Class 1-3: Strategies for Wellness

Overview

Today's Class Overview

In today's class, you will explore some evidence-based strategies that can help you as you work toward wellness across the dimensions.

Today's Class Objectives

By the end of this module you should be able to:

1. Describe how stress can be both beneficial and harmful.
2. Identify methods of managing stress to maintain a healthy balance.
3. Define mindfulness and explore how it can benefit well-being.
4. Explain how journaling can support lifetime wellness.
5. Recognize 7 characteristics of healthy relationships.
6. Connect the importance of sleep to mental and physical health and performance.

Outline of Today's Class

• Materials
  1. Overview
  2. Review
  3. What to Know about Stress
  4. Handling Life's Stressors
  5. What is Mindfulness?
  6. Metacognition and Mindfulness
  7. Journaling for Wellness
  8. Healthy Relationships
  9. Sleep for Success
  10. Summary

Review

Reviewing 1-2: Exploring Wellness

Last class, you learned about:

• Wellness behaviors through seven dimensions of life.
• Major Causes of Death
  • Heart disease is the leading cause of death for all Americans.
  • Other leading causes are unintentional accidents, cancer, and suicide.
  • Media reporting often focuses on relatively rare instances of sensational causes of death.
• Cognitive Biases
  • Human thinking is bioenergetically expensive (it uses a lot of energy), creating a tendency for shortcuts.
  • These shortcuts can be unconscious (without our knowledge), often resulting in taking action based on false information.
  • Biases can present as false logic, stereotypes, generalizations, and other errors in logical thinking.
  • All humans are liable to experience cognitive biases and other forms of cognitive distortions.
  • Being aware of biases does not prevent them from affecting you, but to avoid allowing the bias or distortion to affect your judgment or action.
    • Metacognitive skills allow for better recognition and remediation (dealing with) of cognitive biases.
• Emotional Intelligence
  • Emotions appear to be primal, instinctual reactions to stimuli in our environment.
  • Emotions are often complex, can be unpleasant, and seem to arise without our control.
  • Ignoring or disregarding emotions does not appear to support long-term well-being.
  • Unrecognized emotions appear to affect perception, judgment, and behavior (without one's knowledge).
  • The R.U.L.E.R. method is a tool you can use for monitoring and addressing your emotional well-being.
    • Recognize
    • Understand
    • Label
    • Express
    • Regulate
  • Emotions may often be multilayered, with multiple emotional experiences occurring simultaneously.

Five Things to Know About Stress

The following has been excerpted and adapted from the NATIONAL INSTITUTE of MENTAL HEALTH under fair use:

5 Things You Should Know About Stress

Everyone feels stressed from time to time, but what is stress? How does it affect your overall health? And what can you do to manage your stress

Stress is how the brain and body respond to any demand. Any type of challenge such as performance at work or school, a significant life change, or a traumatic event—can be stressful. Stress can affect your health. It is important to pay attention to how you deal with minor and major stressors, so you know when to seek help. Here are five things you should know about stress.

1. STRESS AFFECTS EVERYONE.

Everyone experiences stress from time to time. There are different types of stress—all of which carry physical and mental health risks. A stressor may be a one-time or short-term occurrence, or it can happen repeatedly over a long time. Some people may cope with stress more effectively and recover from stressful events more quickly than others. Examples of stress include:

• Routine stress related to the pressures of school, work, family, and other daily responsibilities.
• Stress brought about by a sudden negative change, such as losing a job, divorce, or illness.
• Traumatic stress experienced during an event such as a major accident, war, assault, or natural disaster where people may be in danger of being seriously hurt or killed. People who experience traumatic stress may have very distressing temporary emotional and physical symptoms, but most recover naturally soon after.
• Read more about Coping With Traumatic Events (www.nimh.nih.gov/copingwithtrauma).

2. NOT ALL STRESS IS BAD.

In a dangerous situation, stress signals the body to prepare to face a threat or flee to safety. In these situations, your pulse quickens, you breathe faster, your muscles tense, and your brain uses more oxygen and increases activity—all functions aimed at survival and in response to stress. In non-life-threatening situations, stress can motivate people, such as when they need to take a test or interview for a new job.

