Στην ανάρρωση βοηθάει ο ύπνος, το νερό και η καλή διατροφή.

Greek word order is more flexible than English. Starting with Στην ανάρρωση puts the topic first: as for recovery / when it comes to recovery.

So the sentence is structured a bit like:

In recovery, what helps is sleep, water, and a good diet.

This fronting is very natural in Greek and often sounds smoother than starting directly with the subject list.

Στην is a contraction of σε + την.

• σε = in, at, to, with regard to, depending on context
• την = the feminine singular accusative article

So:

• σε την ανάρρωση → στην ανάρρωση

This contraction is standard and very common in everyday Greek.

Because it follows σε, it is in the accusative.

The noun is:

• nominative: η ανάρρωση
• accusative: την ανάρρωση

In this noun, the word itself stays the same; the article shows the case.

So in στην ανάρρωση, the hidden full form is σε την ανάρρωση, which tells you it is accusative.

Literally, it is something like in/at/to the recovery, but in natural English it is better understood as for recovery or with recovery.

Greek σε covers several ideas that English splits into different prepositions. With βοηθάω, στην ανάρρωση means something like:

• helps with recovery
• helps in recovery
• helps the recovery process

So you should not expect a one-to-one match with a single English preposition every time.

This is a very common learner question.

The subjects are:

• ο ύπνος
• το νερό
• η καλή διατροφή

Together, they are plural in meaning, so you might expect βοηθούν.

In Greek, however, when the verb comes before a list of subjects, a singular verb is often used in everyday language, especially when the speaker is presenting the items almost as a set of helpful factors.

So βοηθάει here is natural and common.

A more strictly matching version would be:

Στην ανάρρωση βοηθούν ο ύπνος, το νερό και η καλή διατροφή.

Both are possible.

Yes. Βοηθούν is also correct and may feel more straightforward to learners because it clearly agrees with the three subjects as a plural group.

So both are possible:

• Στην ανάρρωση βοηθάει ο ύπνος, το νερό και η καλή διατροφή.
• Στην ανάρρωση βοηθούν ο ύπνος, το νερό και η καλή διατροφή.

The version with βοηθάει is especially common in natural speech.

Because Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, including with general ideas.

So:

• ο ύπνος = sleep in general
• το νερό = water in general
• η καλή διατροφή = a good diet / good nutrition

In English, we often drop the article in general statements, but Greek usually keeps it.

They are in the nominative because they are the subjects of the sentence.

You can see that from the articles:

• ο ύπνος = masculine nominative singular
• το νερό = neuter nominative singular
• η καλή διατροφή = feminine nominative singular

Even though the verb comes first, these nouns are still the subjects.

Because καλή has to agree with διατροφή.

διατροφή is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

That gives:

• η καλή διατροφή = the good diet / good nutrition

This is standard adjective agreement in Greek.

Yes. Both are common present-tense forms of βοηθάω in the 3rd person singular:

• βοηθάει
• βοηθά

Both mean helps.

So you may also see:

Στην ανάρρωση βοηθά ο ύπνος, το νερό και η καλή διατροφή.

That is also correct.

Yes, absolutely. That version is very natural and may be easier for learners to process because it follows a more familiar subject + verb + phrase order.

Compare:

• Στην ανάρρωση βοηθάει ο ύπνος, το νερό και η καλή διατροφή.
• Ο ύπνος, το νερό και η καλή διατροφή βοηθούν στην ανάρρωση.

The meaning is basically the same. The difference is mostly one of emphasis and style:

• first version: starts with the topic recovery
• second version: starts with the things that help