How is it possible to get rid of food cravings? They seem to plague me all of the time, even when I have already eaten. I will be the first to admit that I have a sweet tooth, and that makes it extremely tough to avoid the sudden urge to down a pint of ice cream. However, it can be done. Being strong-willed is extremely important to achieving success in defeating your urges. You have to battle yourself to not dig that spoon into a half-gallon of cookie dough creamery ice cream, and you have to constantly remind yourself that you will be better because you are not taking in 1500 calories at 1 am. While sometimes seeming impossible, it can be done.

My first suggestion is to distract yourself. I often find that if I am having a craving, I can start work on a homework assignment or find some other activity to occupy my mind and make me forget about my love for unhealthy food. This is great because I do not take in unneeded calories. This is especially important because it allows me to dodge extra fat gain associated with eating a large number of calories at night. This is an issue because you have all of those calories in you but you are not doing anything to burn them off.

Another tactic that I use to dodge cravings is to eat something else besides the food you are craving. One great food to use is protein powder because it is low-calorie and it is filling. This is probably my most used tactic because protein is also beneficial for muscle growth. My recommendation is to find a protein flavor that is low in calories but that also tastes good. This can possibly cause you to begin craving those protein shakes, which is something that has happened to me.

My last suggestion is to stay away from sweets and unhealthy food in general. If you avoid them, then cravings will come less and less often since you are not being exposed to those foods. You can slowly ween your body off of unhealthy foods, making yourself healthier while also testing your willpower.

So resist the 1 am urge to chow on unhealthy food. It may be tough, but it is doable and I encourage everyone to at least make an attempt.

Avoiding sickness is the number one piece of advice I have for staying healthy. Yes, I know. This is pretty obvious and seems like it goes without saying, but so many people do not take the simplest steps to avoid getting sick, and that greatly impacts your health. Looking at the obvious reasons why this would impact your health, the first is that it makes you feel under the weather, and often that comes with body aches, headaches, fevers, and sore throats. Secondary impacts of these symptoms are things like being unable to exercise, lacking concentration, and losing nutrition because of eating less (this often happens to me when I am sick because I lose my appetite). All of these make you less healthy and can even have long-term impacts if you do not deal with your sickness correctly.

But my issue is that people do not seem to try to prevent sickness. They go around not caring if they become ill. This was obvious to me this past week when it became freezing up here in State College. The 65-degree weather the week before had everyone breaking out their shorts and T-shirts, but obviously, in whipping winds and 20-degree weather like we had this past week, shorts and a T-shirt are not acceptable. I then ask, why did I see multiple people walking outside in this outfit while I was walking in sweats, a sweatshirt, and a massive coat, still freezing to death? As a kid, and even now, I still hear my mom yelling at me to make sure I am wearing enough before I go outside on a cold day, and yes it’s annoying, and sometimes I did not/do not listen to her advice, that fact of the matter is that we really should follow it. But why should we follow this again?

Being cold lowers the immune system of the body, making your chances of getting sick increase. It also makes it harder to recover from sickness if you are battling one while being in the freezing cold wearing nothing. So seriously, don’t be that person. I understand doing it in 6^th grade. We all did it. But now we should understand that it is important to be healthy, and putting yourself in an unnecessarily risky situation for getting sick only serves to harm you.

Let’s face it. As college students, we are exposed to the topic of alcohol even before we step on campus. It just goes to show how big of a thing it is in college. Whether it was the educational courses mandated to be completed before the start of the first semester, or the supplementary classes during the first week to further improve education, we were prepared for its large influence on the college experience. However, the fact that Penn State has all of these educational and preparational courses for freshman students shows that they know the large role of alcohol on campus, but instead of removing it, they have decided to better educate in an effort to keep students safe. While some people may look at this as dangerous because it does not prohibit the use of alcohol, I would argue that it is actually better and safer, making students healthier in the process.

