Many college students, including myself, often struggle with high levels of fatigue and stress. 

Many students experience mental and physical fatigue throughout college. 

Students experiencing mental fatigue may find it difficult to concentrate on various things or may find it difficult to stay focused, and students experiencing physical fatigue may have muscle weakness or an overall sense of tiredness or sleepiness. 

Stress can increase feelings of fatigue, and prolonged stress can cause chronic fatigue and decreased energy levels. 

Dealing with fatigue and stress can sometimes seem like a never-ending battle as a college student. 

Most college students that I’ve talked to, including myself, are so focused on meeting deadlines, attending classes, studying, working and meeting expectations in extracurricular activities, that they neglect their basic needs. 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a motivational theory in psychology, which is comprised of five hierarchical levels of human need. 

The lowest level of the hierarchy is physiological needs; things such as food, shelter, water and sleep. 

The second level of the hierarchy is safety, the third level is love and belonging, the fourth level is esteem and the last level is self-actualization. 

Needs that are at the bottom of the hierarchy must be satisfied before someone can attend to the needs that are higher up. 

Most college students do not make it a priority to eat three healthy meals each day. 

It’s common for a college student to have a snack and maybe eat one or two solid, but not necessarily healthy, meals a day. 

Most college students also do not make it a priority to drink enough water each day. 

In my personal experience, I usually one drink one or two bottles of water each day, which really isn’t an adequate amount. 

Most college students definitely do not get enough sleep each night, with many students feeling lucky if they get six hours of sleep at night. 

College-age individuals should get eight to nine hours of sleep each night. 

The body’s ability to function properly literally starts to decline if the body doesn’t regularly get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. 

Physiological needs are the most basic and most important needs that humans have. 

If our physiological needs are not satisfied, the body cannot function properly, and all of our other needs become secondary until our basic physiological needs are met. 

Focusing on the basic needs of food, water and sleep may seem like an obvious solution, but I know plenty of college students, myself included, who are neglecting those needs every week, if not every day. 

If you are struggling as a college student, go back to the basics, and make sure that you are meeting your physiological needs.