3. LONG-TERM STRESS CAN HARM YOUR HEALTH.

Coping with the impact of chronic stress can be challenging. Because the source of long-term stress is more constant than acute stress, the body never receives a clear signal to return to normal functioning. With chronic stress, those same lifesaving reactions in the body can disturb the immune, digestive, cardiovascular, sleep, and reproductive systems. Some people may experience mainly digestive symptoms, while others may have headaches, sleeplessness, sadness, anger, or irritability.Over time, continued strain on your body from stress may contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, including mental disorders such as depression (www.nimh.nih.gov/depression) or anxiety (www.nimh.nih.gov/anxietydisorders).

4. There are ways to manage stress.

If you take practical steps to manage your stress, you may reduce the risk of negative health effects. Here are some tips that may help you cope with stress:

• Be observant. Recognize the signs of your body’s response to stress, such as difficulty sleeping, increased alcohol another substance use, being easily angered, feeling depressed, and having low energy.
• Talk to your health care provider or a health professional. Don’t wait for your health care provider to ask about your stress. Start the conversation and get proper health care for existing or new health problems. Effective treatments can help if your stress is affecting your relationships or ability to work. Don’t know where to start? Read our Tips for Talking With Your Health Care Provider (www.nimh.nih.gov/talking tips).
• Get regular exercise. Just 30 minutes per day of walking can help boost your mood and improve your health.
• Try a relaxing activity. Explore relaxation or wellness programs, which may incorporate meditation, muscle relaxation, or breathing exercises. Schedule regular times for these and other healthy and relaxing activities.
• Set goals and priorities. Decide what must get done now and what can wait. Learn to say “no” to new tasks if you start to feel like you’re taking on too much. Try to be mindful of what you have accomplished at the end of the day, not what you have been unable to do.
• Stay connected. You are not alone. Keep in touch with people who can provide emotional support and practical help. To reduce stress, ask for help from friends, family, and community or religious organizations.
• Consider a clinical trial. Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and other research facilities across the country are studying the causes and effects of psychological stress as well as stress management techniques.
• You can learn more about studies that are recruiting by visiting www.nimh.nih.gov/joinastudy or www.clinicaltrials.gov (keyword: stress).

5. IF YOU FEEL OVERWHELMED BY STRESS, ASK FOR HELP FROM A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.

You should seek help right away if you have suicidal thoughts, are overwhelmed, feel you cannot cope, or are using drugs or alcohol more frequently as a result of stress. Your doctor may be able to provide a recommendation. You can find resources to help you find a mental health provider by visiting www.nimh.nih.gov/findhelp.

CALL THE NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE

Anyone can become overwhelmed. If you or a loved one is having thoughts of suicide, call the confidential toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Lifeline chat is available at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org.The service is available to everyone.www.nimh.nih.gov NIH Publication No. 19-MH-8109

The following has been excerpted and adapted from Cornell University's "Tips and Information to Help You Thrive" under fair use:

The Stress Continuum

Stress is our automatic response to demands, pressures, and/or competing priorities in our life.

Not all stress is bad. Some stress can motivate us and help us focus on achieving our goals. But too much stress, or stress carried too long, can activate our “fight or flight” response … which, if left unchecked, can decrease our ability to function in one or more areas of our life.

As a college student, stress is unavoidable. The goal isn’t to try to get rid of all stress. Rather, the goal is to learn to respond well to stress. This means balancing your daily stressors with the activities and attitudes that replenish the physical, mental, and emotional energy lost to stress.

Consider this stress continuum graph showing the relationship between our performance / functioning and our stress level:

1. Healthy tension (green zone): Moderate stress is appropriate sometimes. It helps us focus on studying for a test, or turning in a paper on time. It motivates us to do our best. When we experience “good” stress, we feel challenged, but in control, as we work toward accomplishing our goals.
   
2. Peak performance zone (top of curve): In order to achieve our personal best – academically, or otherwise – we need to be well-prepared physically, mentally, and emotionally. This comes from a place of healthy tension (green zone), balanced with self-care practices that bolster resilience.
   
3. Imbalance (yellow zone): When daily pressures build and self-care falls by the wayside, we can experience irritability, fatigue, aches and pains, sleep problems, and a decline in focus and academic performance. But it’s not too late to move back to the healthy tension zone. Rising stress can be brought back down to a more manageable level through stress management techniques and resilience-building (see below).
   
4. Breakdown (red zone): When stress is left unchecked, symptoms can worsen, causing forgetfulness, serious physical complaints, illness, and feelings of anxiety, panic, and/or depression. When breakdown occurs, support and assistance from others is crucial to help us recover.

