When we think of summer, many of us automatically picture outdoor activities. Whether that be swimming on a beach, riding a bike down a sunny path, or hiking through beautiful terrain, physical activities undoubtedly dominate our perception of summer. With all of this time to do whatever we want, many decide to make healthier choices during summer vacation, including more frequent exercise routines, better thought-out meal plans, and regular sleep schedule.
However, as soon as September 1st hits, it all suddenly falls away. We all want to think that we will keep up with our health routine when the school year starts up again, but it always seems to slip away as we get busier and busier. Suddenly, that fresh salad becomes a burger you picked up on your way to practice, those bike rides are discarded for study sessions, and your eight hours of sleep is cut each night by homework. As our time is stretched thinner and thinner, it becomes even more important for us to keep up on our daily health routines. According to a study done by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, only one in three people under the age of eighteen are physically active everyday. This shockingly low statistic demonstrates how many students allow activity to fall by the wayside during the school year.
As easy as it is to let our health get away from us during the school year, it is incredibly important that we continue to take care of ourselves. For teenagers, daily exercise is a key component to managing weight, maintaining bone mass, increasing muscle definition, decreasing stress, and battling mood swings and depression. It is important that we make time in our schedule to keep up our exercise routines all throughout the year
Along with daily exercise, a well balanced diet is key to staying healthy throughout the year. By eating a variety of things from all of the different food groups, students can see improvements in mood, weight, energy levels, and even grades. While it may be easy to slip into the routine of eating junk food, it’s important that we really watch what we are eating as the year progresses.
With all of the homework and after school activities, it can be easy for our sleep schedules to gradually digress. We stay up later and later to get everything done, and then we are tired the next day making us less productive and forcing us to stay up even later the next evening. According to the National Sleep Foundation, students that do not get eight to ten hours of sleep a night are more prone to irritability, inability to focus, weight gain, and illness. It is key that we are setting a strict bedtime throughout the year to ensure we are getting enough sleep, and that we realize our health is more important than our homework.
As we are getting back into our school year routine, it can be easy for us to forget about our healthy summer habits during this busy time. However, it is absolutely essential that we all make time in our schedules for exercise, balanced eating, and eight to ten hours of sleep each night in order to stay happy and healthy all throughout the year.