Whether you've opted to hit the books or hit the beach this summer, your health is just as important now as it is throughout the rest of the year.
There are three main steps that students should take to stay healthy this summer, said Dr. Suzanne Graham-Hooker of the Auburn Medical Clinic, and proper health starts with proper nutrition.
"Summer is a good time for students to eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables," she said. "It's also important that they increase how much water they drink to avoid becoming dehydrated."
Dr. Graham-Hooker said students should try to drink at least half of their body weight in ounces.
Second, students can stay healthy this summer by exercising. Summer is a good time to lose weight, she said, because we tend to gain weight in the winter.
Longer summer days mean later evenings, which she said is the perfect time to exercise outdoors.
"Being outside allows you to breathe in fresh air and absorb sunlight, stimulating your body's production of vitamin D," she said. "This helps boost your immune system, which is also important for staying healthy."
The third step students need to take this summer for their health is to catch up on their rest.
Sleep is vital to the body and immune system, she said, so students who are not taking a vacation this summer need a lot of rest.
For Sean Murphy, a second-year professional pharmacy student, summer is all about de-stressing and relaxation.
"I stay busy throughout the rest of the year with my classes," Murphy said. "So I look at summer as a time to remain stress-free."
Murphy said that he keeps himself healthy by maintaining an active lifestyle as often as possible.
Exercise is a big way to stay healthy during the summer, said Murphy, and it helps relieve stress as well.
"It's important that you avoid becoming stagnant," he said. "Exercising can reduce the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, and the risk of other health complications can also be lessened with exercise."
Andrew Denson, personal trainer at Gold's Gym, said exercising and staying active can be difficult for those who don't set fitness goals. Fitness is like building a house, he said, because the first thing students need to do is set a good foundation.
"The problem I see with a lot of people is the self-motivation factor," Denson said. "Fitness is goal-oriented, goals are motivation-oriented, and motivation is self-inflicted.
"What I try to instill in people is showing them that their goals are reachable within a time frame."
One important aspect of staying in shape this summer is avoiding progressive denaturation, said Denson, which is what happens to the body once it has adapted to the intensity of the workout.
Failure to continually update a workout in turn leads to what Denson refers to as a "plateau state."
"If you don't change the intensity of your workout, your body plateaus because it's adapted both nutritionally and through exercise," Denson said. "You'll know when you hit the plateau phase when an exercise becomes easier over time."
One final way that students can stay healthy this summer is to stay active mentally, said Dr. Graham-Hooker.
"Students need to read and stimulate their minds now when they're younger," she said. "Doing a lot of creative things and using your creative mind are helpful for the body, because it needs a little bit of everything to be healthy."
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