Keeping Your Mind (And Body) Healthy!

Keeping Your Mind (And Body) Healthy!

We all know that the Wellness Fair had happened this past Fall Semester, but just because it’s well over doesn’t mean you can stop taking care of yourself! Midterms are are right around the corner if they haven’t started for you, and if you’re anything like me, you have projects and papers abound on a weekly basis that you have to worry about. I’m gonna give you a couple tips or hints that are helpful to me that might be able to help you as well, whether it be throughout the semester or during Finals Week!


Try to manage your time evenly. If you don’t have much homework one night, try to pick up the homework due in the coming days so you can catch up with your classes! There’s no sense in waiting until the last minute to do everything and it’s only going to be detrimental to your sanity to stress yourself out like that.

Don’t over-work yourself! Whether you’re studying for an exam, working on a paper, or both, don’t overwork your brain; it’s the most important muscle you have, and gets tired just like every other muscle. Try not to study or work for more than 90 minutes with 10 minutes intervals in between. If you’re studying, to remain focused, roughly 60 minute sessions in between breaks should help you retain the information properly.[1]

Don’t lose (much) sleep over assignments! Going off the last point, it’s important to not overwork the rest of your body as well. If you have to pull an all-nighter for a paper or a project, it’s important that you go no more than 36 hours without rest, as any time after might provide detrimental side-effects to how you begin processing information, as well as your fine motor skills.[2]

Remember to eat well. While studying it may be easy to forget meals, if you’ve filled your body with copious amounts of coffee or energy drinks(we’ve all been there). And while it may seem pretty straightforward as to why eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner are important, it may also help you to snack on certain things to help improve brain productivity. Nuts, like almonds, pistachios, and walnuts, contain a good amount of iron and also provide oxygen to the brain which increases your mental alertness and ability to retain information. Another helpful snack to consider are your fruits! Apples, and a variety of colorful berries such as blueberries, cherries, black currants, grapes, raspberries, blackberries, and cranberries all contain antioxidants specifically to increase bloodflow to your brain.[3]

Pet TiVo the Therapy Dog! A lot of us (including myself) have a dog or dogs back home that we love and miss and that are genuinely therapeutic to our mental health. And while we can’t bring our dogs with us to Loyola, we DO have TiVo the Therapy Dog that is always between our LSC and our WTC looking to brighten peoples’ days. Not sure where TiVo might be around campus? Follow him on Twitter for live updates as to where he might be at (@tivotherapydog). If you haven’t had very many chances to find and pet TiVo, I always recommend behind his ears and his lower back, and you’ll be his friend for life.


And even if these hints aren’t entirely helping you, that’s okay! Loyola wants to ensure the mental and physical health of all their students, and if you ever are feeling sick and want to talk to a nurse, our Dial-A-Nurse number is: 773.508.8883, and from the Wellness Center’s website http://www.luc.edu/wellness/ you can make an appointment to talk to a therapist. Both resources I’ve personally used, and there’s no shame in admitting that you need to take care of yourself. Throughout this semester, and the semesters to come, make sure that you’re doing everything you can to make sure you’re healthy, happy, and successful.

 

Citations:

[1]:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm
[2]:http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/what-happens-to-your-brain-after-36-hours-without-sleep
[3]:http://www.campustalkblog.com/top-10-brain-foods-that-help-you-study-and-get-better-grades/

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