Ten Realistic Tips for Staying Healthy in College

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Health issues are a rare concern for most college students, but when illnesses or injuries do occur, life gets a lot more difficult. Here are ten tips I learned from nursing school to stay healthy during the busy school year.

1. Keep your hands cleans!
Colds, the flu, and other bacteria are transferred through saliva (coughing, sneezing, laughing, etc) and contaminated surfaces, so when you come into contact with something with the bacteria or virus on it, you're at risk of getting sick.
Washing your hands with plain ol' soap and hot water washes most foreign bacteria from your hands, and using hand sanitizer with ethyl alcohol will kill influenza viruses. Here's a simple plan to follow: Clean your hands before you prepare or eat food, touch your face, or handle anything that goes near your face and mouth; and after using the restroom or being in a public place.

2. Don't share food or drinks.

3. Stay hydrated
If you lose just 2% of your body weight in fluid, you're suffering from dehydration, which makes your whole body's performance sluggish, including your immune system. For every pound of fluid you lose, replace it with 16 to 20oz water. Try to drink 64oz, or 2 quarts, a day. If it's hot out or you've been doing any strenuous activity, drink more.
When you're exercising, WebMD suggests you drink 20oz of water 2 hours before exercising, 10oz 15 minutes prior, and 8oz every 15 minutes during your workout. Keeping hydrated prevents injury, fatigue, heat exhaustion, and muscle cramps, and optimizes your performance.

4. Know what supplements to take
If you're prone to urinary tract infections (UTI's) when you get stressed out, avoid caffeine and take a cranberry supplement (cranberry keeps bacteria from sticking to the lining of your urinary tract), and be sure to drink plenty of water.
Vitamin C won't directly help your immune system, but it's essential for protecting your tissues, which can reduce your chance of getting a pathogen into your body.
New research shows that vitamin D improves your immune system, and can help prevent a multitude of cancers.
Some studies suggest that taking zinc supplements at the first sign of a cold can help reduce its duration  and severity

5. Go to bed earlier.
Sleep is the time when your body repairs itself and fights infections best. Try to get as close to 8 hours as you can. Listen to your body. If you're feeling drained, you might need to schedule more time for zzz's.

6. Relax and laugh more.
When you're stressed, physically or emotionally, your brain signals for an increase in a hormone called cortisol, which prepares you for times of adversity, and in the process, suppresses your immune system. Find healthy ways to deal with your stress. Get endorphins pumping with a hard workout, go on a date, have a night with your friends, do something that makes you happy. Anything that releases feel-good hormones instead of more cortisol.

7. Stay active
Studies have shown that walking for just 30 minutes a day reduces your risk of heart disease and other illnesses. Exercise also helps your body deal with stress by making it stronger and releasing endorphins, hormones that reduce pain and decrease feelings of depression and stress.  You don't have to try to look like a fitness model or bodybuilder to reap the benefits. If you're healthy, just aim for 5 to 6 hours of exercise a week (this includes walking to class).

8. Eat clean
You might have the kind of metabolism that allows you to eat a dozen donuts and not gain a pound, but  a bad diet will still hurt you. Diets that are based on processed, fried, high-fat, high-carb, sodium-loaded, and preservative-packed foods can increase vascular inflammation, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and aggravate insulin resistance, which can cause diabetes. If your body is trying to deal with all the bad stuff you're already putting in your stomach, it won't have as many resources to pull from to fight infections. Here's a website of a diabetes foundation that gives great tips for eating healthier in college.

9. Practice safe sex
If you have chosen to be abstinent, good for you. You have less to worry about.
If you are sexually active, always always always use protection. Always. Condoms with a second contraceptive are the way to go, and never use a condom past its expiration date. Nothing ruins your day like finding out you have a sexually transmitted infection, especially something permanent. And nobody wants to get pregnant in the middle of college.

10. Seek help if you're depressed or overwhelmed.
Most colleges have a health center that offers counseling for most issues that college students face (counseling center for Purdue here). 1 in 4 people will struggle with some kind of mental illness in their lifetime, so you're not alone. You can feel better if you get help and seek support from your friends and family.

Stay healthy and good luck this coming semester!
Got any more tips or comments? Add them below!