Heels. Why do women wear them? Do they make our legs look longer? Butt bigger? Men. What is so attractive about a girl wearing heels? Is it the way she wobbles while trying to walk from point A to point B? Or is it the excruciating look of the arched foot? As a woman, who admits to succumbing to the trend of wearing heels, I wondered…what is this doing to our bodies? A pair of shoes that makes balancing, walking and holding one’s self up a painful experience, there must be something wrong.

There is general consensus that one of the images of “beauty” is wearing high heels. Workingwomen as well are struggling with this issue. Women workers experience a social pressure to wear high heels because that also constitutes as looking “professional.” There was a survey done of 200 women who voiced consistent complaints of leg and back pain from wearing high heels. They tested three different heel heights. They showed that the higher the heel the increase of stresses on the feet and lower back. Sprained ankles and lower back pain is due to the heels putting on wanted stress on the spine. Wearing heels increase spinal curvature, which leads to these pains. Heels also cause leg pain due to the weight that is added on the toes. The researchers concluded that wearing high heels should be avoided.

One of the big consequences of wearing high heels on a regular basis is knee osteoarthritis. Researchers studied 20 healthy women who stated that they were comfortable wearing high heels. They tested each women and the difference in their bodies from walking barefoot and walking with the high-heeled shoes. Data showed that while the women were walking in heels there was an increase force on one of the third joint in the knee (patellofemoral joint). There was another increased stress on the medial compartment of the knee, which is the cushion between the bones and the joints in your knee (very important part of your body!). It was concluded that there was a 23% increase of stress on one’s knee from walking in heels than barefoot.

Beauty is not pain! There is no reason to put oneself in a painful state when it is still possible to look fashionably forward!

If you’re still the kind of girl that’s wants to keep looking fab with a pair of heels. Here are some tiny tweaks you should make to your choice in heel!

Sometimes all we need is a boost. Students who have been up since 8am but really need to finish a paper before midnight need a way to stay up and not fall asleep while doing their work. Kids, college students especially, tend to seek comfort in an energy drink. Whether it’s a Red Bull, Monster or Rockstar, in the past few years soda sales have been declining and energy drink sales are rising. Reading this made me wonder. Are these drinks detrimental to a person’s health? Do the drinks actually help students focus and excel in their classes?

While looking more in depth into this subject, I found that energy drinks are very bad for someone’s health. They are perceived to be a gateway for drug dependence. Regulations for energy drinks are not strict. This has caused companies to use aggressive marketing, aiming especially at young males. The energy drink companies brand themselves as a performance-enhancing drink, which clearly makes the drink more attractive.

Energy drinks have been proven to be especially detrimental to the adolescent population. Adolescents are not consistent caffeine drinkers. This can cause them to me more vulnerable to caffeine disorders such as, caffeine intoxication, dependence and withdrawal. Having too much caffeine intake can also increase nervousness, insomnia, rapid heartbeat and irritability.

A study was done to see the extent of energy drink consumption with adolescents and young adults and to see the consequences of such consumptions. They found that energy drinks were consumed by 30-50% of these kids and like I mentioned earlier these drinks had unregulated amounts of caffeine. The study also found that effects such as seizures, diabetes and mood disorders were affiliated with the consumption on energy drinks. They concluded that energy drink have, “no therapeutic benefit.”

A popular trend that is taking up steam is mixing energy drinks with alcohol. While I was living in Israel, I realized that the most popular drink to get at any club or bar was a vodka Redbull. My friends would say it makes the alcohol taste better and keeps you drunk for longer. This did not sound right. One study stated,” The consumption of alcohol and energy drinks has become a public health concern, with US emergency department visits due to misuse of energy drinks doubling between 2007 and 2011.” In a study done, 27% out of 496 college students, reported mixing alcohol and energy drinks. 49% of college students stated that they used more than three energy drinks. In a follow up study, it showed that the energy drink users consumed more alcohol than the non-energy drink users. Adding a caffeinated energy drink to a vodka drink reduces motor control and reaction time more than drinking straight up vodka. The added effects are not widely known and that is frightening.

People do not know the extent of what they are putting in their drinks. “A recent survey of college students found that in comparison to those who consumed alcohol alone, students who consumed alcohol mixed with energy drinks had a significantly higher prevalence of alcohol-related consequences including: being taken advantage of, or taking advantage of another student sexually, riding in an automobile with a driver under the influence of alcohol, or being hurt or injured.”

So, if you find yourself really needing a boost of energy after a long day, check this article out! Try not to reach for the Redbull or Monster because that could spiral into a very ugly habit. College is stressful and sometimes it is hard to control ourselves from in taking things that make us believe our performances will enhance. Take a breath, YOU CAN DO IT!

When I was younger my parents were very adamant about me playing an instrument and having a close connection with music in general. I never understood why my parents were forcing me to do something that I wasn’t passionate about but they had alternate intentions. My mom said, “Music is like learning a whole new language”. She said it opened doors and it could help me to look at music in a more educated and special way.

So, I guess my parents were right. =[

According to this study, research has proved connections between music and intelligence. The study had students take a test. After taking the test, different groups of students listened to different kinds of music or no music at all. The group that listened to Mozart got higher scores after retaking the test than the other groups who listened to different music or no music at all. This proved how much of an impact music, and especially classical music, had on the students’ academic performance. The research stated,” there is wealth of research activity focused on a better understanding of the musical mind. We are optimistic that the years ahead will yield many exciting findings about the important cognitive, social, and emotional roles of music in human life.”

Does playing an instrument rather than listening to music have a larger effect on a student’s academic performance?

