As soon as you get into college, your typical lifestyle and habits might crumble. The new environment you have to adjust to can be quite tough. Sometimes, there is a lot of pressure, so students focus on their performance and ditch their basic needs that stand at the core of their well-being. However, there is no need to compromise!
You can have fun, study hard, and take care of yourself all at once. So, let’s get to the habits you need to develop to make your student years easier!
Sleep Schedule
Obviously, you don’t have to follow it strictly. It’s okay to skip a day from time to time and sleep whenever you like. However, the rest of the days should be as close to the schedule as possible. The thing is, when you sleep, your body gets restored and removes all the “glitches” that occurred during the day. It also helps your brain process new information, get rid of the “trash”, and regulate the hormone levels in your body.
Basically, it’s just like a computer reboot, but humans need more time. Seven to eight hours is an optimal amount of time, but it may vary within the range of 2 hours depending on the person.
So, whatever it is that you need to do as the night hours approach, choose wisely between staying awake for a couple of hours more and falling asleep in time. Your favorite series won’t be erased from the internet, some tasks will be easier to finish when you have some rest, and your papers can be delegated to essay writers so you can “pay someone to write my paper” from the service you trust.
When you say “do my research paper for me,” you are embracing the practice of delegation, which is an essential life skill that can ease your workload and maximize efficiency. The internet offers a plethora of professional writing services equipped with experienced writers proficient in various academic fields. With a clear understanding of your assignment’s requirements, these professionals can produce well-researched, high-quality papers tailored to meet your unique needs. Remember, though, that delegating doesn’t mean disconnecting entirely. Always review and understand the work done on your behalf as it remains part of your learning journey.
Cheat Days
Before starting a lecture about healthy nutrition and how important it is, let’s talk about what will help you get through all those days of abstaining from fast food, sweets, cookies, or whatever your weakness is. All of that is not that bad actually when consumed in small amounts or once or twice a week. So, pick a day or two when you will allow yourself to eat whatever it is that you want.
Some prefer composing a list of their guilty pleasures for a whole week in expectation of the cheat day. Others buy their favorite snacks, thus preparing for the day. Anyway, you can keep it simple and just choose a day when you can indulge in anything you want.
Stocking up on Healthy Snacks
Now, let’s move to the point where you actually follow a healthy diet. It may seem hard as a student due to lack of time, but it’s not like you have to cook according to complex recipes all the time. First of all, you can always freeze some ingredient mixes to make cooking faster. Second, with the range of healthy products available these days, having a quick snack doesn’t have to be associated with poor nutrition anymore.
There are plenty of healthy snacks to choose from at groceries:
- raw sweets
- granola bars
- dried meat
- nuts
- dried fruits (raisins, apricots, etc.)
- fruit purees
- dried cheese
In combination with pure fruit/vegetable juice or fruits, these make quite nutritious meals you can take to classes. And when you feel the urge to eat some ‘bad’ food, just include it in the list for your next cheat day and eat something from the list above.
Exercising
It’s up to you to decide between daily warmups lasting for 10-15 minutes or 2-3 workouts per week, but it’s essential that you keep your body in good shape. It’s easy to get used to the sedentary lifestyle, especially if you always have to write essays and lab reports, look for the best write my essay services, solve math problems, or practice coding. Those require a lot of time and are also quite exhausting. So, when you’re done, you might feel like laying on your couch doing nothing.
Meanwhile, doing sports can boost your energy and serotonin levels. Just go for the type you can be actually invested into. Whether it’s yoga or boxing, the point is to enjoy the process.
Of course, there is another option: team sports games or any other fun game that requires moving around. That way, you won’t feel obligated to spend a particular amount of time exercising – you won’t even notice as time goes by. Besides, it’s not about doing a boring routine. You socialize and learn how to be a team player, which is also a healthy habit in a way.
Substituting Caffeinated Products
Caffeine may seem like students’ (and other busy people’s) best friend, but be careful with it. When taken advantage of, it may lead to:
- nervousness
- anxiety
- disrupted sleep patterns
- inability to focus, etc.
Moreover, the reaction to caffeine is often unpredictable since the latter affects you differently based on when you drink it, what you ate before, what your mood is, and so on. You might become cranky or quite agitated or even want to sleep. So, if you really like coffee, consider drinking decaf.
In case you are hooked on caffeine, try to fool your brain. You might know well what it feels like to become depressed and exhausted as the caffeine effect dissolves and go for another cup of coffee. As a result, it turns into a vicious cycle.
There are a number of alternatives reminding the taste of coffee, like chicory or barley coffee. They do not give such a great boost of energy but they don’t give you a caffeine crash, either. And if you drink them for a week or two, they may help you get rid of your bad habit and quit caffeine, or at least not need it as much as before.
Besides, there are decaf coke or pepsi to trick your brain. What concerns energizing drinks, consider trying rooibos, ginger, ginseng tea, or just water with lemon. And you can also do some pushups or squats to make your blood flow faster and, hence, wake up.
Final Word
As a student, it’s important to establish healthy habits that can help you succeed academically and maintain a balanced lifestyle. Remember that it’s not only about good grades, sleep, and food but also about staying in touch with people. Don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it and don’t forget to have some rest instead of pushing yourself when you feel tired. Good luck!
