Not a chance! Here is a list of reminders for you including some they may not have thought of themselves!
1. Get out of bed every morning. Adequate sleep is essential to be healthy, but you can overdo it.
2. Sing in the shower. Studies have linked singing with a lower heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and reduced stress.
3. Wear suitable footwear in the shower. Branded shower shoes and sandals are in. Rubber boots and stilettos are not.
4. Wash your hands regularly – not just after bathroom use. There are lots of bugs lurking around communal college areas and you do not want them!
5. Keep your spaces clean. Kitchens and bathrooms are the most frequently used places and a wipe down with Clorox will prevent them becoming a breeding ground for germs.
6. Wash your towels and sheets regularly – particularly if you have been unwell. These are great hide-out places for bacteria.
7. Housework is good exercise – clean your room! If you are particularly unfit, clean somebody else’s too! (see making friends – Nº 49)
8. Sanitize and wash trash cans. Use proper sized liners so you do not have trash spilling out all over the place. A used tissue can stay “active” for several days.
This is what is under your toenail - right now!
9. 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.
10. Check your vaccinations are up to date, and get them done if not. How scary is this list? Meningococcal Vaccine, Hepatitis B, Varicella, Tetanus-Diphtheria-Acellular Pertussis.
11. And we should also mention these – Influenza, Hepatitis A and Pneumococcal Polysaccharide. If you do not know what these vaccines are for, you really should. Go see a doctor – QUICK!
12. Wear sunscreen when you are out and about. Hopefully you will spend part of your college years enjoying outdoor life – don’t let those darned gamma rays get you.
13. Beware the freshman 15! The Freshman 15 is the average number of pounds gained by a student in their first year of college.
14. Excessive (alcoholic) drinking, eating in the campus cafeteria, substituting healthy foods with convenience foods and take-outs are all causes of the “Freshman 15”
15. Learn to shop thoughtfully. By all means mix some treats in with those essentials, but not too many. You do not want to become a victim of the “Freshman 15”!
Have fun with food!
16. Fruit is natures fast food, bananas and oranges for example come ready packaged and don’t even need washing.
17. Dried fruits are great on the run snacks, raisins, apricots, dates among others are convenient and packed full of flavor.
18. Make friends with yogurt. The bacteria in yogurt are good guys who help boost the immune system and can be very handy in the fight against internal infections and high cholesterol levels.
19. You do not even have to go to the store to shop well. Many online retailers now offer “home delivery”, plus some specialized chains offer “Collegepaks”.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22 If you do not manage Nº 1, or spend too long doing Nº 2, make sure you have a store of healthy breakfast bars.
23. 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.
24. Resist vending machines. They typically eat money and spit out coronaries.
Drink plenty of water
25. Don’t forget to pack plenty of water. Staying fully hydrated is important for a healthy complexion and healthy internal organs.
26. 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.
27. Drinking plenty of water can also help prevent early onset of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
28. The cornea of your eye is comprised 80% of water. Drinking water regularly leads to better eye health.
29. If you are unsure about drinking tap water, pick up some bottles from the store or invest in a water filter – particularly good for “hard” water areas.
30. Walk to class. Walking is free, keeps you active and means you won’t get stressed from sitting in that annoying traffic queue.
31. Walking 30 minutes every day contributes towards controlling your weight, your blood pressure, regulating stress levels and reduces the risk of heart disease by 30-40%.
32. Walking has been shown to reduce instances of the common cold. Just wrap up warm when you do it!
33. Get a pedometer and try to register 10.000 steps every day. Do it with a friend for support and motivation.
34. Walk for charity. Find worthwhile social groups and organizations and arrange a fundraiser for them amongst your colleagues. Great for your résumé also
35. Get yourself a pair of well-fitting and comfortable shoes. You are going to be doing a lot of walking if you want to keep those pounds off.
36. Take advantage of the campus fitness facilities. So what if you are not a natural born athlete! Why should the gym be the domain of Adonis and Aphrodite?
