Environmental Wellness

#HealthyPSU, 9 Dimensions of Wellness

 Environmental Wellness: What It Is, Why It’s Important, and How to Cultivate It

 What does it mean to have Environmental Wellness? Environmental wellness is about having a connection with the earth. This means you actively work to preserve and protect the planet and help make it a clean and safe place to live (1). This includes protecting yourself from environmental hazards such as air pollution, ultraviolet radiation in the sunlight, chemicals, noise, water pollution, and second-hand smoke (2).

 Why is Environmental Wellness important?

If the environment isn’t healthy, then humans and other creatures cannot thrive.   Human beings have the greatest impact on the earth’s resources (e. g., air and water) than any other creatures.  It’s up to us to make sure we’re engaging in behaviors that foster sustainability and are ecologically friendly.  Also, having a healthy and clean environment contributes to your overall physical and mental health (2).

 How do you cultivate Environmental Wellness?

Protect and preserve the environment by reusing and/or recycling paper, glass, plastic, and metal.  Understand that natural resources are not limitless (2).   Buy less stuff (e. g., clothing,  electronics).   Reduce trips in the car by walking, taking the bus, or riding a bike to work, class, and the store.  Use natural cleaning supplies.   Reduce your use of paper; don’t print things unless you need to.   Make sure your living space is clean and free of the environmental hazards listed above.

 Share examples of how you reduce your impact on the planet with #healthypsu

 References

  1. UC Davis Worklife and Wellness: http://wellnesschallenge.ucdavis.edu/environmental.html
  2. University of California, Riverside Wellness: http://wellness.ucr.edu/environmental_wellness.html

 

Health Promotion and Wellness now accepting applications for peer educators

#HealthyPSU, Body Image, Cooking Videos, Fitness, Healthy Eating, On Campus, Recipes, Sleep Management, Stress Management

Health Promotion and Wellness is currently accepting applications for HealthWorks, a peer outreach and education program at University Park. The deadline to apply is March 2.

HealthWorks offers two unique opportunities for students who are interested in health and wellness. These opportunities include facilitating one-on-one wellness services and conducting outreach events and educational workshops. During the application process students prioritize which opportunity they are most interested in.

Participation in the program is a three semester commitment, which includes one semester of training (during fall 2018)  and two semesters of service. For this reason, students who wish to apply must plan to graduate in fall 2019 or later.

Training for the program requires the completion of a three-credit course offered through Biobehavioral Health in the fall semester.  Students learn about the following topics in the course: alcohol and other drugs, financial literacy, sexual health, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress. There are no prerequisites required to register for the course.

After completing the 3-credit course, participants are required to complete 45 hours of service each semester. Members participate in one of two opportunities:  1) deliver free wellness services about stress and time management, physical activity, nutrition, sleep, sexual health and healthy relationships, and financial literacy;  or 2)  conduct educational workshops, hold outreach events, plan and implement health promotion initiatives.  A few examples of the health promotion initiatives include conducting healthy cooking demonstrations, writing blog and social media posts for Healthy Penn State and appearing in The Body Monologues.   A small group of students are trained to provide HIV test counseling.

If you’re passionate about health and promoting the well-being of all Penn State students, then HealthWorks is a great fit for you,” said Christina Volpicelli, a senior majoring in biobehavioral health.  “HealthWorks also offers many leadership and learning opportunities for its members such as video editing, leading health campaigns, public speaking and teaching skills to educate the Penn State community.  Everything you will learn and the people you will meet through this organization will benefit you throughout any career you wish to pursue.”

For more information about HealthWorks, including an application, please visit  http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/health/wellness/healthWorks.shtml.

 

The link between binge drinking and having an ER visit

#HealthyPSU

According to the most recent National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, on at least one occasion in the past year, 32 million adults in the U.S. engaged in binge drinking. Many of these individuals fell in the 18 to 24 year old age range.  Binge drinking is defined as having four or more drinks on an occasion for women, or five or more drinks on an occasion for men. This can produce blood alcohol levels greater than 0.08 percent, which is the legal limit for driving in the United States.

Researchers identified 3 drinking levels based on the respondents’ drinking behavior in the last year. Level 1 binge drinkers were 13 times more likely to have an alcohol-related emergency room visit compared to non-binge-drinkers.  Being a Level I, II, and III binge drinker also increased the likelihood of meeting the criteria for an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).

