Health tips for college students

In my continuing series on basic college study tips I’m going to talk to you today about my favorite health tips for college students.  Many students have horrible health, ‘freshman 15 anybody?’  I’ve been relatively healthy throughout college due to the ability to keep myself accountable to basic health tips.  I’ve used the following tips throughout college to stay trim and healthy and they don’t require much work at all.

Sleep:

Follow a regulated circadian rhythm and get 8 hours of sleep per night.  This is a very simple college health tip, however crucially important in order to develop a healthy and academically successful college student.  So this means getting up and going to be at the same time EVERYDAY.  Therefore, if you’re going to bed on Saturdays at 3 in the morning and it can’t be avoided I’d suggest that you actually go to bed at 3 in the morning every night rather than go to bed early during the week and late on the weekends as this would damage your circadian rhythm.

Breakfast:

The best health tip for a good breakfast for college students is my superman breakfast. This breakfast gives you all the nutrients and minerals you need for the day on top of a massive amount of protein which will speed up your metabolism and give you the energy to get through the entire day.

Snacks:

I would suggest you eat lots of leafy greens, fruits and nuts, along with other forms of protein.  Again, protein will help your metabolism and keep you from getting hungry during a 3 hour lecture.  A quick tip I’d suggest is to keep a handful of almonds on you which gives you the fat and protein you need to stop hunger pains and get you through long lectures.

Drink lots of water:

This is probably the most important college health tip if you want to stay intellectually sharp and healthy.  Drink a liter of water for breakfast a liter for lunch and a liter for dinner.  Try it for a week and you’ll be amazed at how much more energy you have and how much faster you will think.

Dinner:

Follow in essence the same tenants that can be found in the superman breakfast.  Eat a large amount of protein with lots of raw vegetables, try to stay away from simple carbohydrates and include some positive fats such as olives or avocado.

Exercise:

Get yourself a bicycle and use it every day.  This will not only save you money on gas and/or bus fair but will put you in a positive mood for the day and will get you much needed exercise.  I would also suggest you spend 2-3 days a week doing intense physical activity such as sports or weight lifting.  Keeping your body in peak physical condition will increase recall and comprehension as well as increase your energy levels.

Have lots of safe sex:

Seriously!  Have a lot of safe sex.  Studies prove that this will improve your state of mind and make you much happier as well as keep you healthy and lower your chances of getting some cancers.  As long as it does not impact your studies, I encourage you to have as much sex as you’d like as long as it is safe and with a caring partner that you respect.

If you’d like to learn more, go check out my book on study skills and I’ll give you a free chapter on how to get an A on any paper.  Also if you have any other tips, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments.