Health Risks of Student Life And How To Stay Healthy

Student life can get hard at times especially when you move to another town away from your family to attend college. From your studies to your health and diet, you are in charge of everything. When you are young, it is easy to get careless towards your health but this is actually the most important time of your life. The habits you form in your young age will stay with you for a long time to come.

Health Risks of Student Life And How To Stay Healthy

You need to prioritize your health over everything else. The best way to keep everything under control is to strictly follow a healthy routine. It will keep you away from health risks associated with student life.

Here are some of the health risks associated with student life and ways to avoid them.

1. Sleep deprivation:

Every student wants to perform great at studies. We think that studying more will eventually result in better grades. We are distracted by many things in the day so many students choose to study late at night.

Your mind and body require 7-8 hours of sound sleep in order to perform optimally. Unfortunately, a number of college students find it difficult to fall asleep at night. There are many reasons behind that.

Stress to perform better is often what keeps students up at night. They get used to pulling an all-nighter in order to pass their exams or quizzes. The fear of failing is the greatest pressure that keeps college students awake at night. Peer pressure and high competition add to the problem. As a consequence, they face a lack of focus and concentration problems during lectures.

How to fix your sleep pattern?

You need to stay active in order to learn in class. Improve your sleep pattern in order to perform better at college. Follow a proper routine. Fix a proper time to sleep and don’t wake past that time. Utilize daylight to study. Don’t get overwhelmed with a load of quizzes and assignments. Don’t overburden yourself or try to over-achieve.

Another great way to fix your sleep pattern is to run before you head out for school or college. It makes you more active at day and tired at night and makes it easier for you to fall asleep to wake up fresh every morning.

2.  Sedentary lifestyle:

Students often spend the majority of their time studying. They are either sitting in the classroom or at their study-table at home. Inactivity often makes you lethargic. The lack of physical activity is the leading cause of the majority of the health risks associated with student life. Too much sitting leads to blood high pressure. It also causes diabetes and obesity.

How to improve your lifestyle?

As a student, you have various opportunities to participate in healthy activities that keep both your mind and body active. Join the soccer team at college or get into gymnastics. These extracurricular activities will not just help you secure better grades but keep you safe from the health problems associated with an inactive lifestyle. If you are not into sports, take advantage of your free time at college and take a round of the football ground before your classes start.

3. Weight gain:

We often adopt bad eating habits when we are living away from our parents. A lot less oversight from the adults of the family is the reason. According to a study by Auburn University, 70% of the students who enrolled in a 4-year program gained weight over the period they spent at college. Male students gained an average of 15 pounds whereas female students gained 9 pounds on an average. 

How to control your weight?

In order to keep your weight under control, you need to cut on junk food, drink more water and add aerobic exercises in your routine.

4. Alcohol and drugs:

Indulgence in smoking and drinking is very common for college students. However, you don’t need to drink or do drugs just because your friends are doing it. Uncontrolled drinking can lead to various health problems including loss of focus, headaches, weakened immune system, depression and much more. Doing drugs has its own list of problems.

How to avoid the use of alcohol and drugs?

While drinking and smoking can be fun, keep that in mind that you have an entire life ahead of you to enjoy. Look for friends who are interested in healthy activities and spend your time taking part in healthy extracurricular activities at college. 

Author Bio: 

Shah Thomas shares tips and tutorials for IT students at New Horizons blog.