What level do you fall in?  Does your drinking put you at-risk for an alcohol-related ER visit?  Does it put you at-risk for an AUD?  How does your drinking behavior line-up with your educational and career goals?

Hingson, R.W.; Zha, W.; White, A. M. Drinking beyond the binge threshold: Predictors, consequences, and changes in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine52(6):717–727, 2017. PMID: 28526355

Exercise is Medicine

#HealthyPSU, Exercise, Exercise is Medicine, Fitness, On Campus

Exercise is Medicine on campus (EMOC) is a global health initiative that promotes exercise as a way to decrease chronic disease. Exercise is Medicine is designed to increase physical activity and use exercise as the best ‘medicine.’ Every year in October, Penn State’s Kinesiology department organizes a week-long series of events to spread the word about how exercise can improve the well-being of Penn State students and employees.  Based on the Penn State Health Assessment, 56% of students are meeting the national guidelines for aerobic exercise (1). However, 50% of students report spending 4 or more hours per day on their computer, mobile device or watching TV (not including time for work or schoolwork).

There’s still work to be done, which is why this is a great campaign to get people moving! Health is wealth. Keep moving Penn State.

1. Penn State Student Health Assessment 2016 https://healthypennstate.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4423/2016/07/Accessible-version-PSU-Annual-Report-2016.pdf 

Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping and Cooking…Oh My!

#HealthyPSU, Healthy Eating, On Campus, Recipes

Meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking for yourself can be exciting but it can be overwhelming.  Healthy eating, when cooking for yourself, is possible when you are on a college student budget.

Let’s explore ways you can plan out meals for the week:

  1. Map out meals for the week.
  2. Know what foods you have on hand already.
  3. Think about your schedule.  Choose meals that are easy to prepare on busy days and save longer recipes for weekends or days when you have more time.
    • Cook several meals at once when you have free time.  In other words, make lasagna or a casserole that can be used for several meals. The extra food can be reheated or finished after a busy day.
    • Use a crockpot to create meals that are ready when you get home.
    • Check out nutritious and delicious recipes and view cooking videos on www.healthypennstate.psu.edu for ideas.
  4. Make a grocery list
    • Can use scratch paper, templates or mobile apps.
    • Keep an ongoing list in your kitchen or on your phone.

Discover Intuitive Eating

#HealthyPSU, Healthy Eating

Do you find yourself dieting frequently, feeling guilt after eating certain foods, or setting up rules for yourself surrounding eating patterns?  Do you often feel like you’ve failed when it comes to eating and weight?  If you identify with any of these concerns, you may want to consider intuitive eating.  It’s not a diet, rather it’s a way of eating that encourages you to make peace with food.  Intuitive eating can help you achieve the natural weight that is the best fit for you. There are 10 “rules” that will help you to ditch diets and start enjoying your food, your body and your life.

  1. Reject the Diet Mentality: Throw out the diet books and magazine articles that offer you false hope of losing weight quickly, easily, and permanently. They don’t work.
  2. Honor Your Hunger: Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Otherwise you can trigger a primal drive to overeat.
  3. Make Peace with Food: Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can’t or shouldn’t have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing.
  4. Challenge the Food Police: Scream a loud “NO” to thoughts in your head that declare you’re ‘good’ for eating under 1000 calories or ‘bad’ because you ate a piece of chocolate cake.
  5. Respect Your Fullness: Listen to the signals from your body that tell you that you are no longer hungry. Observe the signs that you’re comfortably full.
  6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor: When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting and conducive, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content, likely with less food.
  7. Honor Your Feelings without Using Food: Find ways to comfort, nurture, distract, and resolve your issues and emotions without using food.
  8. Respect Your Body: Accept your genetic blueprint. A person with a shoe size of eight would not expect to realistically squeeze into a size six. The same is true for body size. Learn to feel better about the body that you have.
  9. Exercise and Feel the Difference: Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Focus on how it feels to move your body, instead of how it “feels” to burn calories.
  10. Honor Your Health With Gentle Nutrition: Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel well. Remember that you don’t have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters; progress not perfection is what counts.

If you’d like more help with planning a healthy well-balanced diet, make an appointment with a dietitian at by calling 814-863-0461 or by visiting our website.  Nutrition visits are free for all Penn State students.

