Oh, to be young! It’s the best time of your life! You’re strong, curious, and carefree. It’s the time many of you young people would go bungee jumping in a heartbeat. Pulling an all-nighter several times a week would probably never even bother you. You’d drink and eat whatever you liked!
Of course, when you’re young, you feel like you can take on anything in this world. And you’re probably right! So go ahead and challenge yourself and try new things. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you. Just always keep in mind, though, that being young doesn’t mean you’re invincible. You still need to take care of your health so you can live life to the fullest.
Take a look at four ways you can care for your health.
Listen to your body
Don’t take your body for granted. Your body may be physically strong while you’re young, but you should still watch out for any signs that something might be wrong. For example, do you often suffer from headaches? Then, it might be time to see an eye specialist and get prescription glasses. Or maybe you have lower back pain. A chiropractic professional can help you with this issue.
Can you feel something building up on your teeth? Visit your dentist and let a professional deal with stubborn plaque that brushing and flossing can’t remove. Take the time to listen to your body. It’ll let you know when everything’s good if you need to slow down, or when something’s wrong.
Get enough good sleep
There’s just so much to do and see while you’re young, right? And you’re probably skimping on sleep so that you don’t miss out. Don’t do this. You need sleep to help your body rest and recharge. When it comes to sleep, there are two important factors—quantity and quality. Quantity simply means getting enough sleep.
Teens between 14 and 17 years old need eight to 10 hours of shut-eye, but seven to 11 hours may be acceptable. For young adults (18 to 25 years old) and adults (26 to 64 years old), seven to nine hours is ideal, but six to 11 hours and six to 10 hours respectively may be acceptable. As for quality, it’s all about getting a good night’s sleep. This means you shouldn’t be tossing and turning and waking up more than three times at night. Your eight hours of shut-eye will all be for nothing if you don’t get restful sleep.
Watch what you eat
Why is it that many things that are so good can actually be bad for you? And foods are definitely included here! Who doesn’t love French fries and potato chips? Greasy food tastes so good after putting in a hard day’s work. And when you’re down, nothing’s better at lifting your spirits than a tub of chocolate ice cream. For sure, most of you probably know these foods can be bad for you, yet you eat them anyway because they’re delicious! But if you’re eating too much ‘unhealthy’ food, you need to cut back.
The good thing is that you don’t actually have to stop eating them altogether. Just eat them in moderation. Don’t give in every time you crave these kinds of food. What you can do is make eating these foods a way to reward yourself. You can, for example, eat pizza to celebrate finishing a term paper.
Keep yourself hydrated
If you’re like most young people, your every day is surely full of activities. Good for you because you need an outlet for all your energy. But amid your busy schedule, do you still remember to hydrate yourself during the day? Do you drink only water when you get thirsty? If you only hydrate once you start feeling thirsty, you’d better change this habit now.
Experts say that when you get thirsty, it means that you’re already dehydrated. So make it a habit to drink before you’re actually thirsty to help ensure that you’re always hydrated. When hydrating yourself, you can follow the 8×8 rule (eight eight-ounce glasses) or the 11.5 cups (2.72 l) for women and 15.5 cups (3.67 l) for men guideline. While water is still the best bet, you can also drink coffee, tea, and other beverages to hit your daily hydration requirement.
Be Young and Healthy
Have the time of your life while you’re young. But you’ll only be able to do this if you’re healthy. So start taking better care of your health by listening to your body, getting enough good sleep, watching what you eat, and keeping yourself hydrated. Do it now because you won’t stay young forever. Enjoy your youth!