For teens, healthy lifestyle means healthy GPA
December 18, 2017
Picking the apple over the fries, choosing sleep over “one more episode,” and hitting the gym over playing video games holds greater importance to student success than expected. A healthy lifestyle serves as one of the integral pillars sustaining academic stability. Every apple slice and hour at the gym makes an essential difference in a student’s GPA.
“You can’t learn if you’re hungry, [you] can’t learn if you’re sleep deprived because you physically won’t be able to focus. A nutritious, healthy diet helps the brain work better, and more efficiently,” sports medicine teacher and athletic trainer Angie Guggino, MS, ATC, LAT said.
Esteban Alarcon
On the surface, a healthy lifestyle only seems to offer defined abs and arm-wrestling skills, but it extends beyond these benefits with its psychological, physical, and academic impact. Mental stability becomes sensitive as students drown in exams and due dates; fortunately, exercise relieves depression, anxiety, and stress, according to health encyclopedia, Help Guide. Memory, quality of sleep and, overall mood benefit from aerobic activity, exhibiting the remedial results that physical health retains.
“Using exercise as a stress reliever while being a student can start an individual off on a fresh plate when going back to the studious activities they must do,” professional Crossfit competitor and exercise science major Rodney Carter said.
Pumping iron activates the release of a versatile hormone: endorphins. These “feel-good” chemicals facilitate the previously mentioned benefits offered by exercise. This method of supplying the body with endorphins coincides with students solving their issues
Due to its extensive advantages, studious pupils take pride in a healthy lifestyle, shown through its direct effects on their test scores and comprehension.
“To me, being healthy involves using exercise and physical activities to get away from the stresses of the world. Being a student brings many stressful situations, and being able to find a solution to this stress is very important to the success of that student. Physical activities and energy levels have a linear relationship, which is an important component of having the drive and audacity to excel in school,” Carter said.
Exercise, although important, cannot take credit for the all the perks of a healthy lifestyle. Nutritious foods hold major significance in determining the overall academic success of a student. Hydration stands out as one of the key factors in getting the A+. In BBC News research, news education reporter Katherine Sellgren observed a gap in exam scores between students who brought water and those who did not. Those who brought their own water to the exam scored 5% higher than those who did not, exhibiting the importance of staying hydrated.
Though staying hydrated has a key factor in student success, it does not complete the job done alone. Putting the right food into the body also plays a role in determining mental endurance. According to innovative health website Extension, student nutrition can dictate perception, intuition, and reasoning, three vital components in an academic career.
“Hydration is very important when it comes to concentration for school. A good breakfast supplies glucose [and other beneficial chemicals] to your brain which causes you to become more attentive and have faster brain processes,” senior Sara Cook said.
To harness the full potential of a healthy lifestyle, students must extend their diets beyond Ramen and Gatorade. Exercising nutritious eating habits does not necessarily mean students must consume an expensive, four course meal three times a day; simply staying away from unhealthy calories and consuming nutritious foods makes a difference in student performance.
“To be healthy, I stay away from fast food restaurants and I minimize the time I go out to eat to a restaurant. I also stay away from bad carbs such as pasta and bread and get a large majority of my carbs from vegetables,” Carter said.
Due to busy agendas and addictive Netflix shows, students might not prioritize sleep; however, those Rapid Eye Movement (REM) cycles directly impact academic activity. Acquisition, consolidation and recall all rely on the brain’s amount of sleep, according to WebMD. Taking a generous amount of time to rest the mind leads to improved mood, comprehension and general physical well-being, exhibiting the importance of sleep in a student’s academic career.
“Attempt to get 8-10 hours of sleep a night and try to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day to keep a steady circadian rhythm. Stay away from social media 1 hour before bed and prevent checking social media 30 min after waking up,” Carter said.
Naturally, empty wallets and busy schedules may lead students to believe that a nutritional lifestyle will not work. Certain mindsets and external influences prohibit young students from executing a healthy lifestyle to the fullest. Fitness pages and motivational speakers use social media to promote health in the youth, but social media itself may pose harmful inhibitions that steer students away from academic productivity and nutrition.
Students may find themselves drowning in excuses not to run that mile and buying the chocolate bar, justifying said excuses with financial, social, and academic challenges. Despite these mindsets, living a healthy life ultimately does not interfere with student affairs, on the contrary, students only need motivation to exercise and eat well in order to see positive academic outcomes.
“Being healthy and a student not challenging at all. I attend the gym with my friends and we quiz each other while working out. There are plenty of free parks, trails and ordinary house items that promote exercise. A simple apple is easier to eat in class rather than walking to the vending machine in the middle of a lesson for a Honey Bun,” Cook said.
NC cafeterias offer a variety of meats, fruits and vegetables that promote healthy eating habits. Classes such as physical education and weight training allow students to squeeze in the workout for the day. Taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the school, or finding other sources that enforce health, will directly impact the mindset and academic drive of students.
If students find themselves motivated to commence the healthy lifestyle, but find themselves stuck trying to start, many social media outlets, friends and professionals offer advice concerning health.
Clearly, a nutritious lifestyle makes up a central pillar in sustaining student’s academic success. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, and gets you the “A”.
“I think about the law of attraction. If you can vision it and if you are willing to put in the work to achieve it, anything is possible. Oprah and Bill Gates have 24 hours in their day and so do you, so what are they doing different than the people who have not reached their full potential?” Carter said.