Nap Time

Often life can be hectic at times leaving you tired and sleep deprived. However, there is a remedy for a lack of sleep. This solution is not a energy pill, drink or supplement but rather a simple nap.
In the article "Napping , a love story" (http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/07/30/napping.benefits.realsimple/index.html) it discusses some of the benefits of taking a nap.

One benefit is that scientifically it has been found that naps makes people more alert, creative and improves ones mood.
Next, a Harvard Medical School study showed that a 45 minute nap improves ones memory and learning capabilities.

So if you ever find yourself sleep deprived and craving energy do yourself a favor and throw that cup of coffee away and find a nice bed or couch to lay on.

The Pursuit of Happiness

The following article is from the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-gottlieb-phd/is-happiness-necessary_b_770560.html

(Note: I do NOT claim ownership)

The author of this article, Dr. Dan Gottlieb, contends that the metrics people use to gauge their success in achieving happiness in life, (good health, successful children, wealth, etc.) are rather superficial. Dr. Gottlieb also asserts that people should abandon their quest for “happiness” and instead seek well-being, as we don’t truly know what “happiness” is nor how to achieve it. I don’t entirely agree with the author’s argument. First of all, I feel he makes too sweeping an argument in suggesting that almost all people use superficial metrics to gauge their pursuit of happiness in life, I know I certainly don’t. Secondly, I believe Dr. Gottlieb contradicts himself by advocating people abandon their search for happiness and instead pursue “well-being,” as the very metrics he decries as superficial (e.g. wealth, good health, having successful children, etc.) are in my mind critical to attaining well-being and are far from superficial. A far more accurate list of measures of “happiness” (or “well-being”) that would be truly superficial in my mind should include the desire for fame, wealth acquired through accident of birth not through perspiration and intellect, and pining for any number of materialistic items (e.g. sports cars, mansions, etc.). Wanting for health for one’s self and success for one’s children are not superficial, in any sense of the word. Lastly, while I agree that living a financially stable, relatively healthy life and raising intelligent children are not by themselves the keys to well-being, they’re certainly superior to being broke, sick and burdened with lazy and unintelligent children.

How to Build Muscle from Scratch

The gym can be a scary place for someone who's never been there before. There are the big weights, the confusing machines that seems impossible to use, and the intense gym members who are already in great shape. For many beginners, getting healthy and building muscle may seem far out of reach.

But everyone has to start somewhere.

However, before you can start hitting the big weights, you first have to make sure that you are in good shape to start. “If your heart isn't trained to handle strenuous activity, you could risk seriosuly hurting yourself,” said Carey Swartz, a Binghamton University Physical Education Professor.

To start your journey towards strong and defined muscles, the best first step is to start a routine that focuses on cardio training. Thirty minutes of cardio everyday for 2-3 weeks will condition your body and heart for strength training.

After a few weeks of cardio, your body will be prepared for weight training. You'll want to build a strong foundation of muscle throughout your entire body, so it is best to do a total body workout.

“A total body workout is when you work all of the major muscle groups in one single workout,” said Paul Nowak, a BU student who has been weight-training for over 5 years.

There are six major muscle groups that are the focus of all workouts. They include the biceps, triceps, shoulders, legs, chest, and back.

A total body workout is best done via circuit training. Circuit training works all muscle groups by using low weights, and high repetitions of lifting.

“One exercise per muscle group will round out your total body workout,” Nowak said. “And you'll see results all throughout your body, which is encouraging.”

A general rule of workout thumb: once the weight you're lifting doesn't seem challenging, it's time to add some more.

While circuit training looks to work all of the major muscle groups in one workout, strength training focuses on only two major muscles at a time. This allows you to do more types of exercises -and therefore more work- per muscle in one session.

But make sure to hit all of the muscle groups- you can risk making your body disproportionate.

“I've seen a lot of guys at the gym who will just focus on building their upper body,” Paul said. “And they'll end up with huge arms and shoulders, but small chicken legs.”

Once you've gotten on board with a strength training routine, there are different methods you can use to intensify your workout to get maximum results.

“I like pyramid sets because I feel myself pushing through to my maximum potential,” Nowak said. “It feels good to start at 20lb bicep curls, and max-out at 80lbs.”

While it might take a long time to climb up to 80lb bicep curls, it definitely isn't impossible. Weight-training is appropriate for people at all levels of experience, it's just a matter of starting where you're comfortable, and taking baby-steps from there.

“Doing the exercises isn't difficult,” Swartz said. “The hard part is getting yourself off the couch and starting a routine.”

Grad School Applications 101

A little house on the prairie with Old Yeller running about is the vision that fuels many of us to go to college. Marriage, children, house, car, 401K, vacations they’re all things people hope to achieve after their college career.

These hopes can be subtle reminders during senior year of the importance of graduate school and the opportunities it can offer. Given the state of the U.S economy and job market, grad school has become a popular alternative.

Dealing with grad school applications and exams can generate a lot of stress. Learning to handle stress properly will help you stay healthy now and, in a world filled with stressful situations, in the future.

