The most important time to be self-critical on the present and the future ahead is while you are a student. Staying healthy, both physically and mentally, is a crucial step that a student needs to put in mind every moment on this journey. 

Despite studying being time-consuming and stressful, you need to set aside time and a guided routine to keep fit. Below is a list of 10 ways that turn out to be of great significance for a student’s wellness.

1) Healthy Diet

Eating a variety of foods containing essential nutrients is the key to maintaining good health, vibe, and constant energy. Consumption of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, water and minerals improves your nutrition significantly. 

Avoid overeating due to stress as your body releases hunger hormones that increase cravings for junk food. When posed with a feeding disorder, seek help from within campus or close family members.

2) Indulge in exercises

Adding a fitness course to your pre-existing one won’t kill. It reduces the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. 

Making it a tradition to play a sport or riding a bike occasionally improves the quality of life. Have a visit to the gym after classes to indulge the muscles in a new workout plan.

3) Adequate resting

Sleeping improves physical health by healing and repairing the heart and blood vessels. Insomnia can aggravate heart and kidney diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. 

Good sleep increases daily concentration, which goes a long way in yielding productivity. To maintain a proper resting routine, stick to a daily, weekly, monthly, and ultimately annual schedule.  Whenever there are tight deadlines for your academic writing work or are simply overburdened, use the best tools to make your work easy. A good plagiarism checking tool is what every student needs. The tool by EduBirdie helps you check plagiarism not only for academic assignments but also the web content.

4) Beating stress

Tension accompanied by mild headaches due to constant academic pressure can be traumatizing. Limiting working hours by creating a sleeping, eating and studying routine helps you to shun away from stressful thoughts. 

Taking breaks in-between to stretch out or have a glass of water is very refreshing. Taking time to indulge in yoga and meditation rejuvenates the mind and releases nervousness. 

5) Maintaining proper mental health

Functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment reduces the risks of being depressed. You need to enjoy life by creating a balance between life activities and psychological resilience. 

Constant and effective communication with friends and family helps to open up and share what you feel like a way of reaching out. Never allow stress to take the better part of you.

6) Start the day with breakfast

A good breakfast to kickstart the day helps in maintaining good energy and vibe. It replenishes glucose supply in the body after a long night of starvation. 

Consuming something like an egg, a banana or bagel enriched with nutrients and energy for good health. Find the best breakfast meal that is quick and easy that works for you. 

7) Maintaining proper sanitation

Student closeness possesses high risks of spreading infections and viruses such as cold and flu. Regular and proper sanitation by the washing of hands removes germs in an attempt to prevent you from getting sick and spreading them. 

Replenish the body with lots of fluids such as water and energy drinks. Wear sandals before visiting the bathroom as germs often infest there.

8) Indulge in hobbies

Drawing, reading novels and cooking are some of the few mentioned common hobbies listed by students. Indulging in them alongside the daily learning and working hours greatly impacts your mind and physical outlook about life.

They bring a sense of fun and freedom to life. They provide an outlet for distraction, creativity and something to look forward to every day. It helps minimize the impending impacts of chronic stress.

9) Constant hydration

Drinking enough water keeps the body constantly hydrated to regulate body temperature, keep joints lubricated and prevent infections. It improves the quality of sleep, mood and cognition of the environment. 

Eight glasses of water daily help improve metabolism and prevent you from overeating. To maintain constant hydration, try walking around with a reusable water bottle containing water to drink during the day.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that physical and mental wellness is a crucial factor for healthy living. A good dietary plan, staying hydrated, meditation and ensuring physical fitness are some of the steps to begin the journey to wellness. Having a routine on how to implement the steps above is of great impact. Be assertive on what to consume physically and emotionally.

Author’s Bio: Vendy Adams is a programming expert working with a Silicon Valley tech giant as a team leader. She’s also a passionate blogger and academic writer who loves to cover not only computer subjects but also health and fitness. In her free time, she loves running on the beach, preparing vegan salads and trying DIY kitchen gardening.

On its surface, running seems like an easy and straightforward way to exercise. But anyone with a serious interest in running can tell you how deep the sport goes.

Some people choose to focus on the equipment they use. From specific shoes to anti-chafing measures, they are particular about the sort of products they buy.

Others take a more holistic approach by incorporating regularly scheduled massages or they look to supplements and hydration aids to make them better runners. If you fall into this group, make sure you include probiotics in your daily supplement routine.

