Summertime and the living is easy. Too bad summer is over and the only reason you’re reading this is because you’re back on the Keene State College campus.
Since we are back to the grind, we’ve looked into major lifestyle changes most students find themselves making upon the return to college life.
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College–it’s where the “Animal House” lifestyle becomes the norm and we mindlessly toss our health and dignity out the window.
We no longer have mom and dad hovering over our shoulders spoon-feeding us a healthy diet and good morals.
Rather, we ignore the angel that was once there on our left shoulder and indulge in the devil on the right.
College is a rude awakening.
But we are here to help you wake up and smell the coffee. We have developed a foolproof list and tips to help you maintain a healthier you.
Just remember to DESTRESS: Downtime, Eat, Snack, Time management, Relax, Exercise, Sleep, Survive.
Creating a world you can go to for relaxation and reflection is an easy way to get back in touch with your body and mind and drown out the craziness of your day.
Marjorie Droppa, professor of health science, said creating quiet time for yourself is key.
“Close your eyes, allow yourself the luxury of resting and refreshing,” Droppa continued, “Go to a quiet place and close your eyes for 10 minutes or whatever it takes for you to feel better.”
With stress surrounding classwork and extracurriculars, it’s key to remind yourself to take even ten minutes for yourself.
Sit outside, breathe the fresh air, soak up some vitamin D. Anything to relax your mind.
Next step, Eat. Though the Zorn Dining Commons serves in a buffet style, that doesn’t mean you should go wild. Have some control. Start with breakfast.
“If you think of the word breakfast, break and fast, your body has been fasting all night so has your brain and the first thing it needs is energy and that is also an opportunity to have a very varied meal,” Droppa said.
This is your chance to consume your healthy grains, your whole grains, fruit, and protein in one sitting to jumpstart your day.
“Maintain your energy intake so you aren’t having three portions for every one,” Droppa commented.
You will be able to control your portions more if you snack throughout the day.
Ignore the “three meal a day” myth and celebrity crash diets. We’re big supporters of snacking, and so is Droppa.
Instead of eating like a pig, graze like a cow.
It’s okay to eat many small meals throughout the day, just as long as they’re healthy.
Droppa suggests students keep snacks nearby.
She said, “I’m a big believer in that you can graze all day so that you are not starving by lunch time and just go into the dining commons and eat a ton of food.”
Droppa shared her favorite snacks such as fruits, vegetables, and yogurt-small things that are easy to grab to go on your way to class.
She concluded, “You should never be crazy hungry—that is when you tend to overeat. Our body doesn’t work that way, our body needs energy all the time.”
Next, learn to manage your time.
There are only so many hours in a day–the key is to fit in what you can and not beat yourself up for what you can’t.
If you have too much homework and can’t get to the gym one day, don’t dwell on it. Five minutes of physical activity is better than none.
“You don’t have to do 60 minutes, number one. You do what you can,” Droppa said.
Even taking the stairs or parking a little farther from your class will help you fit in some physical activity.
Droppa said, “Think differently about what physical activity means to you and be inventive with it.”
Next, remember to Relax. Similar to downtime, create a space and a time during the day to concentrate on yourself and your well-being. Droppa suggests trying meditation–anything to shut your mind off and set aside circulating stress. Just do what you can. Droppa said, “If that is five minutes of meditation at your desk in your dorm room, then so be it.”
Next up, Exercise. KSC senior Christine Smigel said she has to make exercise a priority. Smiegel, who works in the gym, takes advantage of the many free classes offered there, yoga-pilates being her favorite.
Classes offered at the gym range from cycling to yoga. The pool is even open during scheduled hours for students to use. Check out their schedules and online calendar and find something to fit in at least once a week.
Referring to the classes and fitting them into her schedule, she said, “If there’s a time slot and I know I have just that much time, then I’m good.”
Junior Breanna Vacca suggested bringing a friend along for motivation.
“Plan out your week beforehand and get a friend to go with you,” she suggested.
Senior Kayla Chase echoed Vacca and said she usually brings a friend to the gym to keep her going.
But in order to be active, it is important to get eight hours of sleep per night. According to the article “Why Are We So Bad at Getting a Good Night’s Sleep?” by Dr. Michael J. Breus, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, our sleeping patterns are disrupted by the constant use of technology.
“We’re living in a 24-hour ‘on’ culture, fueled in large part by personal technology that makes it difficult to power down and step away from our tablets, smartphones, and digital screens. All of this exposure to light — and the stimulation of the brain that comes with it — is interfering with our ability to sleep,” Dr. Breus said in his article.
But how exactly does technology affect your brain and your sleeping patterns.
According to Dr. Breus, it affects us in more ways than one.
“This nighttime exposure to light causes several problems that inhibit sleep: It prevents or delays the body from producing melatonin, a hormone essential to sleep. The activity itself creates stimulation in the mind, when what we most need is to relax. And the presence of these devices in the bedroom brings the outside world — including the office — into the bedroom, which should be a sanctuary for sleep and intimacy,” he said.
In order to prevent this from happening, it is important to always make sleep a priority.
Without sleep, our brain wouldn’t be able to perform basic tasks to the best of our ability.
“As much as we may wish there were, there are no shortcuts to a healthy, sustainable sleep routine. The most important change we could make to turn our collective sleep habits around? We could start taking sleep a whole lot more seriously,” Dr. Breus said.
Last but definitely not least, Survive.
If you feel you’re in “survival mode” the majority of your week, reevaluate your life. Seriously. Yes, college is unavoidably stressful at times and is meant to be taken seriously.
But remember to step back and enjoy yourself. We are here to work but not to lose ourselves in it.
Droppa concluded, “Instead of thinking about how you look, think about how you feel.” She continued, “Change your thinking to how do I feel–do I feel energetic, do I feel full of life, do I feel happy? Think about health as opposed to image. It’s not how you look, it’s how you feel.”
So stop living in the “Animal House,” and wake up and smell the coffee and your books for a change.
Julie Conlon can be contacted at
jconlon@keene-equinox.com
Sam Norton can be contacted at
snorton@keene-equinox.com