College is just around the corner, and all you can think about is all the fun you're going to have - amidst your papers and study, of course. However, there's also the matter of staying healthy too, which can often be thrown to the side and replaced with stress and social distractions.
It's essential to maintain your health during college - perhaps even more critical than ever before. With this in mind, let's take a look at five tips to stay healthy in college so that you can get through your first year without too much drama.
1. Get Enough Sleep
While this may be something you're used to hearing from your mother, unfortunately, she's right. You may be tempted to pull a few all-nighters so that you can cram as much study in as possible, or even stay out until the early hours of the next morning on the weekends.
However, just because you're in college doesn't mean that your brain can survive on little to no sleep. In fact, this would be a good time in life to get as much sleep as you can. Trying to get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night is ideal.
2. Try an At-Home STD Kit
It's your first college experience, and as a result, you may be looking forward to enjoying your freedom for a bit before you start taking dating seriously.
Just make sure that you keep yourself healthy while you do so, though. Using protection is always a must, but if for some reason you haven't been able to, it's not the end of the world. If you're post-meetup, you could always try an home STD kit that can be delivered right to your door. It's discreet and saves you an expensive trip to the doctors.
3. Wash Your Hands
Again, this sounds like something that your mother would say, but the reality is that washing your hands is pretty important when you're in college. There are a lot of germs that get passed around, and the best way to look after your health is to prevent those germs from spreading.
Washing your hands regularly will hopefully prevent you from catching anything, and it will also keep other people, like your roommate, healthy, too. The last thing you need is to get sick right before a bit of a test.
4. Don't Smoke
Smoking can be fun in a social setting - a lot of teenagers try it due to peer pressure like this. However, the last thing you want to leave college with is a new smoking habit.
Not only is smoking bad for your health, but it's also an incredibly hard habit to kick, so it's better just to avoid it in the first place.
5. Try to Relax
There's a good chance that you've already put a lot of pressure on yourself - and the first semester hasn't even begun. College is going to keep you busy, and you'll have to figure out how to balance your study and social lives.
With this in mind, make sure you get plenty of time to relax, too. Taking time out from it all will help your mental health so that you can do better in class, and enjoy socializing even more.
Starting college is a fun, exciting prospect - but it can also come with its challenges. Make sure that you're prepared for at least one of them by keeping yourself as healthy as possible.
