1. Get out of bed every morning. Adequate sleep is essential to be healthy, but you can overdo it.
2. Wash your towels and sheets regularly – particularly if you have been unwell. These are great hide-out places for bacteria.
3. Housework is good exercise – clean your room! If you are particularly unfit, clean somebody else’s too!
4. Stay clear of friends who are sick. Does that sound a bit mean? Show them how much you care with a germ-free telephone call. (This isnt easy for me but its important!)
5. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Many studies have found a relationship between eating breakfast and learning ability, attention span, and general well-being. (That means you have to get up before its considered lunch). The American Dietetic Association reports that adults who eat breakfast have an easier time losing weight, think faster, clearer, solve problems more easily, and are less likely to be irritable.
6. Pack a healthy snack to take with you. If you skip meals you may have trouble concentrating, get headaches, or just lose your focus. Food is brain fuel.
7. Don’t forget to pack plenty of water. Staying fully hydrated is important for a healthy complexion and healthy internal organs. Water is clever stuff. It fills your stomach and tells your brain that you are not hungry. You should drink 8-10 glasses of water each day.
8. Walk to class. Walking is free, keeps you active and means you won’t get stressed from sitting in that annoying traffic. (It especially helps if your like me and cant make it to the gym everyday!)
9. Learn how to take breaks. Your time at college will be more enjoyable if you give yourself time out and a chance to relax. Just dont go over board.
10. Listen to music. Music is proven to reduce stress factors, and causes your blood vessels to relax and produce chemicals which protect the heart. So break out the Beethoven!!!
11. Social interaction has numerous mental health benefits. Talk through any problems, and help others get through theirs. So find a good friend, and vent your little heart out!
12. Remember, it is okay to say “No”. There is a lot of peer pressure to go out/stay in/do this/do that. It is your life and you know better than anybody what time you need to yourself.
13. Balance work, study and your social life. Plan ahead, make goals, achieve them and celebrate. Make sure you also leave some time to sleep! (Day planners are an easy way to help maintain a balanced schedule that you can handle)
14. Eat well and at regular intervals throughout the day. It is unhealthy to starve yourself and gorge food in the evening.
15. Kissing is good for the heart. When you kiss, your body releases adrenalin which helps prevent cardio-vascular disease. Kissing is an effective means of reducing stress and requires the contraction of many facial muscles which increases the blood supply to the face and makes you look healthier. Do it often enough and you will also be losing weight (kissing burns off 2-5 calories per minute, and making love (because you wanted to know this!) will burn off 50 – 100 calories depending on the intensity. (not neccesary but sure is fun ;) )
16. Go to bed! Adequate sleep is essential to be healthy.
