The start of the new year and second semester is here, which means out with the old and in with the new! It can be easy to fall back into old, unhealthy routines, which can lead to a downward spiral of negativity and stress in your daily life, but incorporating these five holistic ways into your routine will lead to a better new year and second semester!
1. Drink Green Tea
Get your caffeine kick by replacing your coffee addiction with green tea! Coffee lovers, I know you’re rolling your eyes at this right now in midst of drinking your third coffee of the day, but hear me out: green tea has far more health benefits than that of coffee. The magical steeped tea leaves boosts energy, sharpens the brain, protects skin, lowers cholesterol, prevents certain diseases and manages weight and more.
While a cup of green tea often contains less caffeine than a cup of Joe, research shows that green tea keeps your endurance up throughout the day without the awful crash that coffee can leave ya.
My favorite go-to green tea brands are either the Tazo or Yogi tea pouches, which can be found at local grocery stores. It is easy and quick to make and can be cheaper than a last-minute Starbucks run every morning rushing to your 8 a.m. classes. Fuel up with green tea!
2. Practice Yoga
Your mind, body and spirit will feel ENLIGHTENED after a yoga sesh. Yoga can be pretty intimidating at first, but trust me, it does wonders to your overall health, and it is worth a try (or a few) to learn to appreciate and feel the valuable benefits that this ancient practice offers.
The practice of yoga focuses on bodily postures, controlling of the breath, concentration and meditation all in one. The benefits are endless, but the most important ones relevant to college students are how yoga can help manage stress, reduce depression and anxiety, clear the mind, improve concentration and encourage a more positive outlook on life.
With all of the different types of yoga that you can do, there is certainly one that will match your health and fitness needs! Whether it is vinyasa yoga, yoga sculpt, hot yoga or (my favorite) restorative yoga and many other types, you are guaranteed to leave feeling better than you did walking through the door. Getting into yoga is also an excuse for a trip to Lululemon to buy some new yoga gear.
3. Eat healthy
Face it: we’re college students, and with that comes a few too many shots of booze and a few too many 2 a.m. pizza slices (it happens to the best of us). While it is a “new year, new you,” it is going to be super hard to cut out all of that, but it will be easier to make it a goal to cut back the junk food and eat healthier during the weekdays.
Ugh, I know, “healthy” can sound like bland food and a hefty price tag, but there are ways to eat yummy healthy food like smoothies, avocado toast, hummus and veggies on a college budget… all you have to do is be creative, put in effort and look for good deals.
BE CREATIVE: Look up easy-to-make healthy recipes online through Googling around, checking out Spoon University and/or following awesome college food bloggers who know their shiz, like my favorite, constancelyeating, for inspiration.
PUT IN EFFORT: Eating healthy isn’t as easy as going through the drive up at McDonalds, and that’s for a reason. Meal prep is essential to ensuring that you will stick to your all-natural eating plan… if all the ingredients are measured, stored and ready to go, you’ll be more likely to make it and eat it.
LOOK FOR GOOD DEALS: Couponing/deals are essential to eating healthy… because quinoa and kale ain’t cheap. Look on your grocer’s website, maybe split the cost with your roomie or just prioritize when putting things into your cart.
4. Meditate
Ohm… try meditating once a day! I cannot think of a better way to de-stress from the hectic-ness of being a college student other than laying down on the ground, playing some zen music, closing your eyes and escaping the reality of panicking over the five hundred thousand things you need to accomplish by the end of the day and week.
Meditation comes with a number of benefits, but for college students, the most noteworthy are: reduced stress, improved concentration and better quality of sleep. I’ll take it!
How does one meditate? There are different ways to achieve a state of peace of mind, some work for some, some work for others, but my preferred method is simple and easy to do: all you need is a quiet room, lay down on a mat or comfy rug, play relaxing music from YouTube and breathe in for three and out for three for 10-15 minutes. The key is to focus on your breath and not let your mind drift.
5. Get a good night’s sleep
Yeah, I know, I don’t have to tell you twice: us college kids treasure sleep, however, we usually don’t get a good night of it due to procrastination, studying and homework, partying and Netflix. BUT getting a good night of sleep is crucial, especially as a college student!
For college kids, it is recommended to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night. If that repeatedly isn’t the case, then it catches up to you and affects you in more ways than one. For instance, it is harder to concentrate, creates a lack of energy and induces mood swings, which are not good for a student with a busy lifestyle.
Personally, the hard part is actually FALLING asleep. I am always scrolling through social media before bed, and it turns out that is partially why it is hard for me to fall asleep. It is recommended to not use any electronics and devices shortly before going to bed because the brain processes all of the information read or seen, and the glow from the electronics delays the brain releasing the sleeping-inducing hormones. Also, if you stay up until 2 a.m. routinely, your body will have a harder time falling asleep earlier to get a better night of sleep because it is used to that time. So, to start the semester off right: make sure to go to sleep at a decent time to ensure you’d get seven to eight hours by the time you need to wake up and use your willpower and put the phones away.
Trying out and continuing to keep up with all or either of these holistic ways to boost your mood will help you have your best year and semester yet! Good luck, collegiettes!