HEALTH
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Photo illustration by Jerry Wang
Snooze control: By allowing natural light to wake you up in the morning, you will feel more awake. The light enters the optic nerve and tells the brain to stop producing melatonin, which induces sleep.
HOW YOUR SLEEPING HABITS AFFECT YOUR LIFESTYLE
// JUSTINE PATTON
The morning person greets the sunrise with a smile, while the night owl feels most awake as darkness falls. But who gets the best sleep? And is it possible to convert to the other side?
Sleep helps regulate almost everything our bodies do — from brain operation to making sure our immune systems are in tip-top condition, says Michael Twery, the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research. If we don't get the recommended amount of sleep (seven to nine hours), then our minds and bodies start to suffer as a result. "When you're tired, things don't look so bright and cheerful," Twery says.
Sleep-deprived students could also be slipping into bad habits. People may self-medicate by smoking a cigarette to get to sleep, says Twery. Likewise, someone who has only slept for five hours may eat an extra snack for fuel. All those extra snacks and cigarettes can lead to unhealthy lifestyles. When you're sleep-deprived, you often skip exercising as well.
Pulling a few all-nighters during the school year isn't going to hurt, but if sleep-deprivation becomes a lifestyle choice, research indicates that it heightens the risk of heart disease, stroke and obesity. "When you're 21 or 22, it's hard to
SUGGESTIONS FOR A GOOD NIGHT'S REST:
Say goodbye to the snooze button. It takes the body at least 20 minutes to get into deep, REM sleep. So, instead of getting 30 more minutes of REM sleep, you're getting the lightest, least beneficial sleep possible. Source: Michael Breus, the author of The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan
Sleep is often a student's last priority. Betsy Ball, Overland Park sophomore, says she usually only gets about six hours of sleep a night. "They say for every hour of class you have, you need three hours of studying time." Ball says. "There's not enough time for that, work, a social life and sleep."
-- Avoid caffeine -understand how the lifestyle you're living can affect your long-term life," Twery says.
-- Exercise
Studies show people who exercise on a regular basis simply sleep better.
-- Relax -largely by genes, says Michael Breus, the author of The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan, but it's possible to manipulate it in a few different ways. The preferred method is light therapy, where individuals are introduced to natural light in the morning. The light enters the optic nerve, which signals the brain to stop producing melatonin. Melatonin is the key that starts the engine for sleep. So, one way to feel more awake in the morning is to take a short walk outside in the sun.
Caffeine has a life of eight to nine hours. If you have a cup of coffee around 5 p.m., some of that caffeine will still affect the body at midnight.
This hectic lifestyle may make morning people the envy of their night owl opposites. Just think: How awesome would it be to feel alert and ready for your 8 a.m. exam rather than cloudy and sluggish?
Do something to power down before bed, such as reading, watching TV or meditating.
Basically, if you want to wake up earlier, you need to go to bed earlier. Manipulating a person's circadian rhythm can make this transition easier. A circadian rhythm is a natural pattern of processes, including cycles of being awake and asleep, body temperature and the release of hormones during a 24-hour period. It determines what time of day we get the urge to sleep and is to blame for a morning or night preference, says Brandon Peters, a resident in neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical Center.
Everyone's circadian rhythm is determined
If you have trouble getting to sleep at a decent hour, using medication such as sleeping pills or melatonin may help. However, be careful if you seek this type of treatment; such medications affect hormone levels and can be dangerous if not supervised by a doctor.
An assembly line-style bakery lets the customer pick the cake, filling and topping.
INDEX
brings changes to cupcakes.
Classifieds ... 3A
Crossword ... 4A
Cryptoquips ... 4A
Opinion ... 5A
Sports ... 8A
Sudoku ... 4A
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Scattered T-Storms
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SUNDAY
All contents, unless stated otherwise.
© 2011 The University Daily Kansan
Facilities Operations also tries to use native grasses in areas that aren't high in traffic, such as the West Campus, and limit the number of flowerbeds. This reduces costs and the number of ripped out flowers.
I'm not going to milk my water and I'm not trying to fertilize at all" Harding said. The only fertilizer the University is going to use this year is a self-digest compost mix.
"We keep all of the leaves and any green stuff in a big pile and we just keep turning it," Harding said. "It definitely helps us reduce our cost. We can just fill that in and let it decompose."
SEE FLOWERS ON PAGE 2A
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assistant director of the landscape department. Facilities Operations is in charge of eight flowerbeds that contain about 11,000 bulbs and hundreds of shrub beds. In addition to planting flowers, the crew picks up trash in the morning, mows the grass at least once a week and otherwise maintains the about 1,000 acres of land on campus.
"I just want to have a nice place for people to come and learn." Harding said. "I want it to be a destination"
Although some would like to keep the uprooted tulips instead of throwing them away, the University is not allowed to give them away because the flowers are bought with state money.
wpletcher@kansan.com
TRAVEL
The first "freedom ride" took place almost 40 years ago when more than 400 black and white civil rights activists rode from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans on public buses to protest against segregation laws in the South.
Student to take "freedom ride" across country
Freshman travels the original route
Dale, a freshman from Topeka, is one of 40 students from around the country to participate in Freedom Riders 2011, which is being organized by the Public Broadcasting Service series "American Experience."
BY WESTON PLETCHER wpletcher@kansan.com
"The students selected are the civic engagers of tomorrow. They are passionate about a plethora of issues." Dale said. "I hope to bring that passion back to KU. I want to learn from them and teach others
William Dale will get the chance to retrace the route of the original "freedom riders" in early May, joining a few of the original freedom riders and learning about civic engagement.
"There is so much to learn, and I look forward to absorbing as much knowledge as I can," Dale said.
From May 6 to May 16, Dale will travel by bus from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans just like the first freedom riders. The students will make stops at many of the locations that the original riders visited, which include Atlanta's Morehouse College; the Aniston, Ala., Bus Station; Vanderbilt University's First Amendment Center; the historic First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala.; and finally will end the trip in New Orleans with a rally to welcome the original "freedom riders."
Dale said he was looking forward to the trip. He said he wanted to be able to discuss current social issues with other like-minded students.
— Edited by Samantha Collins
about mv experience."
William Dale, a freshman from Topeka, was one of 40 students from across the country to be accepted to participate in Freedom Riders. 2011.
Contributed photo
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