Take Care of Yourself at College

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Take Care of Yourself

I'm going to sound like your mother here, but it really is important to take care of yourself by exercising, eating, and sleeping reasonable amounts on a daily basis. I estimate that 50 percent of the students who come to the Harvard counseling center are struggling because they have neglected one or all of these basics.

Exercise Often

Some students are very active physically. These are the ones who belong to collegiate or intramural athletic teams, or like to work out to keep themselves in shape. But others (in fact, most) find that they spend the majority of the day sitting in classes, and then sitting in front of their computers, and then sitting to read textbooks, and then sitting in the cafeteria, and then sitting in front of the TV.

If this describes your day, take a look at this list of just some of the things exercise could be doing for you if you changed a few daily habits:

Exercise can alleviate tension and elevate mood. Sustained movement at target heart rate causes your body to produce greater amounts of the beta-endorphins, which counter stress and depression and help you to sleep.
Exercise can improve alertness. A thirty-minute round of aerobic exercise has been shown to improve short-term memory and increase mental performance.
Exercise can give you increased energy. Energy levels increase as the muscles become better able to use oxygen, the heart's pumping capacity improves, and the resting pulse slows. This allows the heart to pump the same amount of blood with fewer beats.
Exercise can stimulate the immune system. This will help you ward off the bacterial and viral germs that congregate in the cramped quarters of college classes and dormitories.
Exercise keeps off excess weight. Just eight to twelve minutes of aerobic activity can decrease appetite, boost the metabolic rate so you continue to burn calories at a higher rate for up to two days, and build lean tissue, which occupies less space than the replaced fat.

I know you're busy, but you don't have to spend an hour in the fitness center or the gym every day to keep yourself healthy. Just make a conscious effort to find ways to keep moving:

• Take a longer route to walk to your classes.
• Always use the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Park your car, if you have one, far from the building.
• Find small, easy ways to get your heart pumping a ­ couple of times a week, even if it's simply to run in place for ten minutes while you're watching a TV ­ show in your room.

If you do these things, it won't take long at all to feel the difference in your overall physical and mental health.

Eat Well to Stay Strong

Everybody knows about the "freshman 15." But to keep yourself healthy, you need to understand where that extra weight comes from and why poor eating habits can interfere with a good college experience. (I told you I was going to sound like your mother here.)

Think about it. What did you eat today that actually had nutrients in it that will give your body strength, stamina, and good health? The students I see who complain of being overweight, rundown, sluggish, or exhausted usually admit that their meals consist mostly of high-calorie junk. Pizza, hamburgers, french fries, and ice cream are the main diet for many students.