Handling Life’s Stressors

The following has been excerpted and adapted from the American Psychological Association's Guide on Stress under fair use:

Healthy ways to handle life’s stressors

Stressful experiences are a normal part of life, and the stress response is a survival mechanism that primes us to respond to threats. Some stress is positive: Imagine standing in front of a crowd to give a speech and hitting it out of the park. Stressful? Certainly. But also challenging and satisfying.

But when a stressor is negative and can’t be fought off or avoided — such as layoffs at work or a loved one’s medical crisis — or when the experience of stress becomes chronic, our biological responses to stress can impair our physical and mental health.

Fortunately, there are many evidence-based tools to help combat the negative effects of stress in healthy ways. They recommend that you:

Try to eliminate the stressors: Whether or not you experience an intolerable level of psychological stress depends on the intensity of the situation and also the person experiencing it. How you perceive and think about a stressor can also make a big impact on how you respond. It’s not always possible to escape a stressful situation or avoid a problem, but you can try to reduce the stress you are feeling. Evaluate whether you can change the situation that is causing you stress, perhaps by dropping some responsibility, relaxing your standards or asking for help.

Cultivate social support: Strong social support can improve resilience to stress.¹ Reach out strategically. Some friends or family members may be good at listening and sympathizing. Others might excel at practical help, like bringing over a home-cooked meal or covering an hour of child care. Giving support can also increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions.² Just make sure your relationships stay in balance. A friend who requires support but never gives it may increase your stress level.

Seek good nutrition: When confronted with a stressor, the central nervous system releases adrenaline and cortisol, which affects the digestive tract among other physiological changes. Acute stress can kill the appetite, but the release of the hormone cortisol during chronic stress can cause fat and sugar cravings. Research also suggests that high cortisol combined with high sugar consumption may prompt the deposition of fat around our internal organs³ — visceral fat that is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. A diet high in a variety of nutrients can both protect health and provide more physical energy to deal with challenges. No need to go vegan or swear off cookies —just aim to consume a rainbow of fruits and vegetables as part of your daily diet. Avoid using substances such as alcohol to dampen the stress response since substances do not solve the root of the problem and can have serious health effects.

Relax your muscles: Because stress causes muscles to tense, being stressed out can create tension headaches, backaches and general fatigue. Combat stress and these symptoms with stretches, massage or warm baths. Or try progressive muscle relaxation, a method that has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve overall mental health.⁴ To practice progressive muscle relaxation, get in a comfortable position and choose a muscle group, like your lower leg muscles (most practitioners recommend starting with the lower body and working your way up). Inhale and contract the muscles for five to 10 seconds, then exhale and release the muscles suddenly. Relax for 10 or more seconds and then move on to the next muscle group. Another option is passive progressive muscle relaxation. This technique is similar to progressive muscle relaxation but skips the tensing step. Instead, simply picture each muscle group one at a time and focus on relaxing that portion of the body.

Meditate: A strong body of research shows that mindful meditation can reduce psychological stress and anxiety — even short-term mindfulness meditation programs work.⁵ To get started, set aside five minutes in a quiet place to sit and breathe. Focus on the present moment; if stray thoughts intrude, acknowledge them and then let them go. Don’t judge yourself for any mental wavering. Gently refocus and bring the attention back to the present moment.

Protect your sleep: Daytime stress affects nighttime sleep.⁶ Making matters worse, losing shuteye can affect both cognition and mood. How to sleep better? Try to have a consistent sleep routine that allows time to wind down before lights out. Meditation and relaxation can help with insomnia.⁷ Also, avoid caffeine and alcohol in the late afternoon and evening. Put down your screens, as blue light can suppress the sleepy hormone melatonin (and checking social media may ramp up your emotions.) Finally, move your body during the day: A large body of research suggests that physical activity can improve sleep, especially for middle-aged and older adults.⁸

Get physical: Brisk movement can not only improve sleep, it can directly combat stress. In one study, working adults who participated in moderate physical activity had half the perceived stress as working adults who did not participate.⁹ Physical activity may also cancel out some of the negative effects of stress, including the impact of stress on the immune system.¹⁰ Adding physical activity needn’t be expensive or complex: A brisk 30-minute walk or a dance session in the living room can do the trick.

