How to Be a Healthy Teenager

Co-authored by Tara Coleman

Last Updated: March 12, 2023 Approved

A lot of articles that are created on being a healthy teenager are mainly for girls. Well, whether you're a boy or a girl, this article's for you! From personal hygiene to healthy eating, it explains everything.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Being Physically Healthy

1
Start eating healthier. Eating healthy is really important if you want to be a healthy teen. You don't need to go on a diet, just pay attention to what you're putting in your body.
- If you only ever eat sugary breakfast cereals and candy bars you aren't going to be healthy. Depending on your body and what works best for you, you can eat three meals a day or 5-6 mini-meals a day. NEVER skip meals. Try healthy alternatives, instead of having a bowl of ice-cream, opt for a frozen yogurt. Or try having apple slices instead of potato chips. Try to replace processed foods, especially those which contained added sodium and sugar, with whole natural foods like fruits and vegetables.
- Drink more water. This is basically the most important thing of all. If you drink more water you will be much healthier. It flushes the toxins out of your body and gives your skin a healthy glow. It also keeps your skin hydrated and helps prevent spots. It also helps if you have acne. As a rule of thumb, try to drink a lot to the point where your urine is almost completely clear. As a rule of thumb, try drinking half of your body weight in water everyday.
2
Start exercising more. Whether it's walking in the park, or doing a couple of crunches do at least 30 minutes of physical activity several times a week.
- You should not exercise every day, when you work out you break your muscles down. It's the rebuilding that makes them stronger. If you don't give them time to rebuild, you're going to seriously hurt yourself. Try working out for 6 days a week and give yourself 2 days to rest and recuperate.
- Exercise will make you stronger and tone your muscles. You can go to the gym and swim or run on the treadmill, buy a few work out DVDs, or just go for a jog around the block.
- Whatever it is, exercising will make you healthier and happier about your body. It also releases oxytocin which helps reduces stress and calm the mind!
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3
Catch up on your sleep. During puberty you'll find you need more sleep than you did when you were younger. Sure it's tempting to stay up late chatting with friends on the phone or computer, but the next morning you'll be miserable
- You need to get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep every single night. To find out how many hours you personally should be sleeping, on a weekend go to bed at the time you do on a school night and don't set your alarm. When you wake up count how many hours you were asleep and get that many hours every night.
- It may be tough if you get back late and have to wake up early on a normal school day, but if you put the extra effort in of an early night you will feel much more refreshed the next morning. This will aid your concentration and you will be in a much happier and friendly mood. Also try to get the same amount of sleep everyday so that your body is adjusted to it.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Taking Care of Hygiene