37. Do not be afraid of sports. If you can throw a Frisbee, you can do sports. If you can catch a Frisbee, you can do sports with other people! Easy!
38. Seek out people who have a Nintendo Wii. The social-physical aspect of game play on these is fantastic.
39. Go to college football and basketball games. Even if you do not generally like the sports – they are still great fun.
40. Learn how to take breaks. Your time at college will be more enjoyable if you give yourself time out and a chance to relax.
41. Make time for yoga. Practicing yoga ensures optimum blood supply to the body, flushing out toxins and leading to benefits such as delayed aging, energy and zest for life.
42. Get involved in some intramural sports. These require more enthusiasm than ability. Have fun, make new friends and keep fit.
43. Most colleges have clubs dedicated to dance and movement. All types of dance are catered for, and dancing is great cardio-vascular exercise. Fancy yourself in The Nutcracker? Ouch!
44. Listen to music. Music is proven to reduce stress factors, and causes your blood vessels to relax and produce chemicals which protect the heart.
45. Better still – learn to play an instrument. All instruments require various levels of physical activity, and wind instruments are particularly good at help regulate lung and stomach activity. (See Nº 59 re earplugs and Nº 85 re noisy roommates!)
46. Even a genius needs extracurricular activity. Ever heard about “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”?
47. Social interaction has numerous mental health benefits. Talk through any problems, and help others get through theirs.
48. Go Greek! Join a fraternity or sorority house on campus. This is a great way to integrate into a social community if you are a long way from home. Good parties too!
49. Members of Frats and Sororities are not just party animals. They perform a lot of good work in the local communities, and this will look good on your résumé.
50. Know your limits when it comes to drinking alcohol. Twenty per cent of all fatalities amongst college students are alcohol related.
51. Walk to the bar and leave the car behind. Remember those comfortable shoes in Nº 37? This is when you will find them most handy.
Enjoy it, but don´t overdo it
52. The government recommends a maximum of 4 units of alcohol for men each day and just 2 for women.
53. 1 in 5 students reports 3 or more binge sessions in the previous 2 weeks (and they might be just the honest ones!)
54. In the 12 to 20 age group drinking contributes to the 3 leading causes of death…unintentional injury, homicide and suicide.
55. Drinking is also associated with high risk sexual behavior, fighting and smoking.
56. Use of alcohol also increases the risk of sexual assault. It decreases the ability to assess a risky situation. You may do things drunk that you wouldn’t do sober.
57. No statistics available on how many horrified students wake up the next morning after a party beside someone they wouldn’t normally share even a cup of coffee with!
58. Try 0% alcoholic drinks and “mocktails”. These will enable you to socialize with your friends without suffering the effects of overdoing it.
59. Use earplugs when things get loud. Long term exposure to loud noises can create stress, cause accidents and can cause anti-social behavior if your dorm mate is the persistent offender.
60. With anti-smoking laws increasing and social acceptance decreasing one might think that kids know that smoking is a pretty dumb thing to start, and a lot do.
61. But there are still 3000 kids a day under the age of 18 who start smoking, and an estimated four and a half million adolescents in the United States who are smokers
62. Teen smokers have smaller lungs and weaker hearts than those who don’t smoke they get sick more often than their non-smoking peers.
63. Smoking related illness’s claim more American lives than car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide and illegal drugs combined.
64. If you don’t smoke tobacco you are statistically less likely to use alcohol and other drugs.
65. If you never start smoking you’ll never have to experience the hell of trying to stop once you’re addicted, ask any ex-smoker and you are likely to be told it’s one of the hardest things they have ever done.
66. General advice for students is if you do not know what you are taking – don’t take it. Some drugs may be given a “pop” name – it does not change the effect they will have on you.
67. Stay-awake drugs like Modafinil promise fairy tale effects like enhanced brain power. But they are expensive and do long term damage to your brain chemistry. What point is having a perfect brain if you cannot use it to get yourself out of debt?