The first step in coping with the process of grad school applications is acknowledging that this is a stressful time and asking for help if you need it. Not doing so can be detrimental says, Wren Fritsky a career counselor at Binghamton University.

“The ones that I am concerned about are the ones that don’t take advantage of help. Fritsky said. “Reality is acknowledging stress and seeking help.”

Fritsky, in her professional role tries to teach students to cope with the stress with tools that will help them psychologically and emotionally. These tools vary from doing research, interview practice and resume and cover letter training.

Because Grad school will be time consuming and intense, it should be more than a Plan B for people who cannot find a job after college or whose “Plan A” fell through, Fritsky said.

Foremost, grad school should be your main plan because people tend to succeed in things that are the number one priority on their list, so making grad school your number one plan can help relieve stress.

However, all is not lost if you haven’t been thinking about grad school until your senior year because there are resources out there to help students.

“Students just need to ask for help” Fritsky emphasizes.

Former Binghamton Undergraduate Alyssia Agnitti knew that she wanted to go to grad school for teaching and took the necessary steps to prepare.

“I declared myself a math major and took the classes I needed to take,” she said. “When senior year came I did my research and applied to the schools that fit me.”

Now Agnitti attends Stony Brook University where she is working toward her master’s in math education.

Lastly, students should do the necessary research on the grad school and programs that they would like to go to. Don’t just listen to others, Fritsky said.

“Do research. Listen to yourself, not your parents, friends, etc because at the end of the day you will have to live with your decisions,” she said.

If you are going to go to grad school it should be where you want to go, not where others want you to go.

“If you are true to yourself then the grad school process because much less stress- ful” Fritsky said.

So when grad school application time comes around don’t fret. Life will present you with enough situations to stress over.

How to Mend a Broken Heart

Swollen eyes, upset stomach, dizziness, weight gain: the physical manifestations of emotional damage. A broken heart is epidemic among college students, but it is not incurable. There are several ways to concoct your own remedy:

Brad Greenstein, sophomore biology major suggests getting rid of those little reminders that can poison a good mood when accidentally stumbled upon (old clothes, mix CDs, letters, and photographs).

Not only does Brad recommend getting rid of the memories of the someone old, but also replacing them with someone new. “Rebounding is not always a bad thing,” Brad said.

Nikki Belfiglio, a 20-year-old living in Brooklyn, NY, has a different method.

Her approach is ritualistic; she goes through a week of mourning, citing an episode of the television series “Gilmore Girls” as her inspiration: “You have to wallow.”

Nikki’s customs include a crying period, yes, but also a transformation. A change of appearance is her prescription. “I need to renew myself. Usually I go out and get a new haircut or hair color and sometimes a piercing.”

After her post-breakup metamorphosis, Nikki also makes sure to avoid the harmful side effects that often accompany a break up.

Her routine includes: exercise, to work out the pent-up frustration, time with friends, to fill up the empty time formerly filled by a boyfriend, and healthy foods, to avoid weight-gain and self-loathing.

If the damage is more than you can handle on your own, there are other options. Here at Binghamton University, the University Counseling Center uses an appointment-based system to ensure all students have access to the mental health services they need. Group counseling is also available.

If talking to a stranger is not appealing, “the home remedy,” a network of friends and family, often makes for the best treatment.

First Health and Wellness Story: How to Beat Back Finals Stress

You’re hunched over your desk; it’s 4 AM, you try to focus; your final exam is just hours away. Unfortunately, you’ve been mishandling the stress. The only things worse than your nutritional intake are your sleeping patterns and studying habits.

But there’s good news. Final exams don’t have to overwhelm you.

Binghamton University (BU) senior and resident assistant (RA) Tara Lynch advises students on her floor the best way to cope with finals week stress is working diligently throughout the entire semester. Lynch tolerates the stress by making “daily to-do lists, weekly task lists, and long-term goals.”

Lynch witnessed firsthand the consequences of inadequate preparation/time management materialize into an almost palpable anxiety among her peers.

“As an RA, I have dealt with many situations where freshmen (among other levels) students have approached me in panicky behavior […] I have seen people break at the last minute and try to inefficiently find ways to cope with the pressures of finals week [….]”

Dr. Deanne Westerman, a BU psychology-memory professor offered similar advice.

“Is it better to cram for an exam or space your study sessions? The answer is very clear: Information is remembered better if it is studied across many sessions rather than learned in one large block of time,” Westerman said. “Five one-hour study sessions will lead to superior memory more than one five-hour block. This is a very robust and reliable finding known as the spacing effect in memory.”

To improve memory and boost exam performance, the psychology professor recommends students build study strategies around the retrieval of information. According to Westerman, this approach is commonly referred to as “the testing effect in memory.”

“Study sessions that include practice tests and flashcards will be far superior to ones that involve rereading the book, reviewing the notes or listening to your instructor or TA review the material,” she added.

Proper time management and study skills are not the only keys to successful stress management during finals week. According to Binghamton Health and Wellness Studies Professor Cary Schwartz, proper nutrition and exercise are equally vital.

