Live Well

Living well involves paying attention to your emotional, mental and physical health. Below are 6 ways you can lead a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life in college and beyond.

1. Maintain good physical health. Make your health a priority. This means participating in physical movement, which boosts your brain functioning, mood and energy and decreases stress and anxiety. Experts typically recommend being active for 30 minutes a day. Be sure to pick activities that you genuinely enjoy and mix it up.

2.Eat well For instance, include fruits and vegetables in your daily intake. Pay attention to your body’s internal signals of hunger and fullness. Avoid dieting, which may be unhealthy and can lead to a vicious cycle of restricting and bingeing.

3. Sleep is also crucial and we tend to underestimate its importance for cognitive functioning, stress levels and overall mood. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep a night, and keep your caffeine intake to one beverage a day.

4. Learn to manage stress and cope well. Think about how you manage stress now, and how it affects your stress levels. Getting enough exercise and sleep are great healthy habits that can prevent and reduce stress and help you cope better. Sometimes, you can avoid stress altogether by being organized, not procrastinating and separating projects into smaller parts. Other times, unfortunately, there’s no way around a stressful situation but to face it. For these times, it’s important to rely on healthy coping skills, such as meditation, yoga, writing, drawing, listening to music or talking to a trusted friend. If you’re having a tough time coping with day-to-day demands or specific circumstances, see a counselor.

5. Discover yourself. One of the fun parts about life is going through the challenges and experiences that help you get to know yourself better. Carve out alone time in your week to think about your achievements, strengths and goals.

6. Have healthy relationships. Having a support system is vital to well being. Focus on building authentic relationships that bring meaning to your life. Spend quality time with people who genuinely care about you and want you to be happy and healthy. Focus on being a good friend to someone, too.