For most college students, college is a time for kegs, pizza, and late-night cram sessions. What do all these things have in common? They’re all extremely bad for your health – especially when they’re the foundation of your lifestyle.
But the college years are a crucial time for your health and longevity. This is a time when grades matter, so your mind needs to be sharp. But the typical diet of a college student doesn’t exactly promote quick thinking.
Fortunately, there’s no rule that says you have to follow the standard college student’s lifestyle. You can rise above and live in a way that promotes health, happiness and higher learning.
Here’s how to establish a healthy lifestyle in college.
- Curb your drinking
Drinking is one of the most common downfalls of a healthy lifestyle in the college years. From the start, try to establish healthy habits. This is the time when many establish patterns that can lead to a drug or alcohol addiction, and that’s definitely not a desirable trait in a new college grad.
Try to limit your drinking to one or two nights a week and avoid binge drinking like the plague. Yes, other people will be doing it, but you’re smarter than them. Binge drinking can affect your memory in the short and long term, so it’s only going to work against you at study time.
- Make healthy food choices
If you’re living in a dorm, you may not have the best food selection available, but you still have choices. Whenever possible, choose vegetables and whole grains over processed meats and refined carbs. If you have a mini fridge and a blender, you can also make a green smoothie every day. Green smoothies combine fresh fruits and vegetables in a drink that tastes a lot better than it sounds. Try combining spinach, celery, and cilantro with a banana and apple. Add lemon juice and water and you have a yummy drink that’s packed with more than one serving of fruits and vegetables.
- Practice meditation
If you’re the type to get stressed out from schoolwork, meditation will become your best friend. Meditation has been shown to have a positive impact on cortisol levels overall. It may also help you manage stress better when it happens. This may help keep you from turning to medication when anxiety levels get high. All you need is 5 to 10 minutes in the morning, and you should feel the soothing effects within a week or so.
- Exercise
If you’re already on a sports team, your exercise routine is handled in season. Just make sure you do something to stay active in the offseason. You’ll get more benefits from exercise when you do it consistently. It’s not about slacking off and then going hard. Think of it as a marathon instead of a sprint. All you really need is about 30 minutes of aerobic activity daily.
If you aren’t on any sports teams, it becomes even more important to find ways to exercise. It doesn’t have to be intense. A 30-minute walk every day is better than nothing.
- Build a network
No one can get through the tough times alone. Especially if you’re away from home, focus on building strong friendships. You’ll need people that you can rely on for emotional support. As a bonus, the friends you make in college are likely to be by your side for the rest of your life.
If you want to get the most out of your college experience, stay away from the typical unhealthy vices. Instead, focus on things that will enhance your health, and you’ll have more energy and better memories of this amazing time.