Probiotics are only as effective as the particular strains contained in the supplement. But when you get the right strains, a probiotic supplement can have great impacts on your running.

From improving your mood to addressing leaky gut to altering your diet, probiotics have amazing potential for runners. Here are 3 reasons runners should take a daily probiotic supplement:

1) They Can Improve Your Diet

Runners, generally speaking, are pretty particular about their diets. You want to eat food that will help keep you at the top of your game so you can go the extra mile.

Now and then, though, odd cravings sneak in. This is where probiotics can help.

There are a lot of theories around why you crave certain foods. One theory holds that cravings are one way that your body lets you know what it needs. And in these cases, probiotics can help alter the foods you crave.

Probiotics do this by altering the bacteria in your gut microbiome. Healthier gut bacteria help you avoid unhealthy cravings that will further upset the microbiome, such as excess sugar. Emphasis on excess since a healthy gut will still crave some sugar.

When your unhealthy cravings go down, your body can turn its attention to the fat and sugar it already has stored. This will, in turn, help you burn fat stored in the belly and other problem areas, which is a nice bonus to craving a healthier diet. The fact that probiotics can help burn belly fat is just one reason to add a supplement to your daily routine.

2) They Can Improve Your Mood

Although it might sound far-fetched, the brain-gut connection is very real. It is also called the enteric nervous system and is essentially a connection that runs straight from your brain to your gut.

When your gut biome is unbalanced, it causes an imbalance in your brain chemistry. The opposite is true as well. It’s why your stomach gets upset when you’re dealing with stress. Or, if you’re like me, why an upset stomach is a good warning that your mood is about to take a turn for the worse.

In short, your gut health has an impact on your overall mood. Probiotics help balance your gut microbiome. And while this isn’t going to cure your depression, it can help improve your mood.

That little boost might be all you need to get yourself moving for your morning run, or to push yourself for that extra mile.

3) They Can Improve Your Health

The gut-brain connection has a big impact on your mood, but it can also impact your health. In fact, there is evidence that the health of your gut has a direct connection to your overall health.

When talking about the impact of probiotics on your health, though, it’s important to separate the myths from reality. Probiotics aren’t going to cure cancer or eliminate your risk of heart disease. And they aren’t going to cure IBS or Crohns.

They can, however, reduce the severity of some allergies and help boost your immune system, among other things. While these issues might not directly affect your running practice, they certainly have an impact on your overall wellness. It’s not easy to get up and go for a run when you’re suffering due to food allergies or down with a cold.

The Fine Print

Of course, taking a probiotic one time isn’t enough to make a difference. And unless you’re eating a lot of fermented food, you’re not likely to get enough probiotics from your daily diet. To get the benefits of probiotics, you need to take them every day.

You also want to get the best strains. This is why, when it comes to probiotics, you want to be aggressive about reading the labels. Probiotics are, as the name suggests, good varieties of live bacteria.

Most of us only think of bacteria as harmful microorganisms that have the potential to cause illness. Probiotics are at the other end of the spectrum, offering benefits so long as you get the right kind.

Getting the wrong kind usually results in the supplement having no effect at all. There are, however, some side effects to bad probiotics that you’ll want to watch out for. They include upset stomach, increased allergic reactions, and headache.

If you experience any of these issues, stop taking your supplement until you can talk to a health care provider and find the right strains of probiotic to suit your body and meet your needs.

Generally speaking, however, probiotics from trusted sources are more likely to do good than to do harm, especially if you take them daily according to the directions on the bottle.

The Takeaway

Probiotics won’t magically make you a better runner, but they will help you avoid issues that can keep you from reaching your goals. From your mood to your allergies, these supplements are a great way to boost your health.

So long as you spend a little bit of time reading the labels and you take them correctly, probiotic supplements can be your new best friend. And in a world where there’s a supplement for everything, it’s nice to have one that works at the base level to create far-reaching improvements.

Have you ever had disturbing or tingling experiences in your legs while you were lying or sitting down? Are you resisting against the pain or forcing your legs to move? Do these painful experiences in your legs occur during the daytime when you’re physically active? Or are these feelings in your legs surprisingly disturbing your sleep at nighttime?

If you have answered yes, then you may be suffering from Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).

To the day-to-day life of a person living with RLS, the constant battle against pain is a real struggle – the painful experience is more than a toothache, and its severity is greater than a heartache.

Just imagine how it suppresses you from going into fun activities and ruins beautiful moments together with your loved ones and friends. Of course, your pain is lesser than your capacity. As long as there is treatment, life goes on.