Why do I think this? Well, unless you are always making a concerted effort to avoid seeing or touching alcohol in your life, then you will experience it at some point. Whether that is in college or afterward at an office Christmas party. And by no means do you ever have to drink it, but the fact o the matter is that many people do. So, is it better for a college to deprive people of alcohol experience, where they can learn limits and its effects, and let them figure this out later in life? Or, is it better for college to educate students on the dangers of alcohol so they are knowledgeable and prepared? And yes, I know, college students typically act like fools when they are under the influence, but in reality, it is going to happen whether the school likes it or not, so they might as well make the students informed.

This plays into health because the more informed you are, the safer you will be when drinking. Alcohol, when consumed irresponsibly, is certainly bad for your health. It makes you hungover and tired, adds extra calories into your diet, and makes your body have a harder time healing. So, while yes you may go a little crazy with it sometimes, keep in mind alcohol’s effects on the body if you are really devoted to your health.

There is something about nice days that brightens my mood and creates a great day. They make me happy and excited, causing me to forget any stress or pressing issues on my mind. These past two days have made me recognize how much I appreciate the effects of nice days. Coming off of winter and the grey, cold, and outright nasty weather, I have never felt happier to see a 70-degree day and sunlight. However, I noticed the beneficial effects of these days on my mood, and ultimately, my health. I had two important quizzes this week that I did not feel very confident about. I had the pressing stress of having to figure out math which I did not understand plaguing my mind. Yet, when I walked outside on Wednesday, I immediately relaxed and began to feel that these quizzes were manageable.

What exactly this relaxing feeling was from, I cannot be sure, but I attributed it to the sunshine, warm air, and overall good auras of the day. And I also think a big portion of this feeling was because I simply spent time outside.

Too many people, in my opinion, spend too much time indoors, out of the sun. This has to be bad for your health. Not only are you lacking Vitamin D but you are also losing out on the joys of experiencing a nice day. There are, however, even more health benefits from spending time outdoors.

According to Sharp.com, spending time outside lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, improves our mood, helps us focus, and even helps the body heal faster (sharp.com). All of these combined can have a large impact on someone’s health. I think the lowering stress part is the most noticeable benefit, and it is also the most important because stress actually can take years off of your life or even give you a heart attack.

The large benefits from spending time outside should encourage everyone to make an effort to get out. It is nicer than being cooped up inside, and it is always something I appreciate doing. If you are someone who cares about your health, but maybe you are a video game connoisseur or spend all of your time studying in your dorm room, I encourage you to take the time to get outside. A little goes a long way.

https://www.sharp.com/health-news/5-ways-being-outdoors-can-make-you-healthier-and-happier.cfm

Once you get into the habit of going to the gym often, it is a tough one to break. However, I am currently on a break from the gym, and I feel like I may be going insane!

For me, the gym is a huge stress reliever and it helps me clear my mind and focus better when I get back to work. But in the last two weeks, I have not been able to go because of a jam-packed schedule paired with having a sickness for a few days. And boy can I feel the effects.

Not only do I constantly think about wanting to go to the gym, stressing the effects of each additional day off, but I also have lost a key stress-relieving tactic in a week filled with exams and grade postings. I also feel the effect on my energy. I have been very tired and lacking motivation the past week and a half, and I do not think it is a coincidence that this change happened during this break from working out. The main issue with this break from the gym is that it is involuntary. Sometimes people take voluntary breaks for a week or two to give their bodies rest, but for me, my break is entirely forced from lack of time, making me an unwilling participant in a rest week.

But you should not write off rest weeks as some horrible thing just because I am experiencing one which I do not want to be in. Rest weeks really can have a benefit to the body. When you are completely burnt out, whether that is from school, life, or the gym, it can be good to take a rest week and let your mind have a break with the extra amount of time in your day. Also, the added recovery to your muscles can make you come back to the gym even stronger than before as long as a correct diet is upheld over the break. So seriously, if you need a rest week, take it.

My situation, on the other hand, is a rest week (more like 2 weeks) that I would not like to have. So I suggest to you if you are stuck with a jammed schedule where you think you may have to take an unwanted rest week, try to find a way around it. I wish I could, but my stubbornness to waking up at 6:00 and going to bed at 2:00 makes it an impossible task as of right now.

