When you’re young, bold, and daring, you may not yet realize how important it is to take care of your health. Your back doesn’t bother you yet, and you can still move mountains even after a few sleepless nights.

Nevertheless, studentship is the most prolific period to damage your health and well-being. With piles of assignments, endless parties, and first true loves, it’s easy to forget that your body and mind need attention too. 

And yet, there’s no better time to take care of your health than when you’re green, strong, and all-powerful. Here are 8 simple rules on how you can protect and improve your physical and mental well-being in college. 

Get Enough Sleep

If you’ve never done silly things, you’ve never been young. Parties-all-nighters, exam preparations, or late wanderings around the city are what make a college college. 

No matter how silly it may be to expect a student to have regular eight-hour night sleep, it is the ideal you should seek to stay healthy and well during the year and after. Lack of sleep worsens the mood and may cause headaches, difficulties memorizing, and even hallucinations. Students who have a healthy routine, on the contrary, report an increase in productivity and feel happier in general. It doesn’t mean that you should refuse all the fun a college offers. But try to alternate your night plans with catching up on sleep.

Have Nutritious and Healthy Meals

It’s the food that fuels our bodies with necessary nutrients, gives us the energy to go through the day, and even regulates our mood. Furthermore, German scientists proved that what we eat can even influence our decisions. For example, they found out that rich in proteins food helps us think clearer and make more reasonable decisions. 

Much can be said about recent nutrition discoveries. But if you want to be healthy and well, the main rules are all the same. Don’t skip breakfast, eat balanced food, and take it easy with sugar. 

Stay Physically Active

A proper diet and exercising are two main criteria for having an excellent body shape. However, any physical activity is also an endless source of happy hormones – the endorphins – which are so necessary for always busy and always tired students. 

Not necessarily should you have training sessions with heavy weights if you’re not a gym person. Any physical activity will have a positive effect if it’s enjoyable and fun. You can join a group, pick a paired type of sport, or enjoy solitude while jogging. Try different options, there’s definitely something to your taste. 

Take 5-minute Exercise Breaks During Studying Sessions

However, if you want to keep your back strong and healthy, add a few short exercising breaks during the day. Classes and home preparations require a lot of sitting from students, which complicates blood circulation of lower limbs and may deform the spine. 

Regular short training breaks between sessions can protect your backbone from damage and help you prevent early varicose vein disease. Stand up, stretch your arms, do a few front and side bends, then walk a bit to warm up your legs. As a bonus, such breaks are good to restore memory abilities and speed up the studying process.

Avoid Boosters and Stimulators

No matter how fun life in college may seem, it’s never like that. Missed deadlines and urgent obligations will haunt you more often than girls from a recent paternity party. To cope with all the pressure falling on them, students often misuse caffeine and stronger stimulators. But you must always remember that it’s only a temporary decision. No stimulator can infinitely keep you productive and upbeat. When the effect fades away, low energy will follow. And pushing yourself with more stimulators can seriously damage your health. Instead, allow yourself proper nutrition and rest. It will keep you vigorous much longer.

Stay Hydrated

To stay healthy and strong, don’t forget to properly hydrate your body. Only 8 cups of water per day can save you from obesity, prevent dry hair and skin, and even keep your teeth and bones strong. As the main transport of all macro and micronutrients we receive with food, water plays a crucial part in our lives. Therefore, make sure you drink enough of it on a daily basis. Remember that no other liquids such as coffee, tea, or soda can replace freshwater.

Become a Time Management Guru

Another step to being healthy in college is to realize that you have a limit. A well-planned schedule and to-do list will help you focus on important tasks, while you may delegate the rest. For example, many working students buy coursework online to have time for their jobs. Others, stay with their parents to avoid cooking and doing laundry. Think about what fits your lifestyle more, and follow the plan.

Take Care of Your Mental Well-being

Not only physical health needs attention in college. Being a student is fraught with a lot of pressure so taking care of your psychic is important. Otherwise, different mental disorders may manifest.

There are many ways how you can manage stress. Breathing techniques and meditation are recognized methods to decrease cortisol levels in the blood and restore mental balance. Additionally, deep breathing with proper technique has a positive influence on the gastrointestinal system. When stretching and contracting, a diaphragm massages the organs stimulating their healthy function. 

A hobby is a good way to distract from studying or work. If you have something you truly enjoy, make sure you find time to do it at least once a week. Enjoyable activities have also a tendency to stimulate endorphins release, so relaxation is guaranteed.

As an alternative, an unhurried walk in nature has an incredible influence on creativity. No city noise, natural sounds, and plenty of oxygen help your brain to wake up and digest the information you received throughout the day. Students who walk a lot report better mood and stress resistance, higher productivity, and improved creative thinking.