Tag

binge watching

Browsing

It’s tempting to fall into unhealthy habits, but a balanced lifestyle is the key to a vibrant college life.

One enters college with an abundance of excitement, hope, and the most fun of them all, freedom. While this freedom provides opportunities for growth, it also brings with it a sense of carelessness. When you’re no longer answerable to Mom, you let loose. In most college students, this leads to the rise of some unhealthy habits. Being able to stay in bed and Zomato all the time may seem like a dream come true at first, but it inevitably invites problems.

However, that is not the only factor that could lead to the development of an unhealthy lifestyle. It’s also easy to feel so drowned in assignments, society work, or internships that there’s no room left for exercise or any hobbies for that matter. After a hectic college day, there is nothing more inviting than your bed. With an episode of your current binge and some pizza on the side. This becomes a routine that’s hard to break out of.

“The appeal of the taste of fast food is not the only thing that has kept me in the habit of ordering in almost every night. It’s also very convenient to not have to prep or cook meals. It feels like a quick fix after a long day.” -Vansh, a second-year student

Moreover, “broke college student” is a famous phrase for a reason. When short on budget, cooking the same instant ramen pack a few different ways to get through the week is appealing. Thus, many factors contribute to the rise of unhealthy eating habits among college students. Another major problem is that of little to no exercise. It’s difficult to make time for a routine. The norm of going late to bed and having to wake up early for morning classes keeps one in the cycle of feeling tired throughout the day. Pulling all-nighters consistently and then drinking tons of coffee to survive, skipping meals, and not exercising are therefore common elements of a college student’s lifestyle. The allure of it all is heavy. But this lifestyle is unfortunately not sustainable. How do we beat it?

It’s important to start at the fundamental level and correct your basics. Build your day around a healthy sleep schedule, eat at the right time, and start incorporating at least some exercise throughout the week. As cliché as this might sound, your elders are correct. Doing this will significantly improve your quality of life and help you focus better on your goals. You don’t need some rigid instruction table to help you achieve all of this. Start slow and be soft with yourself. It’s also okay to maintain some flexibility. You do not need to cut Netflix or McDonald’s out of your life (duh, how could we ever?). Just practice moderation with it.

“After college hours, it feels unsafe for me to travel to and from a gym in the city. So, I’ve made it a point to wake up a little extra early in the mornings to do yoga. This way I get some exercise done every single day.” -Gauri, a second-year student at KNC.

While waking up early is definitely not the best suit for many of us, here are some things that you can do to start living a better and healthier life. When you get hunger pangs at odd hours, have fruits for snacks instead of reaching for a packet of chips. They’re yummy and healthy, plus super convenient to grab. Replace your caffeinated beverages with better alternatives that also serve as a refresher, such as milkshakes. When you do need to order in, pick healthier options as opposed to fast foods. For exercise, try to include movement in the little day-to-day tasks. Walk around on your study break instead of sitting in bed. Take the stairs instead of elevators wherever possible (the metro station maybe?). Discover a safe road/park near you and go for the occasional walk while on the phone with family or friends.

There are innumerable little ways you could create a better lifestyle for yourself. Making conscious choices regarding nutrition and exercise will take care of you both physically and mentally, improving academic performance and overall quality of life. Pave the way for a balanced and fulfilling college experience that sets you up for success in the long run. Cheers to doing better!

Featured Image Source: Pinterest

Read also: Health and Wellness Guide for Busy College Students

Arshiya Pathania

[email protected]

As the exam season engulfs us and we find a myriad of ways to escape from studying, we often gravitate towards the ever-inviting TV screen or website. This allows us to deviate from our study schedules and escape reality for a more comforting cocoon of pillows and blankets in which we can sip our hot tea and watch our favourite shows.

The only problem with this fantasy is that it is leads us into a spiral of watching entire seasons in a week, when we should be focusing on our semester exams. It is therefore imperative to hold off watching the latest TV series whilst caught up in the eye of the tornado, or as we know it, DU exams. This is, of course, easier said than done. We give you these handy tips to refer back to whenever you have a moment of weakness this exam season:

  1. Work on an incentive-reward basis

Schedule your episodes in a way that you only watch them after having completed a significant portion of your work. Set yourself a goal – finishing a chapter, or making notes for a reading, etc. Study for a couple of hours, then take a lunch break and watch a couple of YouTube videos or a 20-minute sitcom episode to reward yourself. If you feel you’ve been extraordinarily productive, go ahead and watch a 40-minute drama series, or two back-to-back episodes. This not only positively reinforces your work ethic, but also incentivises you to work towards completing your goal.

  1. Don’t download or make a list of pending TV shows

If you’re planning your summer binge list and note down all the TV shows you’re desperate to watch, it’ll be a constant reminder of everything you can easily access. You’ll fall down a rabbit hole which is almost impossible to get out of. So refrain from downloading all the shows you’re planning to watch and don’t have torrent links ready for these. Instead, work on a moderation basis (see Tip 1) and then go berserk on the final day of exams.

  1. Scare yourself

If all else fails, keep reminding yourself how terrifying it is to fail. Put up post-its around your room, block certain entertainment websites, and hold on to the comforting fact that your TV shows will always be there for you (unlike these exams). This works even better if you tell your friends to remind you constantly of this reality. Make it an exercise to positively reinforce (and scare) each other on a regular basis.

Good luck following these tips. Happy studying!

 

Feature Image Credits: BuzzFeed

Vineeta Rana
[email protected]

We’re all soon about to take our college exams and this time should be ideally dedicated to studies. Yes, I said ideally and yes, I know this isn’t the reality. But to nail these exams (or even pass them, quite frankly) there are some habits which are getting the better of us and need to abandoned before our exams start.

1. Binge- watching

It’s the most common and the most time consuming addiction of our generation. We have numerous seasons of one sitcom and want to complete all of them in one go. So, I think the first and the foremost habit that we need to let go of, is this. Let’s pledge to not start any new series or watch any new movie even if they may sound as interesting as How to Get Away with Murder’s season 2. (I think I’m getting off the point here)

2. WhatsApp

We tell ourselves that we’re only going online to ask one question from a friend and soon one hour has passed, that question is unanswered because your friend also had no clue about it and you’re sharing the links of funny videos or sending each other 9GAG memes. Try and control this habit. You have a pile of books still untouched and wasted time will only make you regret later.

3. Switching between Instagram/ Snapchat or any other Social networking platform

The constant habit of checking your phone every five minutes to see the latest pictures posted on Instagram by celebrities or checking Twitter for their tweets is futile. Also, snapchatting your friend about how much you need to study won’t really help either. Your attention gets divided and you’re more concerned about getting a reply than to complete the chapter.

4. Fantasising about the places to visit after exams

It’s the most common habit of us all. We go on Zomato, make a group on WhatsApp and start sharing the possible options of all the cafes that we can try after exams end. The only problem here is that, syllabus isn’t complete, exams are near and this planning may as well cost you both, time and marks.

5. Procrastination

Everyone is familiar with this habit. This habit is the reason behind the shift of your plan from completing five chapters in five days to completing all of them in 5 hours. Try this semester to not procrastinate. It sends all of us in a panic at the last minute making us unsure even about the syllabus we had completed earlier.

 

Nishita Agarwal

[email protected]

Image credits: https://mvancise1.files.wordpress.com