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HEALTH
SLEEPING THROUGH
SCHOOL Siestas in sociology? Napping in neurobiology? Keeping up your energy for class is more than just chugging Red Bull every morning // ADAM VOSSEN
Crash and burn. Not petting enough sleep can cause drowsiness during the day. Passing out during a lecture doesn't help you ace that test, so consider boosting your energy with either more sleep or a nutritional snack during the day. Trail mix, for example, is easy to make and pack for the trek to campus. Next time your eyelids are feeling heavy, just reach for a healthy pick-me-up.
Photo illustration by Mia Iverson
when going into a class. Andrew Sigler knows what to expect. His mind starts to wander, his eyelids grow heavy and he finds himself nodding off in the middle of a lecture. He
leaves class with half-hearted notes and a fogy idea of what the professor was talking about.
The basics of health — sleep, exercise and a balanced diet — are what keep our bodies going through classes, tests and extracurricular activities. The average college student needs eight to nine hours of sleep a night. A balanced diet doesn't consist of beer, pizza and Ramen noodles. Regular exercise should consist of more than a p crawl on Mass Street. When any (or usually the case, all) of the factors of health take a hit, so do our GPAs. Getting those extra hours of shut-eye might seem impossible, but eating better and fitting fitness into your schedule is easier than you might think.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Before his classes in the afternoon, Sigler. Lawrence junior, will usually have a bowl of cereal or a small snack for lunch. Often, this is his first meal of the day.
Trying to fit a meal into a busy schedule by hurriedly scarfing down food can also cause fatigue. If you're eating too fast, your body becomes focused on your stomach and digesting the food, not your brain and registering how full you are, says Elaine Wilkes, author of Nature's Secret Messages: Hidden in Plain Sight.
Cereals are high in simple sugars, which cause your body to quickly produce insulin followed by a crash in energy level, says Matt Goodmote, physical therapist and health writer. Protein is Goodmote's best bet on a consistent energy level. Protein takes longer for the body to digest, so the sugar is slowly released into the bloodstream, keeping your energy up longer than simple sugars found in oft-eaten foods such as chips, cookies and crackers.
"Food can be a sedative — too much will make you tired." Wilkes says.
Foods that give other people energy might
not always have the same effect for you, she says. Wilkens encourages people to "play detective," taking note of what they eat and when they feel tired. This will lead you to make a connection between the two so you can avoid the foods that don't do your body good.
Having snacks throughout the day is a good way to keep energy up as well as stimulate your metabolism, but not all snacks are helpful. Stay away from soda, which is not only acidic for your body but is also high in sugar and causes the crash mentioned above. Wilkes says. Matt Nahirstedt,
St. Charles, Mo., junior, usually has a citrus fruit before a class he knows will make him tired, but this strategy isn't always effective. Fresh fruit is good for you, but doesn't pack the energy punch needed to make it through a PowerPoint lecture.
Besides providing an energy boost, snacks can also be made easily and cheaply, Goodmote says. A Ziploc baggy of trail mix, heavy on the nuts and short on the M&Ms, is an easily-made treat for your mid-afternoon slump. Yogurt or peanut butter and bananas are also healthy and cheap choices.
WHEN YOUR METABOLISM GOES MISSING
In high school, Nahrstedt was on the swim and water polo team. He went to practices four to five days a week for the majority of the school year. Although he is involved in the swim and water polo club teams at the University, he usually only attends practices two days a week. He says practices aren't as vigorous as they were in high school.
"I'm eating healthier than I did in high school.
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