Going from hitting the beach to hitting the books is never a smooth transition. If you’re a college ‘spring-breaker,’ then you know this struggle all too well. Returning from a week on the sandy shores to a cubicle in the library just leaves you sunburnt, hungover and painfully unmotivated. But don’t lose hope—with these quick, easy detox tips, you can reset and conquer that last stretch of your semester.
1. The Skin Detox
Your skin tells no lies; it bares the consequences of your lifestyle. So don’t let your sun-kissed glow disguise the imbalance, dehydration, and bad decisions screaming to be noticed in between the lines. The most obvious of solutions: drink water. Although this is an over-advised tip, it’s also surprisingly under-used. Drinking water consistently—not just when you feel thirsty—is the best way to improve blood circulation, body functions, and overall skin quality.
Not to mention, it removes waste products. If you’re healthy, your skin will show it. However, if you want to catalyze the process, there are ways, and over-the-top dieting is not one of them. The most natural way to help flush out your system is to avoid sugars and grains and instead aim for high-fiber and high-fluid foods.
2. The Body Detox
Going hand in hand, healthy skin reflects a healthy body. However, flushing out toxins is only successful if it’s creating less work for your body—not more. By going overboard, you can actually make it harder on your body to detox.
For example, excessive diets and extreme supplements have nowhere been proven to increase overall health. In fact, these radical solutions have actually been seen to trigger stress hormones. For this reason, a more natural approach is your best bet for effective detoxification.
One way to do this is hitting the gym or the sauna and sweating out toxins. This has been long regarded as the safest method of full-body cleansing. Along the same lines, replenishing your body’s natural vitamins enhances your liver’s natural method of detoxification.
By restocking on antioxidant vitamins, like C, E, and beta-carotene, minerals, like zinc and selenium, and cleansing herbs, like milk thistle and dandelion root, your liver will be strapped up and ready for battle.
3. The Mind Detox
Just as important as a healthy body is a healthy mind. Switching your mindset to “coffee in the library” from “Coronas on the beach” is a struggle to say the least. If you don’t give yourself a real mental transition between work and play, your mind could be left drowning in the Bahamas while you’re stuck cramming in the library for your next exam. A couple of healthy methods for mental recoup include meditation, sleep and even Epsom-salt-soaks.
A realistic and rewarding commitment, recent research has shown that practicing meditation has been proven to decrease overall anxiety and increase overall brain activity. Especially if you’re a college student, where a good night’s sleep is a rarity, finding mental rest throughout the day may be the only way to flush out all the toxins that build up.
Although it can be easy to excuse yourself from practicing stillness due to your hectic schedule, it’s important to recognize that finding rest, through meditation or sleep, plays a foundational role in your health. For those in need of that extra dose of stress-relief, you can try soaking your feet in Epsom salts.
Interestingly enough, salts have been proven to replenish your body’s stash of magnesium sulfate—the natural stress-reliever and toxin-fighter—by absorbing through your skin.
With these three quick tips, you’re sure to be a legend among your fellow recovering spring breakers. So, go ahead and get your detox on. With the harmony of a healthy body, paradise doesn’t have to be left in the Bahamas.