Good health allows us to stay active and enjoy our lives to the fullest. While living a healthy lifestyle is vital for people of all ages, students especially benefit from staying healthy throughout their school careers. Students may find it challenging to maintain a healthy lifestyle because they focus more on schoolwork and extracurricular activities. When students spend less time focusing on their health, they can develop unhealthy habits that can have consequences later in life.
It’s essential to encourage good health for students so they have opportunities to grow and achieve their goals. Students must prioritize good physical health and nutrition to create a healthy lifestyle, even when their schedules are busy. Finding the balance between everything can be challenging initially, but the long-term effects of being healthy provide many benefits.
The Importance of Good Health for Students
When students have good health, they have more opportunities to achieve goals and succeed. Healthy lifestyles provide many benefits for students preparing to learn new subjects and connect with others. Explore these four reasons why it is important for students to be healthy:
1. It Improves Attention Span and Positive Attitudes
Students have a busy schedule, from attending classes and completing schoolwork to participating in extracurricular activities. Sometimes, the stress and pressure from school can be overwhelming and affect a student’s mental health. Poor mental health can affect many other aspects of a student’s life, including physical and emotional health. Students can adjust their lifestyles to be more physically and mentally healthy.
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet can help improve a student’s mental health. The nutrients in fruits, vegetables, and foods with omega-3 fatty acids can help students think clearly and feel more alert. A healthy diet also helps improve attention spans and promotes positive attitudes to focus better in school.
Being active through exercise, whether walking, dancing, or going to the gym, also helps improve students’ mental health. Physical activity stimulates endorphins in people’s brains, helping release serotonin and dopamine to calm the mind and regulate moods.
When students have healthy ways to manage their mental health, you can see improvements in behavior inside and outside the classroom. With better retention for positive attitudes and longer attention spans, students are more likely to focus on their schoolwork and process learning material better.
2. Strengthen Academic Performance
A healthy lifestyle can also help strengthen students’ academic performance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), evolving evidence shows children with access to healthy foods and physical activities can become better learners as their health improves.
Students who eat a balanced diet with foods rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals and participate in physical activities are more likely to perform better. The combination of habits can also improve brain function, concentration, and memory.
When students don’t have adequate meals and exercise, they may develop poor habits and attitudes towards school. According to the CDC, the following could happen:
- Hunger due to inadequate food intake can lead to higher rates of absenteeism, lower grades, and inability to focus.
- Specific nutrient, mineral, and vitamin deficits can lead to lower grades and higher rates of absenteeism and tardiness.
- Skipping breakfast decreases cognitive performance among students.
3. Increase School Attendance
Healthy students are more likely to attend school than those who get sick frequently. While some health conditions are genetic or unavoidable, others, like catching the stomach bug or cold, are preventable. Eating healthy foods and staying active are two significant ways students can maintain their health. When students eat healthy food and stay active, they improve their immune systems to help fight sickness and build defenses.
Eating healthy is important for students because they need all the necessary nutrients, calories, and vitamins to help them stay healthy and attend school. Living a healthy lifestyle can encourage students to improve their physical health, giving them more energy to participate in class activities or spend time with peers.
Besides eating healthily and exercising, you can also ensure your student stays healthy to attend school by encouraging:
- Good hygiene: You can instill a healthy habit by having your child get into the routine of washing their hands several times a day before and after different activities.
- Minimal touching: Flu viruses and colds can quickly enter the body through the mouth, nose, and eyes. By preventing your student from touching their face, they are less likely to get sick.
- Adequate sleep: Sleep is a crucial way the body heals itself and strengthens the immune system. Students need plenty of sleep each night to function during the day and avoid getting sick.
4. Stay Healthy for Longer
Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders, so establishing healthy diets and physical activity routines young can help students continue healthy habits while preparing to make a difference in the world. Students of all ages benefit from eating well-balanced meals full of vegetables, protein, whole grains, healthy fats, fruits, and more.
Being exposed to a diverse plate of food also shows them that eating healthy is fun. Participating in different physical activities adds variety to students’ lives, helping them have fun while building healthy habits.
Encouraging students to establish healthy habits will help prepare them for post-education life. The practices students develop at a young age will likely stay consistent as they grow older, helping them understand and choose healthy habits in the future. With an established healthy lifestyle, students can take on the world and stay healthy for a long time.
Learn How CCA’s Flexible Schedule Encourages a Healthy Lifestyle
Students can have better opportunities for succeeding in school when they stay healthy by eating right and exercising regularly. School plays a significant role in students’ lives, so it’s essential the environment your child spends time in contributes to helping them build a positive and healthy life.
The effects of having a healthy school environment can help teach children the importance of fostering good health habits. At Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA), we value equipping students with the flexibility needed to establish a healthy lifestyle while staying active in school and extracurricular activities. Our flexible curriculum schedule encourages students to learn at their own pace and set time aside for eating proper meals and taking breaks whenever they need one.
Reach out to request more information about our school so your child receives the education opportunities that suit them best.
