Take Care of Yourself at College

Exercise Often

Some students are very active physically. These are the ones who belong to collegiate or intramural athletic teams, or like to work out to keep themselves in shape. But others (in fact, most) find that they spend the majority of the day sitting in classes, and then sitting in front of their computers, and then sitting to read textbooks, and then sitting in the cafeteria, and then sitting in front of the TV.

If this describes your day, take a look at this list of just some of the things exercise could be doing for you if you changed a few daily habits:

Exercise can alleviate tension and elevate mood. Sustained movement at target heart rate causes your body to produce greater amounts of the beta-endorphins, which counter stress and depression and help you to sleep. Exercise can improve alertness. A thirty-minute round of aerobic exercise has been shown to improve short-term memory and increase mental performance. Exercise can give you increased energy. Energy levels increase as the muscles become better able to use oxygen, the heart's pumping capacity improves, and the resting pulse slows. This allows the heart to pump the same amount of blood with fewer beats. Exercise can stimulate the immune system. This will help you ward off the bacterial and viral germs that congregate in the cramped quarters of college classes and dormitories. Exercise keeps off excess weight. Just eight to twelve minutes of aerobic activity can decrease appetite, boost the metabolic rate so you continue to burn calories at a higher rate for up to two days, and build lean tissue, which occupies less space than the replaced fat.

I know you're busy, but you don't have to spend an hour in the fitness center or the gym every day to keep yourself healthy. Just make a conscious effort to find ways to keep moving:

• Take a longer route to walk to your classes.
• Always use the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Park your car, if you have one, far from the building.
• Find small, easy ways to get your heart pumping a ­ couple of times a week, even if it's simply to run in place for ten minutes while you're watching a TV ­ show in your room.

If you do these things, it won't take long at all to feel the difference in your overall physical and mental health.

Eat Well to Stay Strong

Everybody knows about the "freshman 15." But to keep yourself healthy, you need to understand where that extra weight comes from and why poor eating habits can interfere with a good college experience. (I told you I was going to sound like your mother here.)

Think about it. What did you eat today that actually had nutrients in it that will give your body strength, stamina, and good health? The students I see who complain of being overweight, rundown, sluggish, or exhausted usually admit that their meals consist mostly of high-calorie junk. Pizza, hamburgers, french fries, and ice cream are the main diet for many students.

Whether you live on campus or are running in and out of your home as you commute to school, Mom and Dad aren't organizing well-balanced, nutritious meals for you anymore. You're in charge of what you eat, so be sure (at least occasionally) to choose wisely:

• Drink lots of water.
• Add a salad to every dinner meal and go light on the salad dressing.
• Substitute a piece of fruit for a high-calorie dessert at least once a day.
• Substitute whole wheat bread for white bread.
• Have a bowl of fortified cereal instead of a bagel or doughnut.
• Put a vegetable on your plate as you walk through the cafeteria line.
• Don't bring high-calorie junk snacks like potato chips and nachos into your dorm room.

Small changes like these add up to big benefits by the end of the week.

While many college students suffer nutritional deficiencies due to lack of time and effort, another segment of the college community struggles with eating problems with much more severe and complex roots. Here is a quick summary of information about eating disorders, a very common, but very treatable, issue that many young women and some young men face.

The three most common types of eating disorders found on college campuses are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-­ eating disorder. Those suffering these disorders need to be especially aware of their physical and mental health and reach out for help.

Here are some of the reasons that these three eating disorders should not be ignored:

• Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder, affecting 7 million women and 1 million men, in which people use self-imposed starvation to lose weight.¹ Anorexia has a mortality rate between 7 and 15 percent, which is higher than the mortality rate of many cancers.
• Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder, affecting 2 to 5 percent of college-age people, in which a person has recurrent and uncontrollable episodes of binge eating followed by the urgent need to eliminate (purge) the food through some self-induced method such as vomiting, enemas, starvation, laxatives, diuretics, or excessive exercise. Bulimia can lead to an array of medical problems, including dehydration and dry skin, constipation from lack of body fluids, muscle spasm, kidney problems, inflammation and possible rupture of the esophagus from frequent vomiting, peptic ulcers and pancreatitis, and electrolyte imbalances (which can lead to irregular heartbeats and possibly heart failure and death). There is also extensive and expensive damage to the teeth, and it takes the average person over a year to seek treatment from the onset of symptoms. Don't wait! The longer you have the disorder, the harder it is to treat and undo the harm.
• Binge-eating disorder is a common phenomenon in college and has a more balanced gender ratio, although it is still predominantly a disorder of women. In some cases, the weight gain brought on by bingeing makes the person feel unattractive, allowing him or her to avoid forming intimate relationships. Like anorexia and bulimia, binge eating also has severe negative consequences: high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart disease as a result of elevated triglyceride levels, secondary diabetes, gallbladder disease, and the health risks associated with obesity.

These eating disorders commonly peak at the age of eighteen, just the time when young people enter their adult lives and start college.

Quick Tip: Prevent Binge Eating

The strongest predictor of binge eating at night is undereating in the morning. Be sure to start out your day with breakfast that contains some protein and isn't loaded with sugar. You can do this simply by spreading peanut butter on your toast rather than margarine, choosing scrambled eggs rather than pancakes, and adding an occasional yogurt.

Quick Tip: Speak Up to Save Your GPA

If you miss classes while you're struggling with emotional issues, the problem gets compounded by the fear of lowering your GPA. In this case, the mental health counselors on your campus can help you. I often write notes for students to give to their professors asking for appropriate considerations, such as extending the deadline on a paper or offering a test at a later date. This letter does not give specific reasons and will not break the bond of confidentiality by saying something like: "Kristen is suffering from depression and therefore needs additional time to hand in her term paper." Rather, the letter simply shares information the professor needs to know: "Kristen has a medical problem that has been interfering with her ability to do her class assignments. Please make appropriate accommodations and allow Kristen to make up any missed work." Speak up and let the health care counselors know what you need.