Being successful in college is about more than just academics. A student's ability to make good lifestyle choices such as getting enough sleep, exercising and finding the best support system, can positively impact his or her college experience. The following lesson will help students:
Learn about developing and maintaining healthy habits
Understand the importance of making good lifestyle choices
Taking care of your physical, mental and emotional well-being is necessary for college success. It is important that you get enough sleep, stay physically active, eat a balanced diet and manage your stress.
College offers many temptations for students trying to create or maintain healthy eating habits. You may be on your own for the first time, and you’re free to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. Cafeterias, all-you-can-eat dining facilities, vending machines, and easy access to food twenty-four hours a day make it tempting to overeat or choose foods loaded with calories, saturated fat, sugar, and salt. You may not be in the habit of shopping or cooking for yourself yet, and, when you find yourself short on time or money, it may seem easier to fuel yourself on sugary, caffeinated drinks and meals at the nearest fast-food place. Also, maybe you played basketball or volleyball in high school, but now you don’t seem to be getting much exercise.
On top of that, it’s common for people to overeat (or not eat enough) when they feel anxious, lonely, sad, or stressed, and college students are no exception. It’s incredibly important, though, to develop healthy ways of coping and relaxing that don’t involve reaching for food, drink, or other substances. It’s also important to eat regular healthy meals to keep up your energy.
It’s the eating by habit, or mindlessly, that usually gets us in trouble. If we’re mindful instead, however, it’s easy to develop better habits.
Nutrition not only impacts your body, the food you eat also can impact, both positively and negatively, affect your brain and learning. Watch the following video to see how the food you eat affects your brain.
Direct Link: https://youtu.be/xyQY8a-ng6g
The importance of getting regular exercise is probably nothing new to you. The health benefits are well known and established: Regular physical activity can produce long-term health benefits by reducing your risk of many health problems, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and it can also increase your chances of living longer, help you control your weight, and even help you sleep better.
As a busy college student, you may be thinking, I know this, but I don’t have time! I have classes and work and a full life! What you may not know is that—precisely because you have such a demanding, possibly stressful schedule—now is the perfect time to make exercise a regular part of your life. Getting into an effective exercise routine now will not only make it easier to build healthy habits that you can take with you into your life after college, but it can actually help you be a more successful student, too. As you’ll see in the section on brain health, below, exercise is a powerful tool for improving one’s mental health and memory—both of which are especially important when you’re in school.
The good news is that most people can improve their health and quality of life through a modest increase in daily activity. You don’t have to join a gym, spend a lot of money, or even do the same activity every time—just going for a walk or choosing to take the stairs (instead of the elevator) can make a difference.
Exercise for Brain Health
So how does exercise improve learning, memory and cognition? Stop thinking about exercise as a means to get a better body, and start seeing it as a tool to build a better brain.
The following TED talk, video, shares the important and long lasting effects of exercise on your memory, learning and brain productivity.
Direct Link: https://youtu.be/BHY0FxzoKZE
Exercise at Aims Community College
Physical Education and Recreation Center (PERC)
The PERC makes exercise easier and more enjoyable for students. You are encouraged to access the 46,000 square-foot gym with state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, walking track and personal trainers, which is free to you as a student.
There are also physical education classes and intramural sports.
This video provides you a tour of the PERC!
Direct Link: https://youtu.be/YNeUZlkcdTI
We have so many demands on our time—school, jobs, family, errands, not to mention finding some time to relax. To fit everything in, we often sacrifice sleep. But sleep affects both mental and physical health. Like exercise and a healthy diet, it’s vital to your well-being.
Of course, sleep helps you feel rested each day. But while you’re sleeping, your brain and body don’t just shut down. Internal organs and processes are hard at work throughout the night. Sleep can help you “lock in” everything you’re studying and trying to remember.
“Sleep services all aspects of our body in one way or another: molecular, energy balance, as well as intellectual function, alertness and mood,” says Dr. Merrill Mitler, a sleep expert and neuroscientist at NIH.
When you’re tired, you can’t function at your best. Sleep helps you think more clearly, have quicker reflexes, and focus better. “The fact is, when we look at well-rested people, they’re operating at a different level than people trying to get by on one or two hours less nightly sleep,” says Mitler.
“Loss of sleep impairs your higher levels of reasoning, problem-solving, and attention to detail,” Mitler explains. Tired people tend to be less productive at work and school. They’re at a much higher risk for traffic accidents. Lack of sleep also influences your mood, which can affect how you interact with others. A sleep deficit over time can even put you at greater risk for developing depression.
But sleep isn’t just essential for the brain. “Sleep affects almost every tissue in our bodies,” says Dr. Michael Twery, a sleep expert at NIH. “It affects growth and stress hormones, our immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health.”
Sleep can be disrupted by many things. Stimulants such as caffeine or certain medications can keep you up. Distractions such as electronics—especially the light from TVs, cell phones, tablets and e-readers—can prevent you from falling asleep.
How Much Sleep Do We Need?
The amount of sleep each person needs depends on many factors, including age, and getting a full night of quality sleep is important. Infants generally require about sixteen hours a day, while teenagers need about nine hours on average. For most adults, seven to eight hours a night appears to be the best amount of sleep. The amount of sleep a person needs also increases if he or she has been deprived of sleep in previous days.
What is a Sleep Debt?
Getting too little sleep creates a “sleep debt,” which is a lot like being overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand that the debt be repaid. We don’t seem to adapt to getting less sleep than we need; while we may get used to a sleep-depriving schedule, our judgment, reaction time, and other functions are still impaired. If you’re a student, that means that sleep-deprivation may prevent you from studying, learning, and performing as well as you can.
The following video breaks shares the amount of sleep you may need based on your age group. The video also shares the positive and negative impacts of not getting (or getting too much) sleep.
Direct Link: https://youtu.be/9HjtFqBi494
References:
"The True Cost Of Multi-Tasking." Psychology Today. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Levitin, Daniel J. "Why the Modern World Is Bad for Your Brain." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS:
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Healthy Eating in College. A derivative from College Success. Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-collegesuccess-lumen1/chapter/nutrition/ License: CC BY: Attribution
Exercise. A derivative from College Success Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-collegesuccess-lumen1/chapter/exercise/ License: CC BY-SA: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
Sleep. A derivative from College Success. Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-collegesuccess-lumen1/chapter/sleep/ License: CC BY: Attribution. Adaptions: Removed text related to sleep's impact on other bodily organs, tissues and functions to maintain focus on student learning.
Time Management. A derivative from College Success. Authored by: Linda Bruce. Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-collegesuccess-lumen1/chapter/your-use-of-time/ License: CC BY: Attribution
Distractions and Multitasking. A derivative from College Success. Authored by: Linda Bruce. Provide by Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymaker-collegesuccess/chapter/text-distractions-and-multitasking/ License: CC BY: Attribution. Adaptions: Removed UBC video and references.
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The Benefits of Slumber. Provided by: NIH. Located at: https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/apr2013/feature1. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright
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TED-Ed - Mia Nacamulli - How the Food You Eat Fffects Your Brain. Provided by: Tedx Talks. Located at: https://youtu.be/xyQY8a-ng6g. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license
TED - Wendy Suzuki - The Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise. Provided by: Tedx Talks. Located at: https://youtu.be/BHY0FxzoKZE. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license