College is a great time when you finally break away from your parents and feel the luxury of independence. Taking your own decisions, trying to fit into a scarce budget, and going through many personal and physical challenges are the factors that help immature teens grow into responsible and decent adults.
Taking the wrong decisions, however, may cross everything you’ve been working so hard to accomplish.
To freshmen, young as they are, college life may seem carefree and full of temptations. Rash actions and complete negligence ofyour own health and well-being may turn this important period into wasted years of your life.A healthy diet, exercising, and regular sleep are the main three pillars that will help you to succeed in your college studies and get the most out of this experience.
A Healthy Diet
Why having a highly nutritious diet is so important for students?
Food is the main source of useful nutrients our body needs to stay healthy and active. It gives us energy and building material to grow muscles, keep the bones strong, and replace old cells with new ones. The nutrients we get from food take part in maintaining our level of hormones, which influence mood, energy level, and learning ability.
We are what we eat, insist nutrition experts. Professor Dr. So Young Park from the University of Luebeck in Germany proved that food can influence our behavior and our decisions. In her experiment, she divided the testees into two different groups. The first group had a protein-reach balanced breakfast, while the second one – only carbs. It was found out, that the protein group testees were more even-tempered and tended to choose benefit over principle. In contrast, the carbs group was more aggressive and stubborn, even if their decisions didn’t work to their advantage.
That’s why it is so essential for students to have a balanced diet that can supply them with the necessary nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. College is a stressful time when a lot of important decisions should be made. Choosing a long-run benefit over an immediate pleasure will help to invest inthe future and avoid harmful mistakes.
Physical Activity
It has been much said about the importance of exercising. Regular training helps to control weight, stay fit, and be prepared for everyday physical challenges. Students who regularly workout have good blood pressure and stronger immunity. Moreover, they prove to show better academic results and stress resistance.
But how can a student find time and strength to stick to some training routine during busy college life?
Choose something that lifts you up. Not necessarily should it be a hard workout at the gym?Yoga, for instance, combines stretching, training with own weight, as well as breathing and meditation techniques. It helps to stay shredded, energized, and mentally balanced, which is essential for college students who have to deal with lots of pressure every day. However, it may be any competitive kind of sport, like tennis or football, or other oriental practices.Either way, when you enjoy your training time, it is much easier to follow the routine.
It may be hard to free the whole hour but you can always find 15-20 minutes for some stretching or cardio. Don’t hesitate to adjust training duration to fit it into your busy life, it’s all about staying on the move after all.
Make it regular. In the long-term perspective, regular but short morning exercising is always better than a heavy workout once a week. Make a small step forward every day and you will see positive results.
A Proper Sleeping Routine
Regular and sound sleep is no less important for our health than food and physical training we stick to. In sleep, the brain processes all the information received through the day, cells renew and the nervous system lowers the level of stress. It is a crucial time for our immunity to restore its strength and keep all systemsup and running. Continuous disregard for decent sleep may cause irreversible negative consequences for your health.
To avoid that, develop a wholesome sleeping routine. Normally, an adult person requires 7-8 hours to fully refresh and regain strength. However, this number is highly individualized. Monitoring your physical and mental state during the day will help to determine the perfect number of hours your body needs.
Regularity is the key. A continuous lack of sleep worsens memory, causes fatigue and headaches, as well as affects our ability to make decisions. Don’t be surprised if after pulling all-nighters to read before an exam, you can recall just a small bit of the learned material. A good and regular rest, on the contrary, boosts productivity and personal efficiency. So, when managing your time, make sure you plan enough sleep. “As a party guy, I wasn’t ready for intense college studies. Skipping sleep every time such an opportunity occurred? Yes, definitely!In the end, I was so exhausted that I almost failed really important research I was supposed to do. A friend agreed to write my case study for me. As for my health, I had different disorders to treat for months ahead”, shares his story Ethan Lang, an almost expelled student of the University of Michigan.
Don’t neglect bedtime habits. Although scientists still argue about the influence of blue light on our sleeping patterns, many people do suffer from insomnia or restless nights after overusing smartphone right before going to bed. Additionally, after working to the max during lectures and home preparation, the exhausted brain continues to consume information through the phone. Students who choose long evening walks over digital entertainment adjust better to challenging conditions and show more emotional stability.
“Bad habits are easy to develop but hard to live with; good habits are hard to develop but easy to live with, goes a famous saying”.Sticking to good habits during college can make this time more enjoyable and meaningful – as well as contribute to a thriving career.
