Tuesday, 08 September 2009
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Ways to Stay Healthy When Going Back to School
Whether you're a parent sending your kid back to school, a teacher preparing for another year or a new freshman headed off to your first year at college, staying healthy in the classroom is one of the most important things to stay ahead of the game as the cooler weather approaches.
Here are the top seven ways you can stay healthy when headed back to school:
1. Make sure you're up to date on your immunizations. With the swine flu being one of the top illnesses to combat this season, look into the H1F1 vaccine in order to lessen your chances of catching the germ. For colleges students - make sure you're all caught up with your vaccinations, too. Mainly colleges now require that you have a measles, mumps and rubella shot, in addition to a meningitis shot, so get them both!
2. Don't stray from healthy eating. Just because you're now confined to a cafeteria doesn't mean you can't bring your own healthy lunch. Make sure you are eating vitamin rich fruits and vegetables to combat any germs you may come in contact with.
3. Get into a healthy sleep pattern. Even though you may have slept til 11 A.M during the summer months, the late wake-up won't fly when you've got to catch the bus. But understand - an early wake-up call means that you should be getting to bed earlier as well. Do your best to get eight hours of sleep a night, and save your late nights for weekends.
4. Practice common health sense. Something as easy as covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough may not seem like a huge help, but it lessens the chances of your germs coming in contact with someone else, which may cause them to get sick.
5. Always wash your hands after coming in contact with common areas, especially in public bathrooms. Germs can linger on objects for hours, and if you continuously touch things without washing your hands, you are more likely to come in contact with someone elses sickly germs.
6. Stay away from people who are sick. Although you may love hanging out with your best friend or significant other, coming in contact with someone who is sick dramatically increases your chances of getting sick, too. Afterall, they don't call mono the "kissing disease" for nothing.
7. If you're feeling sick, treat yourself to a day of rest. You may not want to miss the notes on Shakespeare or the Civil War, but dragging yourself to school or class only hurts your immune system more, in addition to contaminating the rest of your classroom space. (However, don't skip school as a habit - falling behind on schoolwork isn't fun, either!)
Are there more ways to stay healthy when headed back to school? Do you find yourself changing your own healthy practices when you're back to class?
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Comments (5)
I thought this was going to be about healthy diets in school lol.
But anyways: good tips. It's so bizarre to see how many people forget common health techniques like covering your mouth. I'm sure we all got used to being lazy slobs over the summer but thats no excuse.
And I guess to add my own "diet" health tip: Don't use elevators/escalators. Try to always use the stairs. And if you're up to it, see how far you can jog/run up the stairs until you're tired. And if you can try to set a goal for yourself. At first I could only jog to the third floor before I got tired, after 2 months at the gym I could run up and down 6 flights of stairs three times before running out of breath. Of course, I've been off the whole summer and now I'm back to having to catch my breath at the 4th floor.
It's H1N1 and... no, I refuse to get a vaccinnation I have no idea what the side effects will be. I don't get seasonal flu shots either.
Your seventh idea is great in theory, but it is often a moot point. Any student above sophomore year knows that staying home is only acceptable if you're in the hospital or extremely sick (i.e. puking) If I had a common cold or headache? It's off to school without a second thought.
I cannot miss school, it's hellishly hard to catch up and the teachers often deduct marks for missing class. My mom doesn't accept "I feel sick" as a valid reason to miss school.
Hell, even my teachers come to school coughing and sneezing.
As much as the flu season is advertised as an immenent and important threat, the education of high school and post secondary stops for no bug.
@breaking_expectations@xanga - totally agreed
@breaking_expectations@xanga - The truth EXACTLY. I'm a senior and I swear, I haven't had a day off in forever. Skipping school if I'm sick? Not going to happen.