Session 8: Utilizing Resources II: Nutrition and Exercise
Part 1: Resources
The Mission of Student Health Services is to promote each student's learning experience by providing health care and health education to insure academic success of students. Student Health Services provides comprehensive, cost effective, and compassionate medical care to students. This includes health education to promote healthy behaviors and avoidance of preventable disease. Part 2: Exercise 5 Reasons College Students Should Make Time For Exercise 1. Exercise Stimulates Brain Cell Development – NY Times Article 2. Exercise Improves Memory Retention 3. Exercise Increases Focus and Concentration – City Park High School Study 4. Exercise Boosts Mood - Duke Study 5. Exercise Relieves Stress Adapted From American Intercontinental University Part 3: Nutrition 4 Ways Eating Healthy Can Affect Your Grades? 1. Attendance. You can't keep up with homework and tests if you aren't in school every day. Getting adequate protein, vitamins and minerals from food can keep you from taking sick days and missing out on daily lessons. Eating a healthy breakfast makes you more likely to achieve your daily nutritional goals. This keeps your body strong and less likely to succumb to disease. While infectious colds and flus happen, getting sufficient vitamin C, for example, can help you bounce back faster, reports the National Institutes of Health. 2. Focus. School is a social network that requires cooperation from students, teachers and staff, and your behavior in this environment depends partly on getting to school well fed. Hunger can distract you and make you irritable, while eating a healthy breakfast has been shown to improve both alertness and mood. A 2005 study on eating habits and academic performance reported in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association" affirmed these findings, indicating that breakfast prepares students to work toward good grades in academic environments. 3. Thinking. Food energy and nutrients serve neurological as well as physical body functions. The same 2005 report concluded that eating breakfast regularly before school may affect the brain's short-term blood sugar requirements and long-term nutritional support. This improves the memory, problem solving and concentration skills that are intrinsic to learning and achieving high grades. 4. Test Scores. Balanced nutrition plays a part in testing well. The Food Research and Action Center relates that students who eat a complete instead of partial breakfast work more quickly with fewer math and number errors than those who don't. Healthy eating also contributes to better performance on vocabulary and visual skills tests. Tasks to Complete Keep track of your eating habits and your sleeping patterns for a week. Log how you feel overall throughout the week. Write about any correlations you notice between performance and wellness practices. Learning Links TTU Student Health Services Wellness Tips from Rutgers |
TASP Links |