6 Life-Changing Healthy Habits for the Busiest College Student

College is a great place to learn, make friends, and try new things. With so much to juggle, you may notice your health taking a backseat. No need to worry, though. Here are a few simple healthy habits you can start implementing right now to set yourself up for success!

1. Don’t Skip Meals

When you’re constantly on-the-go with a hectic schedule, it can be difficult to eat three proper meals throughout the day. You may start to miss or even skip meals, leading to weight and energy changes and disruption of your overall health. Eating every few hours is crucial for your health as it helps keep your brain alert and elevates your mood. 

2. Join a Fitness Class

Trying to find the drive to go to the gym each day can be nearly impossible when you’re in college. However, staying active is crucial for various aspects of your health. It promotes restful sleep, weight maintenance, energy, and serves as a great stress reliever. If the gym isn’t your thing, there are various easy ways to get moving and maintain motivation. Most colleges offer fitness classes for credits, which is great for not only prioritizing your fitness but boosting your GPA as well. 

3. Take Care of Your Skin

Your skin serves as an external reflection of what’s going on inside of your body. Anything from stress, poor hygiene, eating habits, to your water intake can affect the health of your skin. As a college student with a full agenda, it’s not uncommon for your skin to experience some adverse changes. First, reflect on potential external factors, such as stressors and diet, and determine what you can do to combat these. From there, work on creating a skin-care regimen that’s easy to follow. Your skin will be back on track in no time!

4. Utilize Telemedicine

Telemedicine allows you to connect directly with a healthcare professional online. From there, you can receive a proper diagnosis and even a prescription sent straight to your door. Too sick to go to the doctor? This is the perfect time to speak to a health professional online. Or, if you’re in a new city where you don’t have a specialist, you can leverage telemedicine to get the care you need. Are you taking care of your skin with a new regimen as suggested in section 3, but nothing’s changing? Contact a dermatologist online to get a prescribed acne treatment sent right to your dorm room. Technology is making prioritizing your health even easier.

5. Avoid Liquid Calories

Getting that caramel macchiato before class sounds like a great idea to stay caffeinated, but is it really? Many coffee beverages are filled with sugar, causing you to crash much harder later. Sodas, certain teas, and energy drinks can also contain large amounts of sugar as well. Try to swap your coffee for a plain one and trade flavored drinks for water to stay hydrated throughout the day. If you’re not a fan of water, try infusing fruit into a water bottle for added flavor. 

6. Practice Stress-Relieving Techniques

College can be stressful, there’s no doubt about it. Although you can’t always prevent stress from happening, you can find healthy techniques to help you deal with stress. It’s important to find a technique that works specifically for you and your needs. Common methods include yoga, meditation, walking in nature, journaling, talking it out, or going for a run. Once you find one that you enjoy, be sure to practice it whenever you’re starting to feel overwhelmed.