With the increasing pressure and challenges students face today, prioritizing their health and well-being is more important than ever. Pressures from school and society can become overwhelming, causing someone’s mental, psychological, and physical health to deteriorate without them realizing it.
Lack of sleep, anxiety, depression, stress, obesity, and nutrient deficiencies are some health issues students confront at school. These may lead to reduced academic performance, physical health complications, and social isolation if not addressed.
Hence, maintaining good health and well-being is a crucial aspect of a student’s life. Students must be in good health to ensure that they can keep up with the demands of their studies and achieve their goals. Fortunately, you can still assume a healthy lifestyle while studying with a few lifestyle changes.
1. Exercise
The benefits of exercise on physical and mental health have been well documented. As a student, staying active is in your best interest, as a sedentary lifestyle can increase your risk of contracting certain diseases. Here are some of the reasons why exercise is important:
- It improves sleep quality: Studies have shown that an active lifestyle improves your sleep’s depth, length, and quality.
- It increases metabolic rate: Exercise increases metabolic rate, which helps you to burn more calories.
- It lifts your mood: Endorphins are released when you exercise, making you feel good and confident.
- It enhances brain function: Some studies suggest that exercise helps improve cognitive brain function, particularly memory.
- It reduces stress: Physical exercise is a great way to deal with stress. Exercise can be your outlet for academic stress.
There are several ways you can stay active while at school. Here are some suggestions:
- Walk or ride a bike: If you stay close to campus, consider walking or riding a bike instead of taking your car or the shuttle.
- Hit the gym: Find time to train at the gym at least four times a week. Incorporating moderate intensity (walking, yoga, and water aerobics) and vigorous workouts (high-intensity interval training, dance classes, running, and weightlifting) is a great way to start. If you want to start working out, consider staying in a place close to a gym. You may need additional research to find properties with positive environments. Click here if you’re looking for men’s accommodation in greater Idaho.
- Climb stairs: Instead of taking the elevator, consider walking up or down a flight of stairs.
Incorporating regular exercise into your routine can go a long way in maintaining good health and improving overall well-being.
2. Nutrition
Ensuring you feed on foods that provide sufficient nutrients for growth and strong immunity is essential because your food and beverages substantially impact your general health and well-being.
A poor diet could imply overeating, undereating, or an unbalanced diet. Whatever the case, it’s a situation you should avoid at all costs. Here are some of the issues that are associated with poor nutrition:
- Sickness: A poor diet exposes you to various illnesses. You may be at a higher risk of contracting diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure if you don’t watch what you eat.
- Low Energy Levels: Food is your body’s fuel to stay active during the day. It may lead to lethargy if you constantly feed or munch on food that doesn’t provide the appropriate nutrients, such as junk or fast foods.
- Impaired Mental Function: A low-calorie diet could affect mental function, impacting your ability to focus in class or attend to your studies.
You’re on the right path if you’re already mindful of nutrition. But if you feel like you’ve slipped, you can recalibrate and return to a healthy diet. Here are some nutrition tips that will help you to get your nutrition back on track.
- Balance your diet: A balanced diet should contain the appropriate food groups in the right proportions to provide the body with all the necessary nutrients to function correctly. Include fruits and vegetables, grains, protein, dairy, and fats in your meal plans.
- Avoid liquid calories: Things like fruit juice, lattes, alcohol, and carbonated drinks contribute to weight gain. Even though these beverages taste great, they’re often packed with sugars and calories that aren’t good for you. Consider replacing them with water for better hydration and sugar control.
- Skip fast food: While eating fast food in your cafeteria or at a restaurant may appear innocuous, remember that you may be doing more harm than good to your body. A pizza slice may taste superb, but it does not give your body the necessary vitamins and minerals. It is best to opt for healthier dining options.
- Manage portions: One way of managing your intake is to ration your portions. It’s usually best to cook your own meals if you want to take control of the amount of food you consume.
While you could do many other things to improve your nutrition, these tips are a great starting point for improving your diet.
3. Sleep
According to experts, poor sleep quality puts you at a greater risk of developing physical and mental health issues such as obesity, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and other illnesses.
Adolescents, in particular, need adequate sleep because they are still growing. Having enough sleep is not only crucial for your body to recover, but it’s also essential for proper brain or cognitive function.
Given that you’ll need your mind to be firing on all cylinders daily, getting enough sleep is essential. Doctors recommend that adolescents receive between six to eight hours of sleep or more on average. Some studies have shown that people who sleep within this ideal range are more active than those who sleep more than eight hours.
Keep in mind that everyone is unique, and our bodies have different needs. It’s all about maintaining a balance: don’t sleep too much or too little.
Conclusion
To be a productive individual, you need to realize that it matters how you take care of yourself. Physical, mental, and psychological health are all important. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, prioritize sleep, a good diet, exercise, and mental health.
