6 Essential Health and Wellness Tips for College Students

Staying healthy and well balanced in college is crucial. This is not only important for the sake of your physical health, but also your emotional health. The truth of the matter is that you with your class schedule, homework, and social activities, you will be running yourself thin. Not only will you be studying and running from one class to the other throughout the day – you will also be stressed out.

In college, stress is a huge risk factor and it can lead to things like depression and can even some physical symptoms, like ulcers or lethargy so bad that you can’t get out of bed. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to stay healthy. Here are six essential health and wellness tips for college students.

1. Write Papers Standing Up to Get the Blood Flowing

A lot of writers write standing up. Hemingway wrote at his typewriter on a pedestal that came up to his waist. If you want to stay healthy, it is recommended to stand while you write papers or work. Sitting for too long is one of the unhealthiest things you can do.

2. Take a Morning Run

When you wake up in the morning, the last thing you probably want is to go on a big run. However, you may want to go on a run for the sake of not only waking yourself up, but also for the sake of aerobic exercise. When you run, you are not only working out your leg muscles, you are also working out your mind. As your heart rates goes up and you are really chugging along, serotonin and dopamine will be released in to the blood stream.

3. Make Healthier Choices at the Lunch Buffet

When you go to lunch, you want to be sure that you don’t stock up on the items that have the most sugar or fat. It is critical that you balance things out with fruit and greens. Most of the food at those buffets is laden with bad ingredients, so you want to stick to the freshest options.

4. Don’t Stay up all Night

You may think that staying up all night is perfectly fine – especially if all your friends are doing it. However, you want to be sure that you go to sleep at a normal hour and wake up at a normal hour – this is the only way to keep yourself sane and healthy. Plus, you will be more efficient if you get at least eight hours of sleep every night.

5. Meditate in the Morning and at Night

When you wake up in the morning, you want to think about meditating and taking deep breaths. This will help you maintain and even keel, and it will help reduce stress, which is a serious killer in college – no matter if you go to Northeastern University or the University of Carolina.

6. Spend Time with Friends

On top of everything, you want to spend time with your friends. Social health is incredibly important; the more time you spend with your friends, the happier you will be. In the end, you may want to make this an excuse or justification to hang out with your friends as much as possible when you need a break from studying or writing papers.