The Zone UC San Diego Blog: July 2009

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

The US Department of Health and Human Services has released new guidelines for physical activity.

Aerobic activities: Make your heart beat faster and can make your heart, lungs, and blood vessels stronger and more fit. Aim for 2 hours and 30 minutes of aerobic activity a week.

Strengthening: Make your muscles do more work than usual. Try this 2 times a week.

How many times a week should I be physically active?
It is best to spread out your exercise over 3 or more days.

How do I build up more physical activity?
Do a little more each time. Then, you can trade activities at a moderate level for vigorous ones that take more effort. Remember, some physical activity is better than none, so even if you can't run a mile at first, building up to that mile is good exercise.

How can I tell if it's a moderate activity?
If you are able to talk while doing it, but not sing.

Dancing

Tennis

Walking briskly

How can I tell if it's a vigorous activity?
If you can only say a few words without stopping to catch your breath.

Biking

Martial Arts

Swimming

Jumping Rope

Information courtesy of US Dept. of Health and Human Services

LiveWell Naps On YouTube!

Check out LiveWell UC San Diego's newest video on YouTube:

Top Napping Spots at UC San Diego!

As rated by Wellness interns.

Locations are rated on:

comfortability
quietness
"cool-factor"
location

Locations include:

Revelle Commuter Lounge
Geisel Library
Women's Center

Top Napping Spots at UC San Diego on YouTube.

Healthy Eating: Slow Your Pace!

Healthy Eating
Slow your pace; it’s not a race!

In our fast-paced society we tend to rush through everything, including our meals and snacks.

Eating too quickly can have several health consequences such as weight gain, heartburn or indigestion. When we rush, we often forget to savor the foods or appreciate their rich flavors and sensations.

How can you eat more slowly?

Put your fork down between bites

Take breaks to talk with your dining companions

Remind yourself to chew sufficiently before swallowing and relax

Take smaller bites; there is no need to “shovel it in”

Eat mindfully – pay attention to flavors, textures and sensations as you enjoy your meal

Allow adequate time to enjoy your meals

Information provided by HDH Registered Dietitian Becky McDivitt. Feel free to contact Becky with nutrition questions at rmcdivitt@ucsd.edu or visit her page at the HDH website.

One Nutrition Recommendation That's Here to Stay

Of all the nutrition messages out there (many of which confuse and confound us!), one recommendation has withstood the test of time and research: we need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables!

Unfortunately few college students eat the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Here are some sure-fire ways to help you increase your fruit and vegetable intake:

• Mix fruit into your morning cereal or yogurt
• Fill half your plate with vegetables and eat them first
• Order vegetable soups and entrées with vegetables mixed in

• Use salad bars to pick out your favorites (include plenty of different colors in your salad to maximize the nutrient profile)
• Make fruit part of your dessert – dip a strawberry in some chocolate, smear peanut butter on a banana or apple
• Add vegetables to your sandwiches, wraps and burritos
• Pack fresh fruit in your backpack for a convenient between-class snack

Information provided by HDH Registered Dietitian Becky McDivitt. Feel free to contact her with nutrition-related questions at rmcdivitt@ucsd.edu or visit her nutition page on the HDH website.

Environmental Wellness with the British Council International Climate Champions

Watch the California Climate Champs as they speak about how the dining halls at UC San Diego are eco-friendly! The Climate Champs are high school students who are the American representatives of the British Council’s International Climate Champions program. During their Climate Camp on the UC San Diego campus, they met other climate champions from Canada and Brazil and learned from leading climate change scientists and communications experts!

To learn more about the Climate Champs, visit their website here.

Highlights from Cafe Ventanas include the organic salad bar and biodegradable straws. In addition, all the dining halls have recycling and compost bins. Visit the dining halls in person to see it all in action!

Sleep Tips

Here are some tips to help you get the best night sleep to wake up feeling energized!

Let the sunlight help awaken you. Leave curtains open, if possible, or use bright lights when you wake up. The bright light helps the body to reset its biological clock.

