Living healthy and fit while schooling can be hard and more so during the stressful examination period. It’s almost natural for one to be stressed out for the period of the exams, and with increased levels of anxiety, healthy living habits are at such times not of major concern to individuals and they only come to realize the impact after the examination. Since one’s mind is basically preoccupied with the tension of the examinations.
Exercise Periodically:
Exercising during the exam time would be very difficult as you would be spending whole day reading for the exams and at the end of the day you would be feeling tired and exhausted, although it might be true, but this is important as exercising is a great way to relax and get rid of the physical stress and to have a peaceful sleep at nights. It’s better to include the exercising in the morning hours.
The following are time effective work outs that can be used at such times:
Moderate physical activity:
These may include actions like walking to school, riding a bicycle and other low impact exercises that would help to relax the mind and body. Get rid of the stress and anxiety as well as keep one in shape physically and mentally.
Group Workouts:
Combining group discussion times to include work outs makes it easy for the larger group and individuals who would have not exercised as there is a level of accountability that is brought about in group work outs.
Take study breaks:
These are basically periodic times one stops to relax and rejuvenate before going on with the revision work.
Eat Right:
Because of the demanding nature of time during exams proper dietary habits are neglected. They can be corrected as follows:
- Regular meals: Proper meals are very essential at this time. Take the nutritious food and include a lot of fruits and vegetables in the diet.
- Consider plenty of water instead of energy drinks and other fried items or junk food.
- In case you lack funds consider packaging left over meals. This is not only cost effective but time saving and healthy as compared to buying fast foods.
- Keep hydrated and avoid too much of stimulants and coffee. Breakfast is of great importance therefore don’t miss it. It affects one’s performance and ability to concentrate amongst other health benefits.
Proper Sleep:
Proper and undisturbed sleep plays an important role in striving to stay healthy and fit during the exam period. This is because:
- Sleep enables the body to repair and regenerate some of the functions that we use while awake.
- Sleep facilitates the process of memory consolidation which is basically the process through which the brain commits new information. This means that it’s wise to rest early in order to wake up early in the morning to keep yourself active.
- Plan your day activities well enough to allow for proper sleep in the night and sleep in a dark and quiet place.
- Sleep in the proper positions to avoid body and joint aches that may affect your performance the next day.
Conclusion:
Even though exam times are highly demanding and tend to pull us away from our normal work schedules it’s still possible to keep fit and healthy throughout this period and in the event of incidences or accidents at such times the European health card (EHIC) may come in handy especially for those students covered by statutory schemes to receive treatment in other member states. The application for the card is free and serves to make it easy to access treatment for members in far off states.