The same study tested piano instruction and its connection with education and intelligence. It was proved that one of the positives of piano instruction was enhanced abstract reasoning skills that are imperative for learning math and science. A study was done with three groups of children: One group received piano lessons, another computer training and the last one received no instruction at all. The children that received the piano lessons scored much higher than the other groups of kids. The category that they scored the highest in was spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning requires higher brain function that is used to solve complex science and math problems. “Thus, the findings pointed to a direct link between music instruction and math and science aptitude.”

Another research done stated that, “musical experiences alter the brain’s makeup, both in terms of morphology (brain structures) and in terms of information processing.” This study specifically looked at the brain and how the brain of a trained musician and an untrained musician were different. The study showed that the brain research that they found indicated that people who had experience with music instruction had different brain processing then people who didn’t. Musicians’ brains were organized and operated in a different way. Trained musicians excelled more in linguistic, mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic and intrapersonal intelligence.

In conclusion parents are always right. Learning an instrument or being exposed to classical music really opens the brain up to more knowledge and experience. Music can increase someone’s knowledge in many different subjects that one can say it’s detrimental to NOT take up an instrument. It is never to late to start playing, here are some places that can help you get started!

MORE FUN FACTS ON WHY PLAYING THE PIANO MAKES YOU HEALTHIER AND SMARTER!

Picture 2: https://curiosity.com/memes/can-music-make-you-smarter/#meme-vsauce-special-can-music-make-you-smarter-james-mays-q-a-ep-22-head-squeeze-head-squeeze

I don’t think of myself as a “faithful person”. Do I believe in G-d? Maybe. Do I believe in my religion? Yes.

I am kind of all over the place with who or what I believe in but is this affecting my life expectancy. More and more people have been asking the same question, so I decided to take a look.

Looking at the United States, “Religious Americans are reported to have more robust immune systems, lower blood pressure, and better recovery times from operations.” Attending religious institutions can help with stress management control, belonging to a supportive community and having a healthier lifestyle. “People who attended religious services at least once a week were 46 percent less likely to die during the six-year study, says lead author Harold G. Koenig, M.D., of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.” This supports people and builds them up to the best person they can be.

Now lets talk about happiness! Happiness is awesome! Something positive that faith brings to people is happiness! It gives someone a belief in something bigger than themselves. Being apart of any supportive religious institution helps to create an environment with less depression and anxiety, which leads to happiness, which in turn leads to a healthier and longer life. Places such as mosques, churches, and synagogues give people a sense of belonging and support.

In a  research done, researchers tested people’s SWB (subject well-being). The SWB is how people experience their lives using emotional reactions and critical thinking. In this study, they saw how different peoples SMD were depending on their faith. When the researchers asked people who had strong faiths to list the characteristics of a good life they included happiness, health and longevity. In 2005, a study followed 866 coronary disease patients for 11 years all averaging 60 in age. In this time 415 deaths occurred. The studies findings suggested that the relationship between the patient’s happiness and mortality was mediated by the lack of a depressive emotion.

Basically, to sum this up studies have shown that on average people who have a strong connection to their religions have a higher SWB. Faith=happiness=longer life.

In conclusion, I am not saying that everyone who doesn’t have a strong faith will die. Although, it is proven that people with religious backgrounds live longer and happier lives!

As a college student it is not hard to learn to love the “just rolled out of bed” look. On the way to class you see every color of sweatpants, sweatshirt and the just the basic “casual” wear. Who wants to take the time to look nice for an 8am and frankly, even a 2pm class?

But does this effect what goes on in the classroom? Does what a student wears effect their grade or participation?

Lets first talk about dress in general. How dress can change the way you perceive yourself or how others perceive you. In a research done, it stated that self-construction was through appearance. How someone dressed showed their intentions and who they were as characters. It even went on to say how people dressed, prevailed from their morals, believes and customs. The article showed the concept of Identity Talk. Identity talk proves that ones true identity is shown through the way people dress and present themselves.

So how does this relate to us, the students? Dress to impress!

A study was done that introduced the term “enclothed cognition. This showed that wearing a particular king of clothing could affect the wearer’s psychological behavior. In one of the experiments they had the participants wear a lab coat. Their attention rose simply from wearing the lab coat and because it was associated with a doctor. This proved that “the influence of clothes thus depends on wearing them and their symbolic meaning.

So yes, wearing certain clothes does effect how our mind works and we pay attention. A student wearing nice clothes and looking their best is more likely to want to raise their hand in class and have the attention on them. Looking your best gives a certain amount of confidence that exudes through participation and work. Dressing well also shows how others perceive you. Who are you going to hire first the person with a coffee stained shirt or the put together pantsuit?

Don’t worry; teachers are not off the hook! In this article it states the teachers who are not professionally dressed lose more respect than teachers who are. The teachers are models in the classroom and it includes in how they dress.

In conclusion I believe everyone has the right to wear what he or she wants. Although from personal experience and from the studies that are shown I think dressing to impress really does exude a certain amount of confidence that can show positively on my participation in class and grades.

Hi! My name is Eliana and I am from Montclair, New Jersey (really close to NYC). National Geographic actually instagramed a birds eye view of my town! I just came off of a gap year abroad in Israel, where I volunteered on an ambulance for the first half of the year and studied and got college credits for the second half of the year. It is weird being back in America and back in school, but I’m excited for another new experience!

I am currently in DUS, but interested in double majoring in psych and business. I have always been so intimidated by science and never felt connected to it. I’ve always liked and connected to human interaction and I never got the same feeling in science. I don’t have a strong enough connection with it to major in it. My advisor recommended this course for me saying that it might change my opinion on science. So far this class has opened my eyes to all different subjects that are under the umbrella of science. I really look forward to looking at science through a different lens and seeing how it affects my daily routine and life.