68. Beware the Benzo-Blues! Benzodiazepine is often used to relieve anxiety. It is highly addictive and has withdrawal systems such as insomnia, paranoia and depression, which can last for months.
Did you ever see "House"? This is what Hugh Laurie was popping. Do you want to look like that?
69. Vicodin and Ibuprofen are pain relievers which, when taken to excess, can cause a high. Taking high doses repeatedly over a short period of time can cause giddiness and disorientation.
70. Oxycodone (“Oxy”, “O.C.” or “Cotton”) reacts adversely with alcohol and in extreme cases can be lethal.
71. Even cough and cold remedies containing dextromethorphan can cause a high when abused. Their nickname, “Skittles”, gives an indication of what the side effect is!
72. Attention deficiency medications such as Ritalin and Adderall are stimulants used to stay awake or as an appetite suppressant. They can also be used to cause hallucinations or heart failure. Which do you want in exam week?
73. Your parents will have done it – but that’s no excuse. Marijuana is as dangerous as smoking.
74. Cocaine is popular amongst college students because it makes you alert and suppresses appetites. If you watch cop shows on TV, you know what happens if you take too much of it!
75. Taking mushrooms is risky because of the individual trip you have – it is not even a social drug. Expect major hallucinations, paranoia and disorientation.
76. Ecstasy (MDMA) has fallen out of vogue with college students over the past decade, primarily because of the damage that is done to the nerve endings in the brain that affect the memory.
77. Nervous system problems affect 1 in 6 people who use Viagra. This may only be in the form of a headache, but isn’t that the major reason for abstention (As in “Not tonight dear ….” )
78. 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.
79. Few things will undermine your health as much as stress and anxiety. Avoid situations that will lead to these.
80. Keep your studies up to date. If you find you cannot cope with early class times, change them.
81. Lock up laptops, cars and valued personal possessions. Losing them will cause you as much stress as anything.
82. College is tough at times. Don’t confuse teenage angst with the onset of depression. If you see it in yourself or in a friend, seek professional advice. Do not try to deal with it alone.
83. Talk to someone you can trust – teachers, doctors, counselors or religious leaders will all recognize what you are going through. Most of them will have been there themselves!
Carrying this lot around will keep you fit!
84. Use a study group rather than cramming all night. Big deal if you miss the big game – you will have plenty more opportunities to see one after you graduate.
85. Use a library or study area to help focus and concentration. Dorm rooms are not always the best place to work. They can be noisy, as can roommates (see Nº 45).
86. Balance work, study and your social life. Plan ahead, make goals, achieve them and celebrate. Make sure you also leave some time to sleep!
87. Good friends are great – good friends who cook are better!
88. Make friends with cooks and nutritionists. These people know the value and composition of healthy food and will feed you while they experiment with new recipes.
89. Cooking can be therapeutic. Try some simple recipes first (there are plenty online) and invite your friends around to give you feedback.
90. Eat well and at regular intervals throughout the day. It is unhealthy to starve yourself and gorge food in the evening.
91. Go Italian! Mediterranean cuisine contains many natural ingredients and is usually cooked in olive oil which is nutritional and reduces cholesterol.
Justa like momma used to make
92. Food eaten late at night does not get burned up but hangs around – A moment on the lips – a lifetime on the hips!
93. If your social life leads to romantic interest and you are going out on your first date, tell somebody where you will be, and let them know when you are back.
94. Kissing is good for the heart. When you kiss, your body releases adrenalin which helps prevent cardio-vascular disease.
5 calories a minute? Not the way I do it!
95. 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.
96. 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.
97. Make sure that you have a small amount of cash on you. If you are having a bad date and want to make a quick getaway, having cash available makes catching a cab an option.
98. If the date goes as well as you hoped, be careful. It is estimated that 1 in 5 campus residents have contracted an STD – use a condom!
99. Go to bed! (then, if necessary, get up – go home – go to bed!) Adequate sleep is essential to be healthy.
