By Tay Zhao Xuan 7 November 2021
“Money can’t buy health”. The emergence of the most disruptive global health crisis in recent history, COVID-19, reminded mankind of how fleeting life truly is.
Artist’s impression of what overseas might be like, but we cannot be sure; that’s a memory from an age long past
Bodily health is the foremost prerequisite for us to be able to live our lives freely. A chronically ill, bed-ridden billionaire would probably feel miserable even with all that money (not that I know what it’s like to be a billionaire). Lockdowns, mask mandates, and an unquantifiable amount of stress on humans as a collective highlighted the fact that even with all our scientific and technological breakthroughs, humans are still vulnerable to diseases. So much so that we have to postpone life because of a virus invisible to the naked eye. Now that we’ve re-established the importance of health, it begs the question: how do we stay healthy amidst the pandemic? In addition to adhering to government guidelines (which are less targeted at individual health), we hope that through this article you can gain some insight on how to stay healthy through your own efforts as a university student staying on campus. Let’s strive to stay swole, mentally woke, and have a wholesome social life.
1. ExeRHcise
The age-old solution to staying bodily healthy is none other than through physical exertion, repeatedly conditioning the body to get stronger. This may seem simple enough that you are now tempted to close this article, but what we’re going to tell you here is not the hear-until-sian benefits of exercising, rather it is how to get yourself to exercise. Many of us find ourselves flooded with assignments, project meetings and CCA commitments that at the end of the day, there is no feels to go on that run we’ve postponed for the 7th time this week.
So how do we find that motivation to work out? One way could be to rope in your hallmates. Kindly remind them of that nasi kampung they ate last night, and they will very politely point out the 3 cheese naan and ais limau you absolutely destroyed. Guilt-trip Motivate each other that you are all no longer young, the body’s metabolism rate has decreased and will only continue to do so… Having an exeRHcise buddy does wonders for the majority of us (who unfortunately do not possess that mamba mentality, RIP Kobe), because we can always rely on our BFFs to fight laziness together xd.
battle of the century, yongrui vs ruiyong
If you didn’t succeed in dragging someone to sweat it out with you, an alternative would be to just put on your exercise shoes.
“Oh no, my shoes are already on, might as well…”.
As always, with the unpredictability of Singapore’s weather, it’ll be good to have your wet weather contingency plans. For this, YouTube will be your best friend, just like Circuit Breaker (cries). Gloomy weather, a global pandemic, running shoe spoil, no money go gym, are no excuses to be a couch potato !
The dark side of YouTube
2. Breakfast
“We are what we eat”. Diet of course cannot be overlooked when it comes to health. 3 meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner seemed so normal, until you came to hall. Just look at those breakfast meal credits still in your phone. Shame. Your newfound freedom in hall sadly (debatable) entailed the absence of your mother waking you up to eat breakfast (and you also missed your tutorial because the RHooster didn’t crow outside your room today).
Breakfast is known to be the most important meal of the day because it is, the meal to break the overnight fast (Shocking. I know). It is the first thing you eat after long hours of not consuming anything. The most enticing benefits of breakfast that we as students would be most interested in, are that eating breakfast improves energy levels and focus. Real muggers wake up early, eat their breakfast and study more efficiently. Work smarter, fellow hustlers.
TLDR: comm hall breakfast lowkey lit
Siri, play doujiangyoutiao by JJ Lin
3. Go outside
Have you ever wanted to get revenge on the bugs that always enter your room? An eye for an eye, it’s time to return the favour by invading their houses. All your negative emotions, such as exam anxiety, group project rage, or the grief when comm hall ran out of Japanese curry, need to be released somewhere. And where better to destress than among nature, where you can forget all your worldly worries even if it’s just for a transient moment.
Though not known for its natural geography, Singapore does have her own nature parks that would do the trick in helping stressed-out students refresh themselves, or maybe you just want to try something different, and not just the typical shopping centre jalan-jalan. One very near to NUS is Dover Forest, with a size of 33 hectares.
Better go before someone cuts down more of it
If bashing through vegetation is not your thing (or you have had enough of outfield), consider West Coast Park. Being near water bodies exposes us to negative ions (good) that does some cool chemistry stuff to deactivate positive ions (bad) and helps to promote better health.
Author was very confused when his OG mates said they walked to West Coast, author’s geography not v good
4. *BONUS* Less sugary drinks
Did you know that liquid sugar (found in sugared drinks) is a lot more fattening than solid sugar? Furthermore, your body does not register the calorie intake from sugar drinks. That means you’re taking in extra calories without feeling fuller.
Try cutting down on sugared drinks and you just might feel the effects of a healthier body sooner than later.
Diabetes only
Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well
Under the tyranny of the pandemic (just to clarify: referring to the virus), I’m sure many of us have at some point felt stressed out more than usual (pre-pandemic, but who even remembers pre-pandemic life). That makes it all the more important to value our mental and physical well-being.
To end off with an original quote:
“CAP may be important, but your health is importanter.”