Healthy Habits for College Students

College can bring a lot of joy, but also a lot of stress in your life. That stress you feel can become overwhelming and make you feel you can't escape. You look at all the assignments due, upcoming exams, and are chapters behind in book notes. While completing your class work is a priority, so is your mental and physical health. It can be hard to break away from assignments, but it is necessary. I always feel more inclined to get my school assignments done after I have been active. Incorporating some type of physical activity is important when you are in college. Not only does this keep your body active, but also your mind. After a workout I always feel refreshed and ready to sit down and get work done. If you workout for even 15-30 minutes a day helps with your mental and physical health. Whether you go for a walk, run, lift weights, or ride a bike. This helps your brain take a break and relieves built up stress. I love to even go for a walk outside as the fresh air helps me relieve stress while the wind blows through my hair and the sun shines on my skin.

Another healthy habit in college is to create friendships. When I have a stressful day I can vent to my friends and serve as an "outlet" to my school work. My friends and I love to hang out and get milkshakes, go for walks around campus, or simply just talk. In another blog post of mine, I talk about finding friends in college. This is a hard thing to do, but I found a lot of my friends through a club I joined on campus. This club is called, CHAARG, which is an all girls workout group. We meet every Monday to do a workout on campus or we partner with a local gym or studio to do a workout. This combines two of my favorite healthy habits which includes working out and spending time with friends. I sometimes feel lost when going to the gym, so CHAARG is great as we are all doing the same workout being lead by an instructor. Your healthy habits can be anything that brings joy to your life outside of your school work. This could be a variety of things such as knitting, playing chess, or even eating healthy.

Eating healthy is my last healthy habit to do in college. I won't lie, it is so hard to eat healthy in college. However, this is important and can be done at a reasonable price. If you live on campus, you most likely have a meal plan, but making sure you are eating protein, greens and drinking water every day is super important. When you are off campus living, you are on your own to feed yourself. There are many nights where I do not feel like cooking and running through McDonalds, but I know this will make me tired and feel gross. I love to make smoothies adding in my fruits and vegetables, making rice with chicken, and even making salads for lunch. Yes, I have my moments of eating chips and junk food, but I always try to eat three balanced meals a day. I also feel more motivated to do school work when I am fueling my body with healthy options. When I go down the path of eating fast food I tend to lay in bed and not get work done. However, when I meal prep for the week and eat healthy it motivates me to workout and get my school work done.

Having a balance between your social life and school work is super important to live a healthy lifestyle in college. Always create time in your day to do things you enjoy and give yourself a brain break. I found I am more successful in my school work with this balance as well as receiving better grades when I am practicing these healthy habits. Mental health takes priority over school work, so create that balance in your day for things that make YOU happy.