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Getting sick in college can be difficult. It can keep you out of class as well as out of the social scene. And, unfortunately, many college students are forced to deal with illness without access to medical care. If you want to avoid getting sick, you might want to try following the five tips below.

Get Some Sleep

Sleep is often the last thing on a college student’s mind. Staying up until all hours of the night and waking up at the crack of dawn is just part of the college experience. It is also a part of the college experience, though, that might keep you from feeling your best. If you want to avoid getting sick, make sure that you are able to get at least eight hours of sleep each night. This might mean actually going to be on time during the week, but it is more than worthwhile to do this if it means being healthy.

Watch Your Diet

Most college freshmen gain wait – the dreaded freshman fifteen. The reason behind this is actually quite simple: for the first time, most students are able to eat what they want, and the most widely available foods are simply bad for you. Unfortunately, eating these foods may cause you to miss out on getting vital vitamins and minerals that can keep you from getting sick. If you want to stay healthy, make sure that you eat a good balance of proteins, fruits, vegetables and healthy carbohydrates. This will help you to keep the weight off while allowing you to stay healthy.

Exercise

It is incredibly easy to become sedentary in college. If you do so, though, you stand a much higher chance of getting sick. As such, you need to make sure that you find an appropriate physical outlet every day. Join an intramural sport, work out at the gym or just walk to class instead of taking the bus – anything that you do that keeps you active will help you to strengthen your immune system. This will also help you to start a habit that will help to prevent heart disease and other issues as you grow older.

Take Your Vitamins

Most people take a few vitamins as children, but slowly grow out of the practice. As a student, it is incredibly wise to get started again. Taking a good multivitamin with plenty of essentially ingredients can help to shore up anything you are lacking in your diet and keep you healthy when everyone else is getting sick. Try to stick with typical multivitamins instead of gimmicky medications that claim to keep you healthy year round – you are looking for something that is simply going to give your body what it needs, nothing more and nothing less.

Take it Easy

You might feel like college is the perfect time to do everything that you’ve ever dreamed of, but it is important that realize that your body cannot run at full speed forever. Try to take a little bit of time for yourself to slow down, relax and to distress so that you can stay in good physical shape. The stress brought on by college can weaken your immune system, leading to more missed school and expensive doctor visits. Try to set aside at least a few hours a week to unwind and to focus on yourself.

In most cases, concentrating on your health means taking care of yourself. Eating well, exercising and getting rest will take you most of the way. This will not only help you to stay healthy, but should allow you to keep going even when all of those around you are shut in their dorms.

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Author Bio

Sarah Daren, today’s guest blogger, is a writer who creates informative articles relating to the field of health. In this article, she offers ways to stay healthy in college and aims to encourage further study through health law programs.