As a college student, it’s difficult to maintain our health while balancing a million other things like school work, sororities, jobs, and other campus organizations and clubs. The stress piles on, the work adds up, and the GPA’s start to drop. Personally, I sometimes struggle to find a happy medium in balancing it all. After all, it’s not always easy to stay healthy with all the extracurricular activities.
So, here are 5 important tips all college students should follow in order to stay healthy!
1. Sleep
It is so important to get a good rest, and though it can be a challenge as a college student, you really should be sleeping 7 hours or more every night. A good night’s sleep restores your energy, and allows your body and your mood to feel refreshed for the following day! Getting into good sleep habits can also prevent weight gain and can help you to make healthy choices—so make sure you make it a point to hit that pillow, and prevent yourself from becoming a zombie!
2. Diet
It’s also sometimes hard to maintain a good diet while in college, but this is a really crucial part to staying healthy. Because we often feel like we are always on the go [and most times we are] it feels like we only have time for fast food, and sometimes feel like we only crave fast food. But, we must try our hardest to keep fast food at the bottom of our lists, and choose to eat healthy. Doing so will help you gain energy, stay motivated, and keep you from getting sick. Make sure your plate is colorful, and that you have a variety of vegetables and fruits, as well as making sure you’re getting your grains by eating rice, bread, and lean meat. Remember: It’s not just a freshman thing to gain 15 pounds…it can happen any year!
3. Exercise
Sometimes we don’t have time for the gym or we get lazy, but exercising has many benefits like a stable metabolism, energy, a healthy heart, healthy weight, motivation, and much more. If you aren’t a gym person, go outside and take a long walk or job. You are getting the exercise you need, as well as some vitamin D and fresh air! You can even walk your dog to make it more fun.
4. “Me Time”
We all just need some time to relax and get our lives back on track. It is important we take time for ourselves by doing things we love. Getting your nails done, going shopping, or even yoga are good things you can do for yourself! It is good to take a break from every once in a while to pamper yourself!
5. Goals
I’m not talking about relationship goals or friendship goals, I’m talking about personal goals! Setting goals for yourself will help you to learn to work hard and achieve what you want — not just in health, but in every aspect of your life as well! I personally set myself academic goals for my tests and semester grades! It is important to set realistic goals that you can achieve so you aren’t setting yourself up for failure. Don’t forget to start small and work your way up!
You can do it, collegiettes!
HCXO