay is harming you more than helping you. Some people may be able to function on low amounts of sleep, but I know for sure I cannot! Having a regular sleeping schedule is extremely important and helpful to your body. Without it, it’s hard to function correctly. Taking naps may help, but tests have shown that naps are most effective when they are “power naps”, aka about 25 minutes. Sleeping for 3 hours in the middle of the day isn’t exactly a nap, seeing as how that is how much some people sleep at night. Sleeping for that long is necessary in some cases, but overall it may just prove to mess up your sleep schedule. It’s best to try and get the most sleep at night…when you’re supposed to!...I know I'm not perfect, I struggle with these ALL THE TIME! Together, we can change!!
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