Take a moment in nature: Studies conducted in multiple countries have found that green space improves mood.¹¹ Even nature videos can speed the recovery from stress compared with videos of urban scenes.¹² Taking a moment to notice nature — even in the form of a bustling city park — can refocus and calm your mind.

Keep your pleasurable activities: When life gets overwhelming, people often drop their leisure activities first. But cutting yourself off from pleasure can be counterproductive. Even when time is tight, look for opportunities to do something for yourself, whether that means reading a novel, singing along to your favorite tunes or streaming your favorite comedy on Netflix. Humor and laughter can benefit both mental and physical health.¹³

Reframe your thinking: One of the most research-supported treatments for stress and anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. At the root of this therapy approach is the understanding that our thoughts influence our emotions, which in turn influences our behaviors. Reframing your thoughts around a stressor can help manage your emotions, reducing feelings of stress.¹⁴ Some tips: If you feel yourself spiraling into imagining worst-case scenarios, stop and put your mind elsewhere. Set realistic expectations for yourself. Strive for acceptance of situations outside of your control.

Seek help: If you feel overwhelmed and self-help isn’t helping, look for a psychologist or other mental health provider who can help you learn how to manage your stress effectively. He or she can help you identify situations or behaviors that contribute to your stress and then develop an action plan to change the stressors, change your environment and change your responses.

What is Mindfulness?

What Is Mindfulness?

As a young medical professional in the 1970s, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn began looking for ways to help patients manage their pain. His research and work inspired the modern conception of mindfulness, which he describes in the following way:

“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”

While this is a simple idea, over the last four decades mindfulness practices have accumulated a still-growing body of evidence supporting the following benefits:

• Decreases in depression and anxiety.
• Better management of stress, pain, and mental distress.
• Enhanced quality of life over the lifespan.
• Improved attention, self-awareness, emotional control, and cognitive performance.

See a summary of the body of evidence for mindfulness in this report put out by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Watch this 3-minute video from the University of Minnesota to learn more about mindfulness.

The following has been excerpted and adapted from the University of Minnesota's Taking Charge of your Health and Wellbeing under fair use:

How Can Mindfulness Support Wellness?

Simple as it may sound, mindfulness transforms how we relate to events and experiences. It creates a more spacious way of being in the world that is less reactive and generally happier.

MINDFULNESS IS DIFFERENT FROM OUR DEFAULT MODE

Developing a steady and non-reactive attention is often radically different from the way we are in the world.

Many of us spend large parts of our lives on auto pilot, not aware of what we are experiencing, missing out on all the sights and sounds and smells and connections and joys we could appreciate. Some of that time our minds seem "switched off," and other times caught in thoughts from the past (often regrets) or plans for the future, much of which is repetitive.

When we do notice something in the present, our habit is often to judge instantly and react quickly, often working from a faulty or limited perspective that restricts our options or creates issues.

Mindfulness helps us be present in our lives and gives us some control over our reactions and repetitive thought patterns. It helps us pause, get a clearer picture of a situation, and respond more skillfully.

Mindfulness is not always easy because other experiences (thoughts, feelings, physical discomfort) naturally arise and can pull our attention away. But with practice, our skill increases, and we can pay attention to our chosen object without getting lost in other experiences. And we find that we can also simultaneously notice any underlying reactivity, such as annoyance or frustration.

Exploring Further

You may choose to explore further using the following links to the University of Minnesota's Taking Charge of your Health and Wellbeing website:

• How to Begin with Mindfulness
• How Does Mindfulness Work?
• Mindfulness for Stress Reduction
• Mindfulness for Pain
• Mindfulness and Racial Justice
• Mindfulness in Education
• Sources for Guided Meditation

S.T.O.P. for Mindfulness and Metacognition

Mindfulness and Metacognition Work Together

Reflecting on our course, recall that metacognition is the faculty and skill of thinking about our thoughts, our learning, and our behaviors.

Mindfulness allows us to step back from what we are experiencing, helping make the space to explore and apply metacognitive strategies.

These two faculties - thinking intentionally and "being" intentionally - can be used together to support your wellness.

Read on to learn one basic approach for applying mindfulness and metacognition in your day-to-day life.

The following has been excerpted and adapted from the Mindful.org article The S.T.O.P. Practice under fair use:

The S.T.O.P. Practice: Creating Space Around Automatic Reactions

Rhonda Magee takes us through this simple portable mindfulness practice she uses to find calm when difficult moments arise.