Source: Resch, E, Tribole, E. Retrieved from Intuitive Eating.

The Wellness Suite

#HealthyPSU, Fitness, Healthy Eating, On Campus, Sleep Management, Stress Management
Health Promotion and Wellness (HPW) has new space. The Wellness Suite is in 20 IM building, downstairs and next to Adventure Recreation.  The Wellness Suite offers many great resources for students including walking maps, Manage Stress workbooks, Smart & Safe at State guides, and free wellness services.
The wellness services are designed to help you set goals, develop skills and enhance your health behaviors.  The topics include: nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress (with an emphasis on time management or relaxation strategies), healthy relationships and financial wellness. HealthWorks peer educators facilitate the sessions.  The services were developed using research-based models.  Each service is designed to help students increase knowledge and learn new skills that contribute to healthy behaviors and academic success.   Schedule an appointment by calling 814-863-0461.
In the suite, you will find an area with tables, comfy chairs, and a relaxation room.  It’s the prefect place to study or chill out in the middle of a busy day.  The relaxation room features coloring pages and colored pencils, meditation information, a zen garden, and biofeedback software. Visit the Wellness Suite this semester, open Monday–Friday 8am-5pm.

Emotional Wellness

#HealthyPSU, 9 Dimensions of Wellness

Emotional Wellness: What It Is, Why It’s Important, and How to Cultivate It

What does it mean to have Emotional Wellness? 

Emotional wellness means having the ability to acknowledge, express, and cope with your feelings (1). You engage in self-care and stress reduction activities.  You also have the inner strength to handle tough situations (2).

Why is Emotional Wellness important? 

Being emotionally well and able to recognize and accept your feelings can make you more emotionally intelligent.  This will also help you handle stressful situations. Emotional wellness is important because it can help you become more emotionally stable.  You’ll also increase your inner strength and improve your self-worth and confidence in your ability to make decisions (2).

How do you cultivate Emotional Wellness? 

Cultivating emotional wellness requires you to be positive and be true to yourself. To have emotional wellness, you must be able to accept your feelings and be comfortable expressing your emotions (3). To fully accept your emotions, you first have to be okay making mistakes and be able to learn and grow from your mistakes (3). Cultivating emotional wellness is not an easy task. Take small steps.  Start by writing down your thoughts and feelings.

  1. Ohio State University, Student Wellness Center: https://swc.osu.edu/about-us/9-dimensions-of-wellness/
  2. UC Davis Student Health and Counseling:  https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/wellness/emotional/
  3. University of California, Riverside: https://wellness.ucr.edu/emotional_wellness.html

Tips to Reduce Stress and Sleep Better

#HealthyPSU, Sleep Management, Stress Management

During finals week, most students would agree that their stress level increases, while the number of hours they spend sleeping decreases. This might sound like old news, but did you know that stress and sleep directly affect your overall health and wellness?

Increased stress can lead to decreased sleep, and both can lead to lower academic performance, more illness, weight gain, and increased mental health issues. One way to decrease stress and improve sleep is to incorporate relaxation into your daily routine. Research shows that practicing relaxation techniques may result in recovery from fatigue, better sleep quality, and an increased sense of control and efficacy in stressful situations. Relaxing includes taking a walk in the park, deep breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga. Try the free yoga classes at the Student Health Center from 4-5pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays all fall semester and through finals week.

In addition to stress, sleep can be affected by the blue light that is emitted from electronic screens. Blue light delays the release of sleep-inducing melatonin, increases alertness, and interrupts your circadian rhythm. Normally, the pineal gland in the brain begins to release melatonin a couple of hours before bedtime, and melatonin reaches its peak in the middle of the night. When people use a device that emits blue light (like cell phone) in the evening, it takes them longer to fall asleep and they tend to spend less time in a deep sleep (1).

Interested in learning more about sleep?  Health Promotion and Wellness offers free one-on-one wellness services to students.  Topics include stress and time management, sleep, physical activity, nutrition, healthy relationships and sexual health, and financial wellness.  HealthWorks peer educators provide the services.  These services are FREE and are in the Wellness Suite, 020 IM Building.  To schedule an appointment call 814-863-0461.

  1. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side