Looking after your health in college

College can be a big change for everyone, so taking care of yourself, health-wise, is very important,” says Aoife Ní Shúilleabháin, USI welfare officer and NUIG graduate. “It’s about getting into the habit of making good choices.”

Eating properly, so that you get the right combination of nutrients, is the first thing to think about.

“Learn how to do a weekly plan for a food shop,” suggests Aoife. “Get to know the area you’re going to be living in, where can you do a big shop, for example. It’s all about pre-planning and organising yourself for cooking, so that you eat healthily. There is a lot of support out there too, like Spunout.ie, an organisation that USI works closely with. It is a great website to check out because it has a lot of sound advice around starting college. It offers a lot about healthy living and cooking. Supermarkets also often do promotions in September around weekly cooking plans for college students.”

Manage your money

“Budgeting is key. Do out a food budget for five or seven days, if you’re not going home at weekends. See what you can afford and how you can make healthy choices within that budget.”

Don’t forget the cookery lessons before you go either.

“That’s what my mum did for me the summer before I started college. I learned how to cook a few basic meals, which really helped me when I moved away,” she says.

Aoife suggests taking turns with flatmates to make dinner during the week.

“Work it out around your lecture schedule, you can make dinner on the day you don’t have late lectures, for example. Experiment with the roster. It takes getting used to, figuring out your own routine and your own schedule, but you get accustomed to it after a while.”

Exercise

Incorporating fitness into your routine is also important.

“A lot of people may have given up sports during Leaving Cert year because that year can be really intense,” says Aoife. “But there is a huge opportunity to join sports clubs or societies when you go to college, so you can get back into being physically active again.

“There is a huge range of them and they are a great way of meeting people too,” she says.

Taking a bicycle with you, if you have one, for cycling to college can help on the exercise front, adds Aoife.

“Or alternatively you could decide to walk to the campus to keep your levels of fitness up.”

Alcohol – Know your limits

“What we’re seeing is that a lot of people would have some experience of going out and drinking alcohol before they come to college, but it is really important to mind yourself when you come to college and are going out,” she says.

“Know your limits. Don’t drink X amount because that’s what your friends are drinking. Just because they do it doesn’t mean that you have to. Know what you’re comfortable with.”

Staying safe – Stick together

Personal safety issues around nights out have to be remembered too.

“It’s really important on a night out to stick with your group. Arrange with one friend that you’ll look out for one another and go home together. This is equally important for guys and girls,” she says.

Some colleges have a Don’t Walk Home Alone Scheme and you should check this out through the student union office at the college you’re going to.

“Some colleges organise with taxi companies that students who are stuck for the fare home and need to get home safely can use their student card as a deposit, then pay the fare the next day to the taxi company and get their card back. This ensures that you get home safely.”

Being a good mate while you’re out is also important.

“If you notice that a friend isn’t around, give them a call to find out where they are. Have their back and ask them to watch out for you as well. It’s about taking responsibility for your own safety. Make your plan for getting home, say sharing a taxi with a friend or a housemate.”

A personal safety app like bSafe can also be very useful, according to Aoife, who has tried this app herself.

“There are some unique features on it,” she says. “You can set a timer on it so that if you go for a jog and you’re not back by a certain time it’ll send a message to your pre-chosen contacts through the app to say: ‘I should be home by now’. They can then decide to give you a ring to check if you’re okay.

“Also, say you’re studying late in the library and have no one to walk home with. With the app you can find out if any of your chosen contacts are in the area, for example on another floor in the library. You can then make contact and organise to go home together.”

There are emergency features on it also, she says.

“There is an SOS button that you can hit which will alert your contacts. If you’re in a bad situation and you feel someone might be following you, for example, you can press a button to tape audio and video footage through the app and send the link to the footage to your chosen contacts so they know where you are straight away.

“The app shouldn’t give you false confidence, but it will give you an added sense of security if you ever found that you have to walk home alone. It’s an extra thing you can do to safeguard yourself.”

Drugs

“A lot of students would know what the social scene is like before they come to college, but we would say again, as with alcohol, mind yourself and don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

Sexual health

USI runs a national campaign called SHAG week (Sexual Health And Guidance) in all colleges every year.

“Make sure to protect yourself. You can look into all forms of contraceptives, but you should be making a habit of going for regular STD (sexually transmitted disease) checks. Go every six months and get yourself tested, the same as you would go to a dentist. Even if you’re not going out with anyone, you should be starting these good habits. We don’t want to sound preachy, but we’d encourage students to make the right choices.”

Register with a local GP as well as the college medical centre

Make a note of where the college health centre is on your orientation day.

“You will probably get a tour that day, so you’ll be shown where it is. A lot of universities have on-site health centres or a GP nearby who offers a really good rate.

“It’s a good idea to register with a GP in the locality that you’re living in as the college clinic would only be able to provide certain services. You might need travel vaccines and the college clinic mightn’t do them, for example.

“At least you’d know you have that sorted if you needed to see a doctor about that, or if you were sick at the weekend you’d be on a local doctor’s list then.”

Also find out what health services are available in the college.

“They are usually provided at a reasonable cost and are for acute illnesses, like a bug, for example. If you have ongoing conditions you would probably have to see your own GP, so it’s another reason to have one.”

Talk it out

Aoife would like to highlight the importance of talking to someone if you are worried or under stress at college.

“A lot of students suffer in silence and they shouldn’t as there is lots of help out there,” she says.

“If you need someone to talk to, there are several services available to young people, both external and on-campus.

“Every campus will have a counsellor available to students, for example.

“You can also go to your student union office if you’ve any questions or are worried about any issues.

“Financial issues seem to be the biggest reason that students feel a lot of stress and strain at the beginning of the year particularly.

“There are a lot of different stresses, but we find that students experience a lot of stress just trying to afford college.

“It’s about knowing that there is someone you can talk to. Most services are free and there are a lot of external organisations, like Console, Jigsaw or Aware, that would offer support. Your student union office is the best point to get information about where to look for help.”

All students should log on to their student union website or Facebook page, says Aoife, to find lots of really useful advice related to services at the college.

Dealing with diabetes

If you have diabetes type one and are starting college, there is an excellent booklet available from www.diabetes.ie. It was written by students with the support of diabetes nurses in Sligo Regional Hospital and includes advice about telling people you have diabetes type one and tips for keeping yourself well now that you are living away from home.

Useful websites