New to uni and living alone: how should I eat and sleep?

When you start university and live on your own for the first time, the simplest plan is to keep three regular meals, build each one on the same simple plate, sleep at least 7 hours at set times and be active most days. The plate is the 2:1:1 model described in Ramathibodi Hospital's @Rama magazine: half vegetables, a quarter rice or other starch and a quarter fish, eggs, lean meat, soybeans or tofu. Breakfast is easy to skip: in a survey of 464 Chulalongkorn University students during online classes in 2021, 75.4% skipped breakfast 3 or more times a week. For sleep, the US CDC recommends 7 or more hours a day for adults aged 18 to 60. If you cook in your room or a shared kitchen, follow the CDC's four food safety steps: clean, separate, cook and chill.

What changes when you start living alone at university?

At home, someone else often decides when meals happen, what is on the table and when the lights go off. In a dormitory or rented room, all of that is up to you, alongside new classes, new friends and more time on screens. Thai studies of university students show where routines tend to slip.

What Thai studies of university students found

What these numbers can and cannot tell us

Each study looked at students from one or a few universities, and all relied on students' own answers. The Chulalongkorn survey was done when classes had moved online, so breakfast and screen habits may look different in a normal term. The Mahidol sodium study is from 2007, and campus food has changed since then. The summary of the survey by Amornsriwatanakul and colleagues does not give the year it was done. These studies describe habits; they do not show that one habit causes another. Still, the pattern is consistent: breakfast is easy to skip, campus meals can be salty, sleep is often poor and first-year students move less.

What should a day of meals look like when I live alone?

Thailand's food guidelines in short

Thailand's food-based dietary guidelines, described in English by Sirichakwal and colleagues at Mahidol University's Institute of Nutrition, have nine points. For a student living alone, the most practical ones are:

• eat a variety of foods from each of the five food groups
• eat enough rice or other starches
• eat plenty of vegetables and fruit regularly
• eat fish, lean meat, eggs, legumes and pulses regularly
• drink enough milk every day
• avoid too much sweet and salty food
• eat clean food that has not gone off or been contaminated

In 1998 these guidelines were turned into a picture guide, the Nutrition Flag (ธงโภชนาการ).

One plate, three times a day

The 2:1:1 plate, recommended by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and described in the @Rama column, turns the guidelines into a single meal. Divide a 9-inch plate into four:

Aim for three meals at roughly the same times each day, so you are not too hungry to choose well. Fruit and plain milk or unsweetened soy milk make easy snacks between classes.

Breakfast before an early class

In the Chulalongkorn survey during online classes, 75.4% skipped breakfast 3 or more times a week. If you often skip it, plan it the night before: a boiled egg, bread or a rice dish, a piece of fruit and a glass of milk or unsweetened soy milk. For quick ideas, see No time for breakfast before work. What can I eat? The same foods work before a morning class.

How can I eat well from food stalls, the canteen and convenience stores?

Many students buy most of their meals, and the same plate still works. The table below gives this article's own examples, applying the 2:1:1 plate and the guideline to avoid very sweet and salty food; they are not advice from any agency.

Why taste before you season

The table's tips to taste first and leave some of the soup come from this finding. In the Mahidol dormitory study, seasoning added at the table contributed about 540 mg of sodium a day for men and 473 mg for women on average, on top of what was already in the food. For comparison, the Thai Reference Daily Intake (Thai RDI) for sodium used on food labels is 2,000 mg a day. Tasting first and adding less is a simple habit to start in your first term.

Sweet drinks while studying

The Chulalongkorn survey found that students who studied online for longer drank sugary drinks more often, and a higher share drank tea or coffee with milk and sugar while studying. Plain water within reach of your desk is an easy swap. For caffeine and sleep, see Energy drinks and coffee to study late: what about sleep?

For more ways to cover food groups when you buy every meal or cook for one, see Living alone with patchy meals: how can I cover food groups?

What should I know before cooking in a dorm room or shared kitchen?

First check the dormitory rules on which cooking appliances are allowed. Then follow the four steps in the US CDC's food safety guidance.

On days when your room is hotter than about 32°C, for example a room without air conditioning in hot weather, the CDC's 1-hour limit applies. If you share a small fridge, store raw meat in sealed containers so juices do not drip onto other food. The CDC lists raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood and eggs, unwashed fruit and vegetables and cut melon among the foods more likely to carry germs.

How much sleep do I need, and how do I keep a routine?

Hours and timing

The CDC recommends 7 or more hours of sleep a day for adults aged 18 to 60. In the Chiang Mai study, 68.1% of students reported poor sleep quality, and in the Chulalongkorn survey, longer use of computers, tablets and phones for online study went together with shorter sleep.

Habits the CDC suggests

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day
• Keep the room quiet, relaxing and cool
• Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed
• Avoid large meals and alcohol before bed
• Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening
• Be active regularly and eat a healthy diet

With a roommate, agree on a lights-out time and use earplugs or an eye mask if your schedules differ. For exam periods, see Too stressed to sleep before exams? How can you relax?

How can I fit exercise into university life?

How much to aim for

The 2020 WHO guidelines advise adults to do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity, plus muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week, and to reduce time spent sitting.

What Thai data show for young adults

In Thailand's national physical activity surveillance, analysed by Katewongsa and colleagues, 72.5% of adults aged 18 to 34 met the WHO level in 2019. By type of activity, 37.4% of that age group were active in their free time, for example through sport or exercise, and 13.6% were active through travel, such as walking or cycling. In the university survey by Amornsriwatanakul and colleagues, first-year students were less likely than second-year students to be active enough, and students who took part in more sports activities were more likely to meet the level.

Easy ways to move more

• Walk or cycle to class when the distance allows
• Join a sports club or a regular game with friends in your first term
• Break up long study sessions by standing up and walking around
• Use the stairs in your building and faculty

When should I talk to someone or see a doctor?

Sleep and energy

The CDC advises talking to a healthcare provider if you regularly have problems sleeping. England's NHS advises seeing a doctor if you have felt tired for a few weeks and are not sure why, or if tiredness affects your daily life. At university, your health service is a good place to start.

Mood and stress

Moving away from home can feel lonely, and stress can build quickly in the first term. Talk to a friend, family member, a university counsellor or a doctor if low mood or worry does not lift. In Thailand, you can call the Department of Mental Health's 1323 mental health hotline.