Getting accepted to college, no doubt, was a big deal to you. You've considered where to live, what to study and what to pack, but have you thought about the efforts you'll make to ensure that you stay healthy during this time in your busy life? You'll be working hard to keep up with your studies, living on your own for the first time and enjoying a new freedom in your social life so there's a lot going on. The last thing you want is to get sick and lose ground. There are some simple ways to keep your health at its best while at college:
1. Get plenty of exercise and eat right: Just 2 1/2 hours of moderate exercise every week can help to keep your heart rate strong and muscles lean. Even if you opt to walk to classes instead of hopping on a bus you'll be off to a good start. Eating right is another way to fuel your body. Try to avoid heavy carbs and empty calories in the cafeteria and reach for fruits, vegetables and lean proteins instead. Don't go too long between meals or you'll end up so hungry that you grab junk food for a quick snack.
2. Keep a positive frame of mind: One way to ensure that you don't get down is to nurture plenty of relationships with different people. It's easy to be self-critical, and therefore stressed out, when you're all alone. It's far better to talk regularly with peer groups to alleviate problems before they snowball into something bigger. There should be plenty of campus activities available to you for meeting people to study or hang out with. If you find yourself feeling anxious or depressed for more than a couple days, you might want to visit the campus health clinic to talk to a doctor.
3. Keep up with check-ups. Once childhood ends, people find it more and more difficult to make time to visit with doctors and dentists. Don't let this happen to you! Your university health clinic is there for you anytime you need it; what's more, it's there for well visits so that you don't need it later. There are several relatively new vaccines that are recommended by the American Medical Association that you should discuss with a doctor. Sexually transmitted diseases, the flu and even meningitis can be avoided by getting vaccinated.
4. Get plenty of sleep. Chronic illnesses, diabetes for example, are often associated with insufficient sleep. College can present so many challenges that students feel as if they only have one area to compromise - sleep. Try to remember that getting enough sleep every night is vital to your overall health. If you keep up with your studies and projects on a daily basis, there shouldn't be a need to pull all-nighters.
You've worked hard to get this far, don't let some bad health habits prevent you from creating the kind of future that you want. Along these same lines, drinking and smoking is prevalent on college campuses, so you'll want to stay on top of indulging in too many addictive activities that could harm your health in the long run.
1. Get plenty of exercise and eat right: Just 2 1/2 hours of moderate exercise every week can help to keep your heart rate strong and muscles lean. Even if you opt to walk to classes instead of hopping on a bus you'll be off to a good start. Eating right is another way to fuel your body. Try to avoid heavy carbs and empty calories in the cafeteria and reach for fruits, vegetables and lean proteins instead. Don't go too long between meals or you'll end up so hungry that you grab junk food for a quick snack.
2. Keep a positive frame of mind: One way to ensure that you don't get down is to nurture plenty of relationships with different people. It's easy to be self-critical, and therefore stressed out, when you're all alone. It's far better to talk regularly with peer groups to alleviate problems before they snowball into something bigger. There should be plenty of campus activities available to you for meeting people to study or hang out with. If you find yourself feeling anxious or depressed for more than a couple days, you might want to visit the campus health clinic to talk to a doctor.
3. Keep up with check-ups. Once childhood ends, people find it more and more difficult to make time to visit with doctors and dentists. Don't let this happen to you! Your university health clinic is there for you anytime you need it; what's more, it's there for well visits so that you don't need it later. There are several relatively new vaccines that are recommended by the American Medical Association that you should discuss with a doctor. Sexually transmitted diseases, the flu and even meningitis can be avoided by getting vaccinated.
4. Get plenty of sleep. Chronic illnesses, diabetes for example, are often associated with insufficient sleep. College can present so many challenges that students feel as if they only have one area to compromise - sleep. Try to remember that getting enough sleep every night is vital to your overall health. If you keep up with your studies and projects on a daily basis, there shouldn't be a need to pull all-nighters.
You've worked hard to get this far, don't let some bad health habits prevent you from creating the kind of future that you want. Along these same lines, drinking and smoking is prevalent on college campuses, so you'll want to stay on top of indulging in too many addictive activities that could harm your health in the long run.
About the Author:
Julie Clark Robinson writes about online colleges, scholarships, and online university programs for mid-career adults.
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