This “portable” mindfulness practice can support you as difficult moments arise at any point in your day. The four steps of the STOP practice can take as little as a few seconds to a few minutes to complete. Try it out and see how long you prefer doing each step.

S

To begin, the “S” stands simply for stop. Literally. Just stop what you’re doing, whether it is typing or rushing out the door. Give yourself a moment to come to rest, pause, and collect yourself.

T

The “T” stands for take a conscious breath. Now that you’ve paused, take a deeper breath, or two, allowing yourself to feel the expansion of the belly as you breathe deeply. Notice the sensations of being here, now. As you do so, it may help to bring your attention to the sensations of your feet meeting the floor. Feel the support of the ground and of your own relaxing breath as you do so.

O

The “O,” stands for observe what’s arising in you, including any thoughts, emotions, or bodily sensations (such as tension, butterflies, tightness in the jawline). Broaden your awareness to take in the circumstances. Notice how you can be in this situation without being ruled by it. For added support, offer self-compassion as you release tension and stressful thoughts. As you calm down, open to the choices you have in terms of how best to move forward from here.

P

Finally, the “P” reminds you to simply proceed with intentionality, taking the next step in your day from this place of strength, wisdom, and presence.

Journaling for Wellness

Journaling is an easy-to-incorporate wellness behavior that is supported by the research.

Review the following article linked below to learn about how journaling can support well-being.

Michigan State University - Journaling to Reduce Covid-19 Stress

The following has been excerpted and adapted from the University of Rochester's Health Encyclopedia entry "Journaling for Mental Health" under fair use:

How to journal

Try these tips to help you get started with journaling:

Try to write every day. Set aside a few minutes every day to write. This will help you to write in your journal regularly.

Make it easy. Keep a pen and paper handy at all times. Then when you want to write down your thoughts, you can. You can also keep a journal on your smartphone.

Write or draw whatever feels right. Your journal doesn't need to follow any certain structure. It's your own private place to discuss and create whatever you want to express your feelings. Let the words and ideas flow freely. Don't worry about spelling mistakes or what other people might think.

Use your journal as you see fit. You don't have to share your journal with anyone. If you do want to share some of your thoughts with trusted friends and loved ones, you could show them parts of your journal.

Healthy Relationships

The Importance of Relationships

Thinking back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, our relationships with others provide the foundation for our emotional, social, and psychological needs.

Unfortunately, relationships - whether with family, friends, teachers, community members, or partners - can be difficult to navigate.

Fundamentally, our relationships with others should support us in our well-being and challenge us in healthy and productive ways.

How do we know what that looks like?

Below, you'll learn about the "7 C's of Healthy Relationships."

Though this list focuses specifically on romantic partnerships, the same expectations are healthy in other interpersonal relationships as well.

The following has been excerpted and adapted from the University of Texas at Austin's Voices Against Violence page under fair use:

The 7 C’s of Healthy Relationships

Conflict resolution – The ability to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement. Conflict resolution does not mean one person always gets their way - no one should feel pressured to compromise their values or boundaries. Conflict resolution also does not mean that conflicts are "bottled up" or not addressed. For more information about navigating conflict resolution, visit fighting fair.

Checking In – Paying attention to each other’s needs and taking each other into account when making decisions that affect both of you. It is also important to check in with yourself and assess if you feel safe, comfortable and respected in your relationship.

Consent – An enthusiastic, mutual agreement that can be revoked at any time for any reason and is necessary in all sexual interactions. Consent is also important in contexts other than sexual activity, including other kinds of physical intimacy (like hugs) and for virtual activity like sharing sexual texts or images. For more, visit Consent.

Courage – Choosing to address difficult topics and hear feedback and being open and being open and honest about your feelings and needs. Courage can also include being an ally for partners and friends who are experiencing bias incidents or other incidents of harm – to read more about bystander intervention, visit BeVocal. Practicing courage does not mean putting yourself in situations where you feel unsafe or might experience harm.

Compassion – Thoughtfulness and sensitivity toward others and a desire to reduce distress and provide support. Practicing compassion does not require fixing others’ problems or always agreeing with others.

Celebration – Appreciation for each other and your relationship. Celebration includes excitement about each other’s hopes, dreams, and accomplishments and appreciation of each person’s uniqueness. Take time to learn how each partner prefers to celebrate and be celebrated.

