Amosu Jermiah
As today marks the international world health day. The need
to talk about health cannot be overemphasized as millions of people fall ill
every year and many die as a result of their inability to monitor their health
Status. The world health day over time has served as an avenue in the
year where major players in the health sector and indeed all facets of life
come together to create awareness in form of national and international events
that include conferences for health workers, briefings for local politicians,
and informational display for children and young people among other health
centric programmes. The world health day also doubles as a day where the
advocacy of the right to quality health care is brought to the front burner.
It is on a day like this that one would not be out of place
to talk about a nightmare that has confronted most Nigerian students in
tertiary institution, which is the difficulty of maintaining a healthy life
style. Maintaining good health can be challenging as students. Late nights,
irregular schedules, tight budgets and poor choices are some of the major
characteristics of students which in turn take its toll on their health.
According to world health organization (WHO) 60% of related
factors to individual health and quality of life are correlated to lifestyle.
This lifestyle also includes health. Experts also have it that excellent
academic performance is grossly aided by the quality of healthy living. It is
no news that most Nigerian student pays little or no details to healthy living
especially in the area of nutrition as it is a case of anything goes.
However there is a need for student to strike a balance
between health and academics. For this to be achieved, it is important to
maintain a balanced diet every day. All effort must be put to eating right.
To maintain healthy living as students, one must endeavour
to stay fit. The best way to get around this is to establish a routine. One can
join a local gym, plan activities over the weekend, if you always take the
shuttle to class, why not trek it once in a while.
While sleep requirements vary from person to person, science
has it that for adult to function at their best they need between 7-9 hours of
sleep. It is good to stay up late at night as students to read or finish up an assignment
but it should not be an everyday thing. As students, one should always
endeavour to get enough rest.
Managing stress levels as students cannot be overemphasized
in living healthy. Many students find it effective to structure their study
sessions and take study breaks between each sessions. This might involve a
quick jog around to clear you head, sitting down with your favourite book
outside the school curriculum or catching up with friends and so on. It is
important to relax your mind frequently.
The need to maintain a balanced lifestyle is key to good
health. Keeping everything balanced will help you to do well academically and
will also keep your health in check. If social outings are interfering with
your assessments, try to limit the amount of time you go out, for those in the
working class, if you are worried your job is affecting your studies, talk to
your boss to take the time off once in a while to relax. As we mark another
world health day, let us ensure that we make healthy living a priority.
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