Lying in bed, suffering from not my first, not my second, but my THIRD sinus infection this fall semester I wonder if I'm all alone here in this mess of sneezes and runny noses. Then I think about my friends, two with bronchitis, one with the flu, and a good amount of the rest suffering from severe head colds, and I realize: college. College increases risk of getting sick at unimaginable rates for three very obvious, but overlooked, reasons:
1. Stress
The most obvious of all the reasons is, of course, stress. Students typically balance 5 classes, a job, and extracurricular activities to keep up with bills and grades. Weeks that end in 4 papers and two exams aren't very easy to balance when you have to work for 25 hours too. Students having stress is obvious, what is not so obvious is how that correlates to getting sick. The human body sees stressors as a danger to the body and because of this the brain will release signals to the endocrine system to neutralize hormones. In the process of hormone neutralization this takes a large hit on the immune system, causing it to focus on "illness" that is not even there. Since your body is so hard at work making sure your mental health is stable is it unable to allocate further resources to bacteria and germs that can lead to common colds. So, in short, stress leads to hormone imbalance, which leads to stress on the endocrine system, which leads to stress on the immune system, which leads to stuffy noses and chest colds.
2. Diet
Poor, tired, and stressed, most college students do not see taking the time to prepare three healthy and balanced meals a day as a priority. Fast food is a go-to along with quick snacks like granola bars and bowls of cereal. Poor diet typically means lack of vitamins which can very quickly increase risk of contracting illness. A healthy diet leads to a healthy you.
3. Sleep Deprivation
Sleeeeeep! The only thing every college student wants. ALL. THE. TIME. It seems like the only time in your life where you are able to nap on command and you don't toss and turn late at night because you've been looking forward to this exact moment all day. Sleep is so important and without it your body will become run down and easily susceptible to airborne pathogens. Sleep tight or the germ monster WILL bite.
