Caffeinated drinks are a fact of life for college students. Unfortunately, all that caffeine can have a negative effect on your health if you are consuming too much in the course of a day. Everything from sleep to your resting heart rate can become problematic if you are drinking too much caffeine in a day...tempting, I know, but unhealthy nonetheless.

There are some things to do for all-natural energy boosts:

1) Eat breakfast every morning. Try some egg whites, granola and yogurt or a high-fiber cereal with fruit.
2) Exercise. Although finding time to exercise while you are in college can seem a bit of a stretch, just taking a 15 minute walk in the morning will boost your energy for the day.
3) Eat some pistachios. Eating 1.5 ounches of pistachios daily lowers your blood pressure and reduces the workload on your heard during emotional ahd physical stress.
4) Take a quick shower. Make sure the water is lukewarm (not hot), and turn it cold for the last few minutes.
5) Go to bed an hour earlier than you usually do. Schedule this into your planner as if it was homework you had to do to make sure you don't skimp and stay up later.
6) Borrow this trick from yoga: sit quietly and relax all your muscles starting from your neck all the way to your toes. Then take a deep breath, concentrating to breathe completely in through your left nostril only. Then reach up with your left hand, close your left nostril, and breathe out slowly through your right nostril. Do this 5-10 times and you'll feel less stressed and more focused.

Do you have any tips on how to energize yourself without the help of caffeine?

Labels: on campus, student life