Do not nap during the day if you are having trouble falling asleep at night. The nap may interfere with your ability to fall asleep.

Establish a regular bedtime and bedtime routine and follow them even on weekends. More than an hour's variation from the weekday schedule on the weekend can throw off your biological clock, making Monday morning a particularly difficult time. Avoid bright lights in the evening (which stimulate the body to stay awake). Try a warm bath before bedtime. This may help by relaxing the body and by lowering your body temperature once you leave the tub—a signal to the body that it is time to sleep.

Avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you awake. Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it can produce an alerting effect. Caffeine products, such as coffee, tea, colas and chocolate, remain in the body on average from 3 to 5 hours, but they can affect some people up to 12 hours later. Even if you do not think caffeine affects you, it may be disrupting and changing the quality of your sleep. Avoiding caffeine within 6-8 hours of going to bed can help improve sleep quality.

Information provided by health.discovery.com

LiveWell UCSD Physical Wellness

LiveWell UCSD Physical Wellness » Quiz Question Maker

Freshmen Transitions

While starting college may feel like an exciting change, we may still react with worry and concern about what lies ahead. We may experience a sense of loss as a result of leaving friends behind and being away from family at the time we need them the most. In times of transition, we may also experience insecurity and feel as though we have to prove ourselves academically and with new friends. So many changes can be overwhelming and impact us negatively if left unaddressed. In times of stressful transitions, we may also find ourselves using coping skills that could cause us more distress in the future. Some of these coping skills may include: abusing alcohol or drugs; eating issues such as restricting, overeating, or binging and purging; isolation; self-critical behavior; or acting out with roommates, friends, or partners. Some of these behaviors could impact your ability to make the most of your college experience.

If you are looking for strategies for making the most of your college experience and setting yourself up for success, you can request a Freshman Success Workshop in your hall.

For more information, contact CAPS at (858) 534-3755.

Written by Christina Castro, Ph.D.

Resources on My Wellness Page

Want to calculate your body mass index (BMI)?

Or know how many fruits and veggies you should get each day according to your activity level?
Or know how many calories you should consume each day?

All of these questions and more can be answered on the Wellness Center website, in the My Wellness Tab.

There is also specific wellness information for graduate students, undergrads, student leaders, and study abroad students.

Check it out!

Welcome to UCSD CAPS!

Reina Juarez, PhD
Welcome to UCSD Counseling and Psychological Services!

We are delighted to be of service to you.

Please, become familiar with who we are and our offerings. We serve as a resource and sustaining system to empower students to work on personal development and academic goals. We also support the faculty, staff, and families invested in students’ success.

Take advantage of UCSD’s opportunities for intellectual achievement and evolution as a whole person. We also encourage you to visit with us in person.

May your endeavors be fructiferous, revitalizing, and gratifying. May mental health be your greatest wealth. And may we be partners building healthy, sharing, thriving and life-long learning communities. Please visit our site regularly for updated information! caps.ucsd.edu

Self-Psychology 101

Reina Juarez, PhD
Self-Psychology 101

When I learned about Self-Psychology, the doors to know myself, people, and the world opened up with a bright perspective.

This way of conceptualizing human beings and the world in which we evolve has given me a heart within psychology with the strength of empathy, which I use daily in my personal life and my work with students, colleagues, and the university community. For instance,

when we use empathy we see the world from the “other person’s perspective,” facilitating understanding and serving as antidote to many self-defeating emotions such as anger, envy, jealousy, and hate. Empathy can also be used toward one’s self to uproot self-depreciation, self-alienation, and self-hate.

Self Psychology talks about our need for “self objects” to get to know ourselves and self-regulate. In the beginning, self-objects are our caregivers and that stuffed-animal, food, toy, or blanket that gave us comfort. As we grow up, all of us continue to need self-objects and their nature changes as we change. Some are internalized such as the ability to love one’s self, while others continue to exert their influence from the outside. Music, art, partners, friends, books, mentors, nature, meditation … all of them can serve as self-objects that help us self-sooth and feel connected with positive forces in our lives.