Communication – Expressing needs, wants and feelings and listening for the purpose of understanding.

Love is Respect

Love is Respect is an initiative of the National Domestic Violence Hotline that offers information and support to young people as they learn about romantic relationships.

The website offers answers to many common questions about relationships.

Grief

Grief is the natural human experience of loss and an inevitable part of life.

Grief is not predictable, simple, or uniform. Each person's experience is unique.

While we often think of grieving a loved one, we can also experience grief over other losses.

We can grief the loss of normalcy, as you may have during the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020.

Indeed any change - such as losing a job, realizing you've grown apart from a friend, receiving a medical diagnosis, or enduring a miscarriage - can bring grief.

Grief can manifest in seemingly endless ways, such as a feeling of numbness, intense and conflicting emotions, or difficulty concentrating.

As a college student, questions about balancing your academic progress and processing grief can cause particular distress.

There is no timeline, "right way," or other set method of grieving. The creator of the "Five Stages of Grief" model did not intend it to be seen as a linear process.

Grief is not an orderly process and your experience of grief will be unique.

Visit the Hospice Foundation's page on "What is Grief" for more information.

Sleep for Success

The following has been excerpted and adapted from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's "Sleeping to Succeed" under fair use and CC-A-NC-ND-4.0:

Sleeping to Succeed

Ernest Hemingway is said to have once remarked, “I love sleep. My life has a tendency to fall apart when I’m awake.” Whether you have it all together during the day or feel more like Hemingway, we all benefit from healthy sleep habits. Sleep promotes cognition and memory, facilitates learning, recharges our mental and physical batteries, and generally helps us make the most out of our days. With plentiful sleep, we improve our mental and physical health, reduce stress, and maintain the routine that is critical to healthy daily functioning.

Within the busy schedules of college students, sleep is often the first thing to go when trying to squeeze in all of the academic, social, and extracurricular activities that are often part of campus life. And when you’re taking online classes remotely, you may find yourself catching up on asynchronous course content at any hour of day or night while the rest of the household sleeps. This handout discusses why it is important to maintain healthy sleep habits and provides tips and tricks on how to do it!

Why is sleep so important?

Sleep plays a critical role in helping our bodies and minds recover and rejuvenate. As a result, sleep contributes to improvements in learning and promotes regulatory functions such as emotional and behavioral control that are important for each and every day. Some examples of physiological and behavioral benefits of sleep include:

• Improving our ability to learn new information and form memories
• Restoring neural connections
• Assisting in optimal emotional control, decision making, and social interaction

How much sleep do you need?

The optimal amount of sleep for each person may vary, but generally research suggests 7-9 hours per night for college-aged populations.

How much sleep are college students getting?

As you might guess, most college students do not get the recommended amount of sleep necessary to maximize its benefits. Sleep is particularly important for college students because sufficient sleep has been linked to increases in GPA! Research has found:

50% of college students report daytime sleepiness, and 70% report insufficient sleep.

The GPAS of students receiving 9+ hours of sleep per night were significantly higher (3.24) than those of students receiving 6 or fewer hours of sleep per night (2.74).

What if you’re not getting enough sleep?

Because sleep plays such a crucial role in human functioning, lack of sleep can lead to a number of consequences affecting behavior, memory, emotions, and learning when we are awake. These consequences can include:

• Inattention, irritability, hyperactivity, poor impulse control and difficulty multi-tasking
• Impaired memory
• Impaired math calculation skills

In extreme sleep deprivation, consequences can even include mood swings and hallucinations.

When we do not get the sleep we need, our bodies do not forget; we go into sleep debt. Our bodies continue to pay back this debt by trying to get sleep whenever possible, which can result in microsleeps.

You may not notice inadvertent sleeping during the day (even in class or when studying!) that can last just seconds. These microsleeps impede concentration and negatively impact retention of information.

Additionally, individuals often use caffeine or others stimulants to stay awake. This not only puts them at risk for the consequences of poor sleep, but also the negative health effects of increased stimulant consumption.

What types of things affect falling and staying asleep?

Sleep can be affected by a number of things including how we treat our bodies, what we put in our bodies, and how we interact with our environment:

• Caffeine
• Screen light
• Sleep routines (regular bedtime)
• Exercise
• Diet
• Decongestant stimulants and/or diet pills
• Nicotine
• Alcohol

Although alcohol may help you fall asleep because it is a depressant, it reduces sleep stages II, IV, and REM, which are the restorative sleep stages.