Exercise increases brain endorphins (“feel-good” chemicals), Schwartz said. He recommends during finals week students emphasize fiber, protein and greens, and limit sugary, fattening foods (i.e., energy drinks and “junk” foods).

Like Lynch, Schwartz has seen the consequences for students who make poor decisions during finals week. “I can tell most students are exhausted during finals week from lack of sleep, lack of focus and low energy levels from lack of nutrition,” he said

A different attitude can also be critical.

“On the one hand, while I feel tense during finals week, I also feel kind of excited and almost look forward to it,” John Charitable, a BU senior, said.

Charitable views finals week as, “an exciting personal challenge to see how well I know all the stuff I studied.”

Preparation is critical for Charitable. “I try to study with my friends,” he said. “A lot of times that’s some of the best fun we have. There is something positive about finals, because it can bring you closer to people.”

He wasn’t always like this, especially first semester. “It had to be after 11 at night when my friend Brian called. He said to me, we’re going hiking now, get ready. And I said to him, ‘Dude, we have a final to study for.’ And he said, ‘I don’t care, we’re going.’

Charitable wouldn’t see his books, or bed, until 1 a.m., yet he didn’t seem to care.

“We went up to the top of the hill behind Mountainview,” he said. “That was a very relaxing experience to just get out with friends. I felt so much better afterwards.”

That evening, Charitable learned an important lesson: “I realized finals are important but so are my friends, and I was determined to not let exams stop me from enjoying the end of my first semester at school.”

How to get those abs you want

As a college student life can be hectic at times. Keeping up with a gym routine can be difficult. Also finding the right exercises that would produce the best results can sometimes be hard to find.

But don't fret because those rock hard abs that you've always wanted are still attainable.

According to Karon Karter, author and trainer if you implement the following in your ab workout it can make it more effective.
http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20411766,00.html

First, you should "move from your waist." You should only move from your bottom rib up.

Next, you "tighten up". You should feel tension and tightness when you do your movements. This shows that you are really working out your muscles.

Next you should "exhale deeply". This helps strengthen your abs and protect your lower back.

Lastly, you should a "after- burn" workout to help burn off the extra fat on your stomach.

I believe these tips will work because it is just improving the effectiveness of your ab workout.
So if you follow these tips in your ab workouts you should be seeing results in no time!

The Right Outlook As Key To Weight Loss

The following article is from the Huffington Post (I DO NOT claim ownership):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-inner-weigh/lose-weight-by-making-pea_b_757712.html

The author of this piece asserts that readers can most effectively lose weight by not engaging in self-loathing and by not choosing a ‘wrong’ reason to lose weight (e.g. impressing others). While I agree with the author on the first point she makes: that resenting one’s self can lead to a downward spiral that ultimately cripples weight loss efforts, I couldn’t disagree with her more on her second piece of advice. For a professional fitness instructor/nutritionist who counsels women on weight loss, the author must surely recognize that a plurality (if not an outright majority) of women who seek her advice, are doing so to ultimately make themselves more appealing to men. What the author fails to realize is that impressing members of the opposite sex with one’s physical fitness is compatible with boosting one’s self esteem, and is a uniquely human attempt to answer biology’s call. A desire to attract others is a perfectly normal and healthy human phenomenon. I also believe that each of us owes it to not just our significant others but to family and friends as well to keep ourselves fit and healthy. If a person is not motivated enough to get (and stay) in shape for himself, perhaps the consequences of his poor eating choices will manifest themselves in the concerns and criticisms of his loved ones, and will serve as a powerful enough incentive for him to at least reassess his lifestyle.

Fighting to Stay Awake

Whenever I don't get a full nights rest, I always make sure that I get my hands on a large cup of coffee to get through the day.

Many people who can't find the time to sleep rely on the quick-start of caffeine and sugar. But how healthy are caffeine and sugar substitutions for sleep?

Not very healthy at all, according to an article posted by Health.com.

Sugar can give you that quick high you're looking for, but it's followed by a crash that can you leave you more tired than you had been. Caffeine has an opposite effect, because it gives you a longer lasting boost that can later prevent you from falling asleep.

As the article points out, it's clear that there's no good replacement for a good nights sleep. But you'll still find me in line at the coffee kiosk on the occasional slow morning.

Forget something?

As a college student, slouching could almost be considered one of my past times. Whether hunching over a keyboard or falling asleep in class, it unfortunately is rare that I am sitting straight up.

What comes along with this kind of behavior? Back pain.

When I go to the gym, however, my mind is far from my back. My goal is to offset my other bad habits at school; I mostly focus on cardio, abs and legs.

I could kill a few bad-habit-birds with one stone if I utilized my exercise time more wisely.

An article in Natural Health Magazine offers some simple exercises to help out our aching backs that are aimed at working those muscles we often forget when we're at the gym: the upper back and shoulder rotators.

The article promises you'll see a "notable difference" in your posture and performance, which sounds like it's worth a try.