I support the life-long quest of surrounding ourselves with self-empowering self-objects to be truly alive, wise, compassionate, loving, generative, creative, generous, joyful, healthy, and full of vitality!!!! There is no need to put up with toxic people and environments.

As we become self-efficient we can select our self-objects, including the people we want close to us, the places where we want to live and work, and give meaning, purpose, and plenitude to our lives. There is so much more to Self-Psychology. I hope we can talk more about it soon.

Alcohol and College

Jerry Phelps, PhD
Alcohol and College

Is alcohol a big part of college life?

Well, it may surprise you to know that most UCSD students don’t drink alcohol to excess. In fact, 72% of UCSD students report that they drink 0, 1, 2 or 3 drinks when they are at party.

When I was a college student at UC Berkeley, there was a lot more drinking. Now, alcohol use has decreased. Don’t get me wrong, many students do drink, but if they do, most do it responsibly. Those who don’t moderate have a lower GPA and are less likely to graduate.

So, if you think that you have to drink alcohol to fit in, remember this – Most UCSD students don’t abuse alcohol.

So, what do you do for healthy fun?

Well, I enjoy surfing, listening to music and making or eating food with friends. At UCSD there are lots of intramural sports, a wide variety of clubs and student organizations and many, really cool and interesting people.

So, hang with the winners and have fun without drinking. If you want to check out how your alcohol use compares to other UCSD students, take the online test called UCSD e-Chug. If you have a problem with alcohol or want to talk to someone about it, visit the CAPS website.

Healthy Eating: The Plating Method!

Want an easy way to make sure you're getting ALL the right food groups?

UC San Diego Dining Services offers a variety of nutritious foods for students in various locations on campus. HDH's very own Becky McDivitt is a registered dietician with an easy method of plating your food in the dining halls. She divides the plate into 3 food groups: fruits & veggies, protein, and starchy foods. Watch the video to learn more!

To learn more about healthy choices and the dimensions of wellness, visit UC San Diego's Wellness Center website at wellness.ucsd.edu and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

LiveWell UCSD Newsletter

Learn how to achieve a more balanced and healthy lifestyle in the areas of intellectual, physical, occupational, emotional, social, spiritual, financial, and environmental wellness through tips from experts and information about upcoming wellness events at UC San Diego!

Subscribe to our once-monthly listserv by clicking on the button!

If you missed out on our May and June newsletters, you can read them here:

June 2009 Newsletter (pdf)

May 2009 Newsletter (pdf)

Top Outdoor Napping Spots at UC San Diego

Can't get enough of the outdoors?
Neither can we!

We've found the best locations to nap and be one with nature at UC San Diego.
Check out our video on YouTube.

Locations include:

Marshall Administration Tree

Student Services Center Curvy Benches

All locations scored on:

comfortability

"cool factor"

quietness

location

Walk UC San Diego

Walking is an easy way to add exercise into your daily routine, explore the campus, and feel connected to your school. We are lucky to have a large campus with a diverse terrain and many paths and trails that makes it fun to walk.

Walk UCSD is a way to get students, staff, and faculty MOVING!

Here are a few of the trails that you can walk (or jog) on

campus:

Campus Loop: 8,000 steps. 4 miles. Discover campus with this extended walk around the perimeter of the main campus.

Chancellor's Challenge 5K: 6,200 steps. 3.1 miles. From the north campus athletic fields to Library Walk.

Eucalyptus Trail: 2,000 steps. 1 mile. A trail on uneven terrain winds through a shady fringe of eucalyptus trees.

Med School Mosey: 1,000 steps. 0.5 miles. Take a quick jaunt around the manicured quads of the Stein Clinical Research and Leichtag Family Foundation Biomedical Research buildings.

East Campus Amble: 1,500 steps. 0.75 miles. An easy path circles UC San Diego Medical Center.

For more trails and to see their locations on campus, check out the Walk UCSD website.