Smoking is nasty. I’m sorry. If I offend you with that, I am not meaning to target you, but really, it is gross. The smell, the look of it, and the health effects are certainly terrible. However, smoking has a new counterpart, vaping, and this is considered cleaner and less harmful. But is that really true? I am very unsure, especially because of my vaper friends.

Some of my friends began vaping in high school. It was actually during quarantine when they picked up the habit because I remember being really surprised when I met up with them for the first time after quarantine and half had vapes. I thought it was stupid and I still do, but I did not think too hard into the situation because I thought it would not affect their lives too much. However, I was definitely wrong.

It turns out, vaping greatly affected them. It began with making them addicted. Soon after they started, they began “craving” their nicotine and would begin stressing and becoming antsy when they were in school, unable to use their device in class. Then it developed into their taking “bathroom breaks” during class to use their vapes. This escalation happened quickly, and they were suddenly addicted without realizing it. But the effects of the vape started to show in their athleticism. All of my friends are decently athletic, but the ones who began vaping started losing their endurance and would become out of breath while throwing a football or during gym class. This was frightening because it was so atypical and it showed there was a very significant and negative impact on their bodies because of vaping.

Clearly, this is not healthy for you. But part of the problem is that once you start, it is very tough to stop. My friends have become addicted, and for a while, when they would say “ I can stop any time,” I would believe them, but now when I see them hitting their device every 5 minutes and losing their minds when they do not have it for a day, I know there is a problem.

So if you have not already, do not vape. It is pointless, and if you have any desire to keep your health and stay active, all you would be doing is hurting yourself.

Is being on your phone or computer too much bad for your health? I am starting to think it is. We often hear about the blue light screens being bad for people’s eyes, and I can attest, that is definitely true. We all know that feeling of staring at a screen for hours at night, whether it is from cramming the last few pages of an essay before 12, or mindlessly scrolling through Instagram until 3. When we put the device down and look at something other than the screen, our eyes and mind feel drained. I always feel like my eyes are extremely dry, and I have trouble focusing on things I look at. Often, when I close my eyes and try to sleep after being on my phone at night, I feel my eyes burn from finally getting a blink in after 10 minutes.

Now I know, just from experiencing it myself, that it cannot be healthy to be on your phone long enough for your eyes to burn. But I think there are also issues with being on your device too much other than just the light. Things like social media and advertisements on the devices are meant to be addicting and draw you in for hours. Think of Tik Tok, they have algorithms written to be extremely addictive, and this addiction can be like any other form of addiction. If you find yourself thinking that you will go on an app for only a few minutes, and then find an hour of your day has suddenly vanished, you might be in the midst of an addiction.

From my experience, I can attest that many people are addicted without knowing. My roommate, for example, would spend hours a day last semester on his phone, just scrolling Tik Tok. Finally, he noticed the issue and noticed the pointless time-suck, and has begun limiting his phone time. And this is a really helpful thing included on my phones. There are timers you can set to limit how long you are on your phone.

So my advice would be to use these timers. Do not let yourself be sucked into wasting valuable time from your day and life into something as monotonous and boring as your device. And of course, there is no issue with being on your phone, but be cognizant of when it becomes excessive because at that point it becomes a nuisance and in my opinion, hurts your health.

I think being happy is possibly the most important thing in life to health. It affects everything in life, really. Think about whenever you are happy. You are on top of the world and almost feel like you are glowing. This affects your mood for the rest of the day and influences your actions. Would you go out somewhere at night if you were upset or happy? Would you be more likely to talk to someone new? Your mood affects everything you do, so it makes sense that it would also affect your health.

The biggest piece of health that it affects is your mental health. And this makes sense, right? Your emotions are controlled by your brain, and it affects your mood and behavior. Since mental health is such an important topic and is being better understood every day, the large influence of emotions on mental well-being is at society’s forefront.

I would also argue, however, that being happy is a multitude of emotions. When you are nervous before trying something new, maybe before presenting in front of a large crowd, those nerves are not bad. You are still happy. I feel it is a mixture of multiple emotions that really create that happy feeling.

Another example of this might be after you finish a long project or something that was very time-consuming. The mixture of relief, pride, and satisfaction all combine together to make you feel happy. I know a great example of this that I can think of is the paradigm shift essay from last semester. That essay took hours to write and edit, and it involved deep thought. But after it was finished, I felt happy and relieved.

