12 Healthy Habits Worth Starting In College

Hello, lovelies! Today, I’m sharing 12 healthy habits worth starting in college. I am by no means a health nut, but I would consider myself a relatively healthy person. As I’ve mentioned in previous habits posts, I only post tips that I have practiced myself, so, unfortunately, daily meditation isn’t on here. I’ll get there someday.

1.//Don’t Order Soda

This will both save you money and calories. I’m not much of a soda drinker myself, but I like ordering it at restaurants as a treat. Even so, it’s better to skip it altogether. There are so many health effects caused by soda: it has high amounts of sugar, it wears away at tooth enamel, and it dehydrates you! Doesn’t that sound counterintuitive. Your body (and wallet) are better served by drinking water. Order iced tea if you must, but there will be a significant difference in your health if you curb the soda habit.

(Check out Food Revolution Network’s “21 Ways Drinking Soda Is Bad For Your Health”)

2.//Take A Free Gym Class At Least Once A Week

College Recreation Centers usually have a free week when it comes to fitness classes if they aren’t free to begin with. This is your chance to work with actual trainers (for free!!!) without feeling super embarrassed because you’re surrounded by a bunch of other students who are learning to work out with you. I know I exercise much more productively when I take a class and I’m sure it will benefit you if you make attending weekly classes a habit.

3.//Go To Sleep And Wake Up At The Same Times Every Day

I don’t know about you, but I can’t function without sleep. There’s only so long I can stay awake before I crash. Create a solid bedtime and wake up time so that you get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. I could explain all the reasons why this is important, but I think this Try Guys clip summarizes it all. (Start at 2:51; End at 3:37)

4.//Take the Stairs

Talk about ways we can exercise without going to the gym! Let me tell you a story. In my freshman year, I started regularly taking workout classes and being more serious about my health, but as college students, we get busy. Whenever I skipped going to the gym, I didn’t allow myself to use the elevator. My last class was on the 7th floor (as they tend to be in tall buildings in the city) and I would walk up all seven flights of stairs to get to my lecture class. I was out of breath and my legs were burning, but at least I got to skip leg day 🙂

(Check out Fiercely Living’s post “8 Sneaky Ways To Exercise On Campus”)

5.//Have Some Vegetables In Every Meal

Add avocado or green juice to your breakfast. Eat some celery sticks with that pizza you ordered. Remembering to include veggies in all your meals helps you hit your daily nutrition requirement.

6.//Don’t Forget To Eat Fruits

When I was in 6th grade, we had to track everything we ate for a P.E. assignment. Within a week of doing this, I noticed that I rarely ate fruit. I went home and asked my mom to start cutting fruit for me as my after-school snack and that has become a habit I practice to this day. I don’t worry about eating fruit anymore because I’ve subconsciously scheduled a specific time to eat it. I also make it easy to eat it since either my mother or I cut it in advance. Doing so makes it easier for me to grab fruit rather than a cookie after returning to my dorm room.

Other ways I’ve added fruit to my diet is eating a banana every morning for breakfast or drinking a Naked smoothie. Find ways to make eating healthy easier. That way, you won’t go for the most convenient option (chips and takeout)

7.//Start Taking Multivitamins

Historically, I’ve never been good about taking vitamins. Establishing this habit is actually one of my goals for this year. I’ve always had one of those “you should get your nutrients from your food” lines of thinking, but when I got my checkup a few months ago, my blood test showed that I had extremely low vitamin B12 and vitamin D levels. Once I started taking the vitamins, my energy level skyrocketed, which is why I plan on taking vitamins regularly from now on. (Buy the gummy ones. They’re a yummy incentive to start this habit)

8.//Limit Eating Out To Once Or Twice A Week

I actually ate out more when I didn’t live on campus. Home cooked meals are healthier anyway. Even less nutritious meals, like macaroni and cheese, are healthier when cooked at home. Limit eating out to once or twice a week so that you won’t consume as much oily food with unhealthy ingredients you can’t pronounce. Cutting back just a little bit is a good way to be healthier in moderation.

9.//Drink 8 Glasses Of Water Every Day

One of my friends got so severely dehydrated last summer that she started having hallucinations (I’m not kidding!). She had to go to the hospital only find out that all her symptoms were due to not drinking water. I understand that sometimes we get so busy that we forget to drink our daily requirement. I’ve been there, believe me, but I try not to do that anymore. I wrote more about this in the post below. Check it out.

Related – How To Drink More Water In College

10.//Floss Your Teeth

It’s no secret that I have shit teeth. So does the rest of my family. Before, I’d brush my teeth every day and still got cavities in between my teeth. Now that I floss regularly, the amount of cavities I get has significantly decreased. Listen to your dentist and actually floss. That way, you can tell him or her the truth when they ask you during your next check up.

11.//Take Breaks

We can’t be “go go go!” all the time. Busyness takes a toll on both our mental and physical health, so find time throughout the day to take intentional breaks. At first, you’ll think it’s a waste of time, but this will make your day all the more productive.

12.//Choose Movement

Find ways to choose movement in your day to day life. Dance. Walk. Run. Anything that feels easy and gets your blood flowing. There’s this idea that the only true way to be healthy is to go to the gym and lift weights every day, but that’s not the case. You can break a sweat by deep cleaning your apartment.

Make movement a daily habit. You will benefit a lot from it.

Well, that’s it for now! I hope this post has inspired you to cultivate healthy habits. Until next time!

Past College Habits Posts

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What are some healthy habits you practice every day?