To make your life more bearable despite the RLS condition, here are some home remedies to ease the pain caused by Restless Legs Syndrome.

What is Restless Legs Syndrome?

According to Harvard Health Publications of Harvard Medical School, Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a neurologic sensorimotor disorder that causes an individual to move the legs with an irresistible urge, often accompanied by a painful and unfavourable “creepy-crawly” sensation.

In statistics, 10 percent of the American population suffers from RLS. According to WebMD, the occurrence of RLS is more common in women than in men, and middle-aged people are prone to experience the symptoms.

Symptoms of RLS

Furthermore, the symptoms of having RLS causes ruining events to your daily activities – whether you’re only confined in a space with an awakened presence during the daytime, or whether you’ve fallen asleep during the nighttime.

Restless Legs Syndrome causes uncomfortable sensations in the internal parts of your legs – during sitting or lying down. It aggravates your nerves in impeding sensations such as burning, aching, crawling, creeping, itching, tingling, tugging, or a feeling similar to electric shocks – which occurs repetitively or longer than seconds.

The leading causes of RLS are iron insufficiency, abnormalities of dopamine level, chronic diseases like diabetes, kidney failure, the Parkinsons’s disease, and the occurrence of varicose veins.

If you are suffering from RLS, you should immediately have your screening and consultation with a professional, such as Elite Vein Clinic, to examine the venous insufficiency in your legs through ultrasound imaging. Light therapy for aches is also a good way to get rid of RLS. Don’t let RLS get worse.

What are some Home Remedies for treating Restless Legs Syndrome?

Home treatments are effective when properly and regularly executed. Through proper diet and best sleeping routines, you can reduce the symptoms and pain caused by RLS. Here are five effective home remedies for treating RLS:

1. Devote yourself to a sleeping hygiene

Most people often overlooked the proper way of sleeping. Not only because of the tiring experiences in fixing the bed, but also the factors of using smartphones and other gadgets before sleeping. As a result, your RLS symptoms get worse.

In other words, you need to devote yourself to sleeping hygiene, where you plot your schedule on waking up, your napping sessions, and the time before going to sleep. Also, keep a cool, quiet, and comfortable sleeping environment.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, avoid using your smartphones or gadgets, at least 30 minutes before bed.

2. Eliminate your caffeine intake

Everybody loves to take coffee before going to work or during leisure time. But do you know that coffee can make your RLS worse?

Caffeine is a triggering element for RLS. It is a stimulant that interferes with sleep, particularly when you’ve taken it close to bedtime. While other physicians agree that caffeine has less impact on your RLS, make sure to regulate your caffeine intake.

3. Make time for meditation

Repetitive stress and anger mismanagement can aggravate the symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome. When you get stressed in a longer period, the prefrontal cortex of your brain shrinks and kills brain cells, responsible for giving signals in a fight-or-flight situation. Meaning, chronic stress can also lead to diabetes and heart diseases – a pathway for RLS symptoms.

As a way to mitigate stress, the habit of doing yoga, deep breathing, and stretching can give meditation that your body needs. It helps the improvement of your mood, increases your awareness, and reinforces your comfort during your sleep.

4. Manage your diet

You are what you eat. In other words, your diet amounts to your physical standing and reflects your mental condition. If you have symptoms from Restless Legs Syndrome, chances are higher for you to have iron sufficiency and low magnesium count in your body.

In your diet, always include foods rich in D3, potassium, and iron. We recommend you to eat spinach and leafy green vegetables and liver for your diet.

Spinach is rich in iron and folate, which can be included in different varieties of dishes, such as soups, sauces, smoothies, and salads. Also, a liver is a great source of iron – a  rich source for haemoglobin formation and brain function. It is also the best way to suffice iron deficiency.

5. Commit to a regulated physical exercise

Exercise is the best way to combat stress, high cholesterol, diabetes, and the formation of varicose veins. Since varicose veins contribute to the symptoms of RLS, exercise can mitigate the pain through healthy blood pressure and normalized dopamine levels.

By producing sweat through a 30-minute exercise of walking, jogging, or moderate running, your legs will relieve, giving you a good night sleep. However, make sure to avoid vigorous exercise that might trigger RLS symptoms.

Key Takeaways

Restless Legs Syndrome is giving you more than the painful experience of a toothache, or severity greater than a heartache. It suppresses you from going into fun activities and ruins beautiful moments together with your loved ones and friends.