I would say that we most often feel happy after something good happens to us. When we are happy, we are also confident, and confidence typically brings more happiness. It seems to me like I get on streaks. When I am happy, good things happen to me and I gain more confidence, resulting in more good things. A great example of something that influences my happiness every day is the stock market. When the market is good one day, I feel great and it makes me feel good the rest of the day. But this is not the only thing that can make me happy, so even on down days, I try to look for something, anything, to make me happy. Thus, I would say that one of the most important things in life is staying happy because it really makes everything better.

My name is Mike and I am a caffeine addict. And no, I am not in an AA meeting right now. I am just willing to admit that I, like millions of others in the world, am addicted to caffeine. Granted, this is not nearly the worst thing to be addicted to, but it still gives me goosebumps thinking that I depend on something and not having it can greatly influence my mood and behavior. So, I bet you are wondering, how did my caffeine addiction start?

Picture me, a 7^th grader who grew up with coffee-drinking parents, smelling the fragrance of coffee lingering in the kitchen at 6 am while making my school sandwich. It has been around me my whole life, but my parents insisted that I should not drink it until I was older, but my time had come. I asked my mom if I could have a cup, and she thought for a moment, considering my situation as a tired 7^th grader awake at 6, and she caved. However, I will admit, I was responsible for the first 5 years of my life drinking coffee. For those years, I did not have an addiction. I only drank one cup a day, very rarely breaking that habit, and I felt as though I could quit drinking coffee any day and be fine.

Now, though… That is a different situation. I have become a caffeine addict mainly for two reasons. I had an 8 am last semester, so that should be self-explanatory, and I also started drinking Bangs. I know, I know, the Bang energy drinks are definitely not the best health choice, but can you blame me? I drink them before I go to the gym and they greatly amplify my workouts, so I feel like I am in some sort-of tradeoff situation. I drink the Bangs to get a better lift and become healthier from the lift, but the Bangs are, at the same time, making me less healthy. And which side of the tradeoff is healthier? I will never know.

However, I am planning to become less dependent on caffeine. I am starting by limiting the number of bang energies I drink to only one or two a week. Only when I really need a pick-me-up will I drink one. As it is with a lot of minor addictions like sugar and social media, it is about willpower if you want to quit. I know I have the ability to quit, it just comes down to this: am I willing to have a day or two of headaches? And THAT is a question I am not ready to face.

When we think about health, maybe we think about dieting, or fitness, possibly cardio pops into your head. But we also think about the hospital, sickness, and debilitating injuries. This is a form of health that everyone has struggled with in life. Whether you are lucky enough to have your worst health issue be the flu, or if you are someone who has a serious health issue affecting your everyday life, you have undoubtedly noticed a change when having these health issues.

But I would say that most people have experienced serious health issues second-hand. This could come from a grandparent becoming sick, a diagnosis of cancer in a family member, or an uncle having a heart attack. In my case, a serious health problem came from my dad.

When I was 5, my dad had an AVM while lifting in the gym. It is a little ironic because he was at the gym trying to get healthy when he actually triggered the AVM in his brain to rupture. While I was only five and had no true idea of the seriousness of the problem, I knew after seeing my dad wheeled out on a stretcher, that something had gone terribly wrong.

This was my first introduction to health concerns, but it certainly would not be my last. I learned that serious health issues have lasting effects and can cause other problems in the future. My dad’s AVM did this exact thing. In 2010, my dad had a seizure on the bathroom floor after going on a run outside. Given the fact that he had no history of seizures, it was a very abnormal event. However, it made me realize how easily ailments and medical issues can affect daily life. Because the AVM and seizure came out of nowhere, there was no preparation. No plan for how to handle the situation. Yet, this encouraged a large amount of familial collaboration to make the whole situation easier for everyone.

So a large takeaway from this is that everyone suffers health issues and emergencies, but these emergencies can really lend themselves as learning opportunities and moments of growth. While these emergencies may not be healthy because of the stress and pressure involved, they are healthy because of the mental growth that results.