Top Tips on Staying Healthy at University
It’s the new university year, which for freshers means bring on the weekday boozing, late nights and the occasional bit of study of course. One that note it’s very easy to fall into unhealthy habits when you don’t have much time to devote to taking care of yourself, here’s a few tips to ensure your health and fitness isn’t neglected.
Carry a reusable water bottle
It’s easy to forget to do the simplest of things when you’re having fun meeting new friends, starting a new course and getting used to a new city or even country. However as drinking alcohol and university go hand in hand, hydration is something not to be forgotten.
Get enough sleep
With late essay all-nighters and night clubs in the mix, it can be hard to get enough sleep as a university student, especially at first! A night out everyday for a week, that’ll be a bit of a shock to the system, as most people aren’t used to stumbling In at 4am on a Wednesday night after all. Getting a full night’s sleep sets the tone for your entire day, so try and hit the ground running and have some sort of structure in place, fomo is a thing, but don’t let it affect your health.
Mental health
Mental health is just as important as physical health, but isn’t always taken care of during university. Remember, It is ok to take some time for yourself at the end of the day to unwind and reflect, If you don’t want to go out drinking for the third day in a row, that’s ok, don’t feel pressured into it. University comes with a lot of change which can be overwhelming, a top tip on managing these changes day by day is to write down a few highlights of your day, goals that you want to set and what you’re looking forward to for the coming week. Taking time to de-stress after a hectic day instead of working until you fall into bed will go a long way to keeping stress at bay. If you feel like you can’t cope with daily stress or just need someone to speak with then take advantage of your university’s counselling resources or speak with your friends they will be going through the motions also.
Exercise
As a new student you’ll probably be very busy adapting to your new environment at first, if you don’t have the time or money to go to the gym regularly, don’t panic, find other ways to make sure your exercising. Walk to and from your lectures, follow one of our home workouts, and if you find yourself lacking in motivation to go to the gym when you can, how about getting involved in a class, invite a friend or housemate for accountability and support.
Eating Well
While pasta, pot noodles, and pints are many a student’s diet staple, sustaining this type of diet full-time is far from healthy. Apart from the obvious, this type of lifestyle will affect your ability to concentrate and retain anything you learn in lectures. We’re not saying that you should ditch fast-food forever… everyone needs a balance. But if your stuck for inspiration or unsure on how to make well balanced meals then we have plenty of recipes to help you out, ranging from meals on a budget to 5 ingredient dinners.
Whilst staying healthy at university may seem impossible, juggling studies, socialising and entering adulthood, by ensuring that you’re putting yourself first is the step in the right direction. Create a structure you can stick to, set yourself up for success
