Quick tips for healthy living

AS a student, I have had my fair share of burning the midnight oil and feeling overwhelmed by the rigorous demands of academics, extracurricular activities, and adolescence.

And now, as I pursue my tertiary studies as an architecture and engineering student in the United Kingdom, I am sometimes overpowered by homesickness and the pressure of keeping up with my peers.

But so far, I have managed to overcome such moments with a healthy approach to daily living, as encapsulated below.

The tips here may seem a no-brainer but they may be a timely reminder to those of you who are struggling to practise healthy living.

Activate your muscles

There are many benefits to working up a sweat – it improves your physical and mental health, and allows you to feel more refreshed and less restless.

Yann Ling: Allocate time daily to do what gives you joy so you get to de-stress.

If you do not fancy workouts or runs, there are a variety of activities that you can do such as taking a walk and dancing.

There’s always an activity for everyone – just keep exploring and you will discover one that suits you in time.

Secure your bedtime

The power of sleep is not to be underestimated. If you are stressed and tired, quality sleep will act as a reset button, giving you sharper focus the next day.

But what is quality sleep? It is not just sleeping for more than seven hours a night, but also includes sleeping and waking up at the same time daily.

Cultivating this habit may sound tough for some of us but building a routine where we do relaxing activities before bedtime may do the trick.

Eat right

From young, we have been told that eating healthy would prevent a lot of diseases and infections, yet we sometimes neglect it because of reasons such as “I don’t have enough time to make food”.

Designing a meal plan where you prepare your meals ahead of time will enable you to have a better control over your diet.

In addition, always keep a filled bottle of water around you so when you’re thirsty, your water bottle is within reach, thus keeping you hydrated throughout the day.

Do what gives you joy

High stress levels are one of the root causes of health issues. And what better way to tackle stress than by doing what you truly enjoy?

Allocate time daily to do what gives you joy so you get to de-stress. Setting time aside for your hobbies will hone your skills and rejuvenate your mind at the same time, helping you prepare for future challenges.

Time for self-care

With the world evolving so rapidly, we tend to dismiss time for self-care.

Practising self-care is essential because it improves our immunity and cultivates a positive mindset which in turn makes us healthy and even helps us build healthy relationships with others.

Performing acts of kindness and sending greetings to loved ones will not only bring a smile to others, but also indirectly increase your self-esteem and mood.

This will assist in decreasing your chances of getting high blood pressure and cortisol levels, keeping you healthy in the long term.

• Yann Ling is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. Throughout the year-long programme, participants aged between 14 and 22 from all across the country experience life as journalists, contributing ideas, conducting interviews, and completing writing assignments. They get to earn bylines, attend workshops, and extend their social networks. To join Star-NiE’s online youth community, go to facebook.com/niebrats.

Design a poster for healthy living based on the five tips provided by Yann Ling. In your poster, you must include pictures from the Sunday Star newspaper to illustrate the tips. Be as creative as possible. When you are done, gift your poster to a friend or family member who you think needs a timely reminder for healthy living.

Since 1997, The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme has supported English language teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools nationwide. Through Star-NiE’s teacher and student workshops, annual contests and monthly English language resources for classroom use, participants of the programme reportedly showed marked interest in the language and progress in their proficiency. Now in its 25th year, Star-NiE is continuing its role of promoting the use of English language through a weekly activity page in StarEdu. These activities are suitable for use individually and in groups, at home and in the classroom, across varied proficiency levels. Parents and teachers are encouraged to work on the activities with their children and students. In addition, Star-NiE’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme will continue to be a platform for participants to hone and showcase their English language skills, as well as develop their journalistic interests and instincts. Follow our updates at facebook.com/niebrats. For Star-NiE enquiries, email [e-mail].