How Can Medical Students Boost Their Physical and Mental Fitness?

Medical school is a challenging yet exciting experience that needs a lot of energy, commitment, and dedication to fulfill your dream of becoming a physician.  As a medical student, you will face a lot of challenges and tough times during your medical school journey. Studying around 12 hours a day and participating in extracurricular activities are easier said than done.

Many students find it hard to achieve a good GPA and come across mental health issues during medical school. Some students can’t be able to maintain their physical health which eventually impacts their academic performance.

The key to succeeding at medical school is maintaining a healthy body and mind so that you will be able to absorb a lot of course material. Here are some easy tips and tricks for medical students that help them to stay physically strong and mentally fit during their medical school journey.

Time Management is the Key to Success

Believe it or not, succeeding at medical school will become easier if you manage your time efficiently. You will stay mentally healthy and avoid stress when you know how to prioritize things and plan your tasks. When you stay on top of your studies and make time for your assignments, projects, and lab work, it will become easier for you to balance your medical school with your other activities.

Create a schedule in a way that you have some time for your hobbies and personal interests. If you are a medical student, it doesn’t mean you have to constantly study. You need to enjoy life and find opportunities to improve your medical knowledge and clinical skills.

Eat Healthy to Maintain Your Physical Health

A balanced diet is important for medical students to get all the important nutrition and essential vitamins required to stay healthy and fit. During medical school, you are supposed to digest a lot of academic material, attend lectures, perform lab work, and prepare for USMLE exams. You can perform all these activities and digest important medical concepts when you are physically strong.

It’s no surprise that your diet plays a key role in maintaining your overall well-being. Adding healthy, and nutritious recipes to your diet plan will allow your body to get important vitamins, minerals, protein, and healthy fats required to improve and stay fit.

Try to include vegetables, fruits, and nuts, in your diet plan to get instant energy and increase your concentration levels. Eating a healthy meal plan will help medical students perform at their best during medical school, attend lectures, perform lab work, and prepare for medical school exams with full concentration.

Stay Active

Though it seems a daunting task to set aside time for physical activities, especially when you are in medical school. Taking some time to refresh your mind and body can do wonders. You can go for a 15-20-minute walk daily, perform a cardio exercise, do yoga or any other physical activity that is convenient for you.

You can join a sports club or go to the gym or find a place that makes you happy. The ultimate goal is to keep your body strong and keep your mind fresh so that you can easily concentrate on your studies and achieve a good GPA.

Get Adequate Sleep

There is no denying the fact that medical school is tough, and you have to put your best efforts into maximizing your academic performance to become a successful medical student. If you are a clinical student, you need to complete clinical rotations to gain clinical experience in different medical specialties, besides taking lectures and completing assignments on time.

In order to deal with this tough study schedule, you need to make sure to sleep well to relax your mind and body. By taking adequate sleep, you will provide your mind and body the energy they need to function properly. According to several studies, adults need an average seven to nine hours of sleep in order to supercharge your mind and body.

So, try to sleep properly to provide your body the well-needed rest and set yourself up to face the rigors of medical school.

Seek Professional Help

Studying in a medical school and staying on top of your medical education is a challenge. It is a demanding experience that can be hazardous to medical students’ health. If you are feeling overwhelmed and unable to complete your assignments on time, perform lab work, or learn a massive amount of course material. Talk to seniors, residents, faculty staff or medical school advisors, and if you need help.

You can utilize your school resources to discuss your problems. Try to be honest and discuss all the problems you are facing and find the solutions to your problems. Many medical schools provide dedicated counseling and mental health and well-being services for students. You can contact the medical school advisor to take the university support services and learn how to cope with medical school stress.

Find Some Stress Relieving Techniques 

If you really want to achieve good marks in your medical school exams and successfully complete your clinical rotations. It is strongly recommended to set aside time for your hobbies and activities that you like most. Whether it is watching your favorite TV show, hanging out with your friends or family, reading, cooking, gardening, writing, or arranging a Zoom meeting, find a way to relieve your medical school stress.

Bottom Line

A healthy body and healthy mind, both are important to achieve medical school success. Eating a balanced diet, sleeping well, managing your time, exercise daily, and talking to your academic counselor are some of the best strategies every medical student should follow to stay on top of their studies and become a successful medical student.