Healthy Living Tips for Students: Balancing Uni Life and Wellbeing

By Student Cribs | December 2, 2025 | Reading Time: 7 minutes

Being a student is not for the weak! Balancing a degree with meeting new people, trying new sports/ societies, a part-time job and living away from home for the first time is very exciting but brings new responsibilities and challenges which can be very overwhelming. So, as a second-year student, I thought I may as well share some top tips with you that have helped me to make the most out of being a student.

Building a simple daily routine

Structure is key! Without it, you will struggle to balance everything that student life brings. To stay organised, try using a timetable or calendar. For example, you can schedule ahead of time for socialising, catching up on work, downtime and whatever you’re interested in! This will help you to keep on top of things and ensure a good balance. Something that helps me is writing a to do list of all the work I need to get done throughout the day and factoring in rest breaks and time for the gym or hanging out with my friends. Downtime is just as important as studying!

As a tennis player for the university team who trains before lectures, I can tell you that setting up similar wake-up times every day will help you get into a routine and will aid in getting a full night’s sleep. Sleep is extremely important for cognitive functions like concentration, memory, stress management, and strengthens the immune system which is no doubt beneficial when freshers flu is rife!

Meal planning can help you to eat a balanced diet and save money. One way you can do this is by writing a list of the things you need before going to the shops and try to stick to the list to ensure that you don’t overspend or buy anything you don’t need.

Eating well

A varied and healthy diet can be difficult to maintain as a student, so here are some ways that will help you to do this. Cooking with flatmates is fun and will make you more likely to want to cook and spend less money on take-aways and fast food. Taking turns with your flatmates to cook for each other or batch cooking can lighten the load of having to cook all the time.

Some easy, healthy foods you can make quickly include eggs, vegetables, rice, meat and fish. Healthy snacks such as fruits or carrots with humous can be a great way to increase your daily fibre intake and keep you full for longer, helping to prevent you from snacking on junk food which will ultimately make you feel tired and lead to unproductivity.

Staying active  

There is no excuse for not staying active! You can walk or cycle to lectures, for a food shop, and when exploring Nottingham’s buzzy city or even when on the hunt for student housing. Joining a sports team is a great way to stay active as well as making new friends and having something outside of academia that you can rely on for a stress release. Not to mention, the socials for sports teams can be great fun. If joining a sports team is not your thing, then incorporating the gym or a walk into your day is another brilliant way to keep fit. Also, many gyms offer a student discount! Balance is key when it comes to staying active and most importantly, listen to your body.

Keeping your space tidy

A messy room can be really distracting, especially when you’re trying to study or relax. If you’re like me and get distracted easily by a messy desk or speck of dirt on your laptop screen, then a clean room can make all the difference. Start by making your bed and keeping your desk clear. This will allow you to work in a stress-free environment and won’t interrupt your flow of work. Doing quick daily tidies or having a cleaning rota can help you to keep on top of your cleaning load and prevent mess from building up.

Staying connected

Family and friends can offer valuable advice on all matters of life so try your best to keep in touch with them! Whether its offering advice on cooking, friendships, or what student house to go with, they can help you to see the bigger picture of a situation which can help to reduce your stress. You can stay connected with family through video calls and group chats. Moreover, it’s important to make time to see friends as this can help you to unwind from studying and relax.

Overall, these healthy habits will help you to manage your time effectively, stay organised and leave you with more time to enjoy being a student and have fun! No matter how big or small the healthy habit is, they will help to pave your way to success in several areas of student life such as, your degree, friendships, any sports you do and many other areas. However, the key takeaway to remember is that as much as we would like to always be organised and follow healthy habits, this is not always the case as we are human! So, it’s okay to have a treat or a lazy day every now and then as long as it’s in moderation. So, I hope you can use these tips and tricks as a guide to try and maintain healthy habits!