How to optimize your sleep

Given what we know about sleep, there are a number of things you can do and avoid to improve your sleep cycle. This list is not exhaustive, but it includes many suggestions that help in falling and staying asleep so you can get the 7-9 hours your body and mind need.

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO TRY

• Allow yourself enough time to sleep.
• Gradually set earlier bedtimes when attempting to adjust your sleep cycle.
• Expose yourself to bright light in the morning to help wake up.
• Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet to help fall asleep.
• Exercise regularly but not right before bed.
• Maintain a regular sleep routine on weekdays and weekends.
• Relax yourself as much as possible before bed. This can include taking a warm bath, meditating, or reading something that is not cognitively taxing.
• Re-evaluate your daily schedule and make time for 7-9 hours of sleep every night.
• Prioritize and protect your sleep time. Find a friend who can help keep you accountable for going to sleep at your goal bedtime each night.
• Structure your day and plan ahead on your exams, assignments, due dates, and activities so that you don’t have to end up cramming or working late into the night. Use a weekly calendar and/or a priorities list to help take control of your to do lists and better manage your time to prioritize sleep.
• Make an appointment with an academic coach to talk one-on-one about your schedule, sleep habits, and study habits and how to manage your time to prioritize sleep.

THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO CUT OUT

• Don’t use alcohol to help fall asleep. While this may help fall asleep, you may be more likely to have difficulty staying asleep as alcohol can disrupt the natural cycle of sleep, and the sleep may be less restorative.
• Don’t eat large meals right before bed.
• Don’t engage in rigorous exercise before bed.
• Don’t use nicotine. Nicotine is a stimulant, and daytime use can inhibit sleep.
• Don’t drink caffeine within 8hrs of your intended bedtime.
• Don’t expose yourself to bright lights before going to bed.
• Don’t use electronic devices that give off light such as TV, computer, phones, etc. before bed. This light inhibits the secretion of melatonin making it more difficult to fall asleep.

Summary

Major Points

During today's class, you have learned:

• Stress is the response of the mind and body to demands.
  • Stress can be beneficial or negative depending on our ability to manage and adapt to it.
  • Stress can have physical effects on the body, especially chronic stress.
  • Stress can motivate performance up to a certain point, after which performance declines.
  • Stress can be managed in many ways, such as:
    • Social Support
    • Good Nutrition
    • Relaxation Exercises and Meditation
    • Adequate, Quality Sleep
    • Physical Activity
    • Time in Nature
    • Activities you Enjoy
    • Counselors and other health providers
• "Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”
  • Mindfulness is not a technique or practice, but a state of being.
  • To be mindful is to see the world as it is, avoiding the types of preconceived judgments (cognitive distortions) we explored earlier.
  • Mindfulness activities can take many forms, such as breathing, walking, eating, or praying.
    • Difficulty in being mindful is a normal and helpful part of developing mindfulness.
  • S.T.O.P. for Mindfulness and Metacognition
    • Stop and take a moment.
    • Take a conscious breath or two to relax the nervous system.
    • Observe what is happening in your body at a distance.
    • Proceed with your next step from a place of intention and relative calm.
• Journaling
  • Researchers have shown that journaling can contribute to health and success
  • Journaling can:
    • Reduce stress
    • Provide a safe place for emotions
    • Improve physical health
    • Help with problem solving
    • Provide perspective
• Healthy relationships are built on respect.
  • Love is Respect.org is a resource for learning about healthy relationships.
  • 7 C's of Healthy Relationships:
    • Conflict Resolution
    • Checking In
    • Consent
    • Courage
    • Compassion
    • Celebration
    • Communication
  • Grief is a natural experience of loss.
    • There are no standards for grieving and each person's experience of grief is unique.
    • Resources are available to help you as you encounter and process grief.
• Sleep is a survival need.
  • Inadequate sleep can inhibit your ability to learn, make decisions, and exhibit self-control.
  • Adequate sleep supports learning and performance.
  • Tips
    • Plan enough time for sleep. Structure your day so you do not need to stay up late to do schoolwork.
    • Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
    • Exercise regularly but not right before bed.
    • Lean into your biology by maintaining a regular schedule, avoiding bright lights before bed, and using bright lights to wake up.