Being healthy is not the foremost thing on a college student's mind. There's exams, papers, trying to maintain a social life and not to mention sleep, which is the most important thing. Recently, trying to be healthier has been a main focus in my life and I got to thinking how I could make it easier for me. I'm going to share with you some of my super easy ways to stay healthy in college. Because when you're healthier, you feel better, think better, and your body will thank you later.
The amount of stress that a college student experiences is insane. We've all cried at least twice this semester and if you say you haven't, well, you're lying. Being healthy lowers stress. Especially exercise. Exercising and eating healthy are two big things that are neglected by a lot of college students. My tip is to find a work-out class that you really like. Most gyms on universities have classes offered to the students. At my university, Anderson University, the gym offers Zumba, Yoga, and even personal trainers. My favorite is yoga. For me, it's a great stress reliever and also includes strength and flexibility training. (Check out Kinley Powell and I's article on "Yoga For Beginners"). In my next article I'll include one of my favorite workouts. Exercise just comes down to discipline. At first it was hard to get into a pattern of working out but after awhile, my body actually started to crave exercise, especially yoga. Now I have to practice yoga everyday or my body will hate me all day.
Another positive effect of working out is that it clears and focuses the mind. This is incredibly important for a student that has a lot of stressful assignments due. Whenever I get writer's block or can't focus studying, I just exercise for 15 to 20 minutes and my work always betters from it. Not to mention, your body also starts to show results which increases confidence which also impacts your work. I've found that making a schedule and sticking to it helps solidify workout patterns.
The other important thing about staying healthy in college is eating right. I know that that is probably harder than finding time to workout. But just like everything else, it requires actively choosing to eat better. One way to eat better is find a friend that will hold you to it. My friend and I recently decided that we were going to make better eating choices. So we came up with Salad Thursdays. This means that for lunch and dinner we eat salads. So far it's actually been working. I know it's easier to get Chickfila than it is to go to the cafeteria and think about what you're eating, but it will help you in the long run. I've started to keep yogurt and fruit in my fridge. Those are the only things I have in my dorm so I'm forced to eat it otherwise I'll be hungry. Now body is starting to crave my daily yogurt and granola instead of a frozen taquito, which is saying a lot.
But all in all, I'm writing this article because I truly believe eating better and exercising more makes people happier and healthier people. And I want all of you to succeed in being people that make the world a happier place.
