Health

FRS 100: Freshman Seminar

Lesson 10: Health
Oct. 21, 2002

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to do each of the following without consulting notes or other resources:

Use nutrition, exercise, rest, and counseling to maintain health and manage stress.
Define or identify relevant terms.

Assignments

Before coming to class on Monday, you should complete the following assignments:

Read “Managing College Life” in Making Your Mark.

Activities

Our class activities this week include the following:

Think Fast: Describe your energy level right now. How might this energy level be affected by nutrition, exercise, and rest?

Presentation: Counseling and Testing: Kyle W., Siporia, Erin

Collaborative Learning: Compare strategies for maintaining good health.

Discussion: During this time, we will discuss the insights and questions that have emerged during the “Think Fast” exercise and presentations. In particular, we will compare the lists from men and women.

Think Again: Describe one strategy that you can use to improve your health. Incorporate this material into your Life Plan.

Conferences: While the rest of you are working on the “Think Again” exercise, I will meet with some of you in one-on-one conferences.

Announcements: We will wrap up this lesson with announcements regarding upcoming lessons, as well as other relevant subjects.

Terms

Make sure you know the meaning and significance of the following:

nutrition
exercise
rest
energy

Introduction

In our second lesson on personal issues, we will look this week at health. Specifically, we will discuss nutrition, exercise, rest, and counseling as means to maintaining good health and earning high grades.

Discussion

You already know that eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep help you maintain good health. Limiting your fat intake and exercising regularly, for example, can help ward off heart problems, and adequate rest is one factor in preventing illness. Did you know, however, that being healthy can help you earn high grades? Take care of your body, and you take care of your mind!

Let’s start with the basics. Experts generally recommend that we drink 8-10 8-oz. glasses of water per day, eat 4-6 servings of fruits and vegetables, generally avoid tobacco and fatty foods, exercise several days a week, generally go to sleep and wake up at the same times, and sleep about eight hours per day. Because of its effects on energy levels, I also recommend avoiding caffeine, commonly found in coffee and soft drinks. Following these simple guidelines alone can make dramatic differences in your health, helping you to avoid illness and generally feel good. They also can make differences in your grades. Avoiding caffeine and getting enough rest, for example, helps ensure that you have the energy you need to read your text books, study your notes, write papers, and take tests.

Researchers have uncovered a few other factors that can affect your academic performance in specific ways. For example, research suggests that students who eat breakfast tend to earn higher test scores. Both protein and exercise, furthermore, has been to shown to make people more alert. Thus, eating a breakfast with some protein—eggs, yogurt, or milk, for example—and exercising a bit before a test may give you the extra lift you need to earn an A. Furthermore, sleep helps to lock material into your memory; thus, reviewing your notes right before you go to bed may help you to remember them.

Conclusion

Having looked at both relationships and health, we turn in our next lesson to a subject that involves both: sex.