Healthy body, healthy mind

Health. To many this is a common word, perhaps heard inside class, on the internet and social media, or even among your friends. However, sometimes for students in college health is something that is often forgotten about and neglected. While it may seem challenging, there are ways to take care of both physical and mental health.

Getting enough sleep

While it may seem not so important, sleep plays a huge role in how you function. According to research, a person should get on average 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Getting proper rest will allow your body to recover itself from all the usage during your day. A study done by Khan in 2021 showed that sleep deprivation can lead to things such as sickness, problems with mobility, having a hard time processing and retaining information and also following appropriate procedures both in school and/or work. While at times it may be impossible to get a full 8 hour of sleep, taking short naps in the afternoon can help.

Healthy and schedule diet

Eating is good, but knowing what types of food to eat is even better. Having a proper diet is important in keeping your body and mind healthy and functioning properly. Eating meals at appropriate times helps in maintaining a balanced diet. Consuming a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrates and fats will provide the body with adequate amounts of nutrients. It can also be useful to keep track of how many calories are consumed on a daily basis.

Daily or weekly exercise

Aside from sleeping enough and eating right, exercising the body is also needed. Exercise has many benefits for the body. Some benefits are weight management, the strengthening of both muscles and bones and decreasing the risk of disease, especially heart disease. Exercising can improve the mood and mental health of a person. While some may have a hard time fitting this in their schedule, it is good to note that it does not need to be every day but every other day. Consistency is key but overworking will only cause more harm to the body than good.

While there are more ways to keep yourself healthy, these three can at least serve as a starting point to help people when figuring out what should be prioritized first.

By Robert Tengker