1
Learn about hygiene basics. The more you understand about hygiene the more likely you are to follow the rules on it!
2
Take showers everyday. No, not every other day: every day. Because of puberty, your sweat glands are becoming more active, and are creating different chemicals that cause sweat to turn into a disgusting odor.
- So, to make sure you're getting rid of all this smelly odor,you should use a mild soap and warm water! Even if it's hot outside, you need to shower in warm water, because that opens up your pores which means you get to clean more of that smell off of you.
- Then rinse off in cold water to shut your pores and eliminate the amount of bacteria that makes you stink.
3
Wear clean clothing and apply deodorant to your now clean armpits. Boys, that means changing your socks and underwear every day. Girls, that means washing your bra every day if your active or every other day if you weren't very active.
4
Brush your teeth two times a day. Any more than this can wear down your enamel, weakening your teeth. When brushing your teeth, hold your brush at an angle so it lines up with your gum line.
- Brush back and forth making sure to get every single tooth. Be sure to use a soft bristle brush so you don't damage your gums. Use your brush or a tongue scraper to get rid of all the bacteria on your tongue. If you don't know this, bad breath mostly comes from either poor eating habits or poor brushing habits.
- After you brush for three minutes floss and use a good mouthwash. Though you should floss twice a day, if you're only going to floss once make it at night so you don't have pieces of food rotting between your teeth all night.
- Mouth wash and brushing your teeth alone won't get rid of bad breath, you need to floss to get rid of the pieces of food in your mouth. If you don't those pieces will gather bacteria which gives off a bad odor.
5
Wash your face no more than twice a day with warm water and a facial wash for your skin type. Don't harshly scrub! Slowly and gently wash your face, using a circular motion.
- You should never pop pimples, this will lead to scarring and possible infection. Try to keep your hands off your face, otherwise the oils on your hands will transfer to your face and cause break outs. Ensure you are washing your face with a suitable anti acne cleanser to further help prevent break outs.
- Always remove makeup from your face before you go to sleep and keep your hair clean to eliminate the amount of oil that gets on your face.
- Be sure not to wash your face too much as it may dry up the skin completely and cause itchiness or irritation. Use a gentle cleanser with no harsh chemicals to reduce sensitivity and irritation.
6
Wash your hair. Unless you have very oily hair, try not to wash your hair everyday. Over washing can cause an itchy or irritated scalp and dandruff, so only wash it when needed. Most people should wash their hair 3-4 times a week, but it depends on your hair type. Ask someone what they think, just because it doesn't look greasy to you doesn't mean it isn't.
- Use a shampoo and conditioner meant for your type of hair. If you use hair products every two or three weeks wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo to get rid of all the buildup.
7
Shave. If you're a teenage boy, you may start shaving your face, and if you're a teenage girl, you may start shaving your legs and underarms. Here's some tips:
- Don't skimp on shaving cream. Use as much as you need to completely cover the area. Alternatively if you have one, use an electric razor to start with as this requires no foam and can be used on wet or dry skin.
- Shave with the grain; this will give you a lesser chance of getting in-grown hairs which hurt a lot.
- Wait about half an hour before applying anything to the area, such as lotions or deodorant, or your skin may become irritated.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Maintaining Healthy Relationships

1
Hang out with friends. Although this isn't usually a problem for most teenagers, it is very important to go out with your friends and meet new people.
- If you don't have many friends then make the effort to go out and meet some new ones; it's not as hard as it may seem! Join a club or sports team where you can meet people with similar interests to your own.
- Just try to avoid social events that involve dangerous or unhealthy activities such as drinking or taking drugs, as this will just cancel out everything in this article!
2
Be patient with parents. Teenagers often have a rather bumpy relationship with their parents and tend to rebel against parental authority.
- However, it's important to remember that your parents are only concerned for your safety and happiness and if they don't allow you to do something it's probably because they don't think it's safe or in your best interests.
- Therefore, the best way to deal with disagreements is to have a calm, reasoned discussion with your parents, not a screaming tantrum. Remind them that you are a mature, sensible almost-adult who is capable of making good decisions. You'll get a lot more leeway if you use this approach!
3
Be sensible about relationships. While having a boyfriend or girlfriend is all part of the fun of being a teenager, you shouldn't let your relationship take over your life. Make sure you take care of yourself before entering in a relationship.
- Don't ditch your friends in favor of your latest boyfriend or girlfriend -- he or she may only last a couple of months, but friends are for life!
- Don't be too heartbroken if things don't work out. You can be pretty certain that the guy or girl you dated for 6 weeks in ninth grade wasn't the love of your life! So get out there and meet someone new!
- Be sexually responsible. If you make the decision to become sexually active as teenager, make sure to do so responsibly. Always use protection and regularly get yourself checked out for any STDs.
4
Maintain good relationships with your teachers. It's important to maintain good relationships with your teachers by behaving well in class, handing in assignments on time and maintaining good grades.
- Having a good relationship with your teachers can make your school experience much smoother and more pleasant and can really work in your favor when it comes to applying to colleges.
- Most of your teachers are smart, interesting people (even if you don't think they're cool) so respect them and learn all you can from them, before it's too late.

Warnings

Don't shave too fast!

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Never starve yourself to lose weight! EVER! At first you will gain weight, because your body takes this as a signal there isn't enough food around and starts storing it. Then you will get dizzy, irritable, and faint. You will end up in the hospital. And as soon as you begin eating normally again you will regain all of the weight you lost. If you aren't happy with your weight talk to your doctor and come up with a HEALTHY and SAFE plan to lose weight.

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