But as long as there is treatment, there is hope for a better life.

Today, RLS has affected the lives of millions of people – not just only in America, but to the entire world population. It occurs mostly in women as to men, and with middle-aged adults.

The leading causes of RLS are iron insufficiency, abnormalities of dopamine level, chronic diseases like diabetes, kidney failure, Parkinson’s disease, and the occurrence of varicose veins.

And its symptoms are generally causing an individual to move the legs with an irresistible urge, often accompanied by a painful and unfavourable “creepy-crawly” sensation.

To avoid any ruined moments and disturbing events, here are five effective home remedies to alleviate the symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome:

1. Devote yourself to sleeping hygiene;
2. Eliminate your caffeine Intake;
3. Make time for meditation;
4. Manage your diet; and 
5. Commit to a regulated physical exercise.

Trying to find a balance between gruelling study sessions, pulling all-nighters preparing for exams, and all sorts of other extracurricular tasks, it may seem almost impossible for a student to get the proper nutrition.

To complicate matters, students are often on a tight budget. Lack of financial stability holds them back from opting for healthier food choices.

Finally, living in a dorm also leaves its footprint on your nutrition. Indeed, it can be rather hard to cook healthy meals when all you have at your disposal is a microwave and a tiny mini-fridge.

Given the fast pace of life and extreme load, students are in the category of people who need to pay special attention to their nutrition. Studying different types of sentences, writing hundreds of essays, passing dozens of exams, and processing plenty of information every day – to keep your performance at the top, you really want to supply your brain with the right nutrients.

Now, the big question is – how can a student get his daily norm of healthy food? Although diving straight into healthy eating can be hard, one can get a smooth start by opting for healthier snacks. Good eating habits begin with small steps. So, here are the top seven snacks you can stock in your dorm to start getting the right nutrients:

Fresh Fruits

Fresh fruits are probably the first thing that pops up in your mind when you think of proper snacks. Indeed, fruits are full of vitamins and other essential elements that make them perfect for a quick snack.

DIY Mix of Nuts and Dried Fruits

Another great option for a quick and healthy snack is a trail mix made of dried fruits and nuts. Such a mix will provide you with the right share of protein, healthy fats, and fiber. 

It has been proven that nuts offer a variety of benefits, including lower heart disease risk. Dried fruits, in their turn, are rich in iron, which is an essential element for your body and brain.

Bonus tip: Add a sprinkle of dark chocolate to your mix to make it even more delicious.

Grapes

When it comes to snacks, the faster they are in prep, the better. In terms of time economy, grapes make a perfect quick snack. They are easy to take with and require no preparation. At the same time, grapes are rich in antioxidants and polyphenols and are low in calories.

Cereal with Greek Yogurt

Cereal is probably one of the most popular morning foods people of ages eat. Although there is nothing harmful about cereal itself, there is a way to make it even more beneficial for you! 

We recommend consuming high-fibre cereal with Greek yoghurt. Greek yoghurts are rich in protein, B12 vitamin, probiotics, iodine, calcium, and many other beneficial elements.

Veggies with Hummus

Just like fresh fruits, fresh vegetables can make a great quick meal. Now, add to rich-in-vitamin veggies a bit of high-fibre hummus, and you get a perfect healthy snack that is both beneficial and delicious.

Energy Bars

If you have a sweet tooth, energy bars will be the right option for you! 

Candy bars have always been one of the students’ favourite snacks. They are delicious, sweet, and seemingly nurturing. However, as most of you probably know, candy bars don’t really bring many benefits.

Luckily, there is a better alternative in the form of energy bars.

They are pretty similar to traditional candy bars. However, they are made of cereal and other high energy foods that provide you with quick energy. As a rule, such bars contain the right share of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. You can either make them yourself or buy them in a store.

Chocolate-Covered Almonds

Among all nuts, almonds are probably the most popular and beneficial ones. Almonds contain plenty of good fats, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre. Dark chocolate, in its turn, is one of the best sources of antioxidants existing today, so it has a positive effect on your whole body and brain. Mixed together, chocolate and almonds make up a perfect quick meal!

The Bottom Line

All snacks on our list can be very beneficial for your body and brain. At the same time, they don’t require much preparation and are easy to find in the nearest grocery store. However, these are just a few of the many healthy snacks out there!

If you decide to replace junk food with something more nutritious, you have plenty of options. You can opt for fruits, nuts, dairy products, veggies, and so on.