10 Spartans walk into a movie theater, 4 hours later they emerge as Black Panthers

If you are a super hero wanna be, I probably do not have to convince you to see Marvel Universe’s latest – Black Panther. Okay you’re right- it isn’t their latest. They just came out with Infinity War – the climax to the superhero’s stories. (don’t confuse this with Xfinity Wars, Comcast is not at war with anyone… that we know of…). So Marvel Universe has been putting out these movies for quite some time now. Each hero has their own back story and everything. They’re called ‘origin stories.’ Some even have multiple movies dedicated to telling their story. So it feels kind of late in the game to be introducing a whole new character, but I am not in charge here and I trust that they know what they’re doing.

Black Panther is about T’Challa, and African prince of a nation disguised as a third world country that actually is extremely advanced in technology. Then a bunch of conflict happens (like any movie), there is a bad guy (Michael B. Jordan is a KILLER villain), more stuff happens, I am not going to spoil anything but go see it – seriously.

Certified fresh on rotten tomatoes. It is currently Marvel’s #1 movie. There is action, a hint of romance, dope background music, but what makes this super hero so special? Why have so many people raved so much about it to their coworkers and friends, or even go back to see it themselves?

Here are my ideas:

1. Black Panther is about a lot more than fighting bad guys and saving the universe. It incorporates this thing called Afrofuturism.

Afrofuturism is a style of communicating the future. If you have heard the words dystopian or utopian, afrofuturism falls in the same category. However, the difference here is that Afrofuturism imagines a future centered around African-American culture. It is a way that people who were excluded from stories like The Hunger Games, The Giver, Divergent, and so on to write themselves into it. Have you ever noticed that minority Americans were typically left out of these stories? Ya, honestly same, but that is exactly my point.

We see Afrofuturism appear in many different forms. People like Sun Ra a jazz composer from Alabama was one of the first known Afrofuturists. If you look up an album of his, you’ll see songs called “Moonshots Across The Sky” and “Calling Planet Earth – We’ll Wait For You.” Did I also mention this album is called “Thunder of the Gods” ? He was one of the first of his kind and wrote about what it means to be black in America and envision a better future. Artists like have given him shout outs through their own work and others have taken on the responsibility of keeping their race in the picture. Janelle Monae is one of the more popular current singer/songwriters. She puts out visual albums surrounded by an alter ego who is also an android who is also a really good dancer – check them out, it is worth it.

Most people don’t even know what the art of afrofuturism is. It is yet another way we see the exclusion of black culture in our white America. But thanks to people like Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monae, we see it begging for a place in scientific literature and communication.

I know I talked about having multiple ideas, but this is really my only one. It is obvious that there is something behind all the action that sets this super hero apart from others.

After surveying 15 Michigan State Students, all of them rated the Black Panther movie higher than a 6 on a 10 point scale. So if you don’t trust me, at least trust my friends and your fellow Spartans that it is worth seeing.

 

 

Must Be Love on the Brain: how Mozart and your biochem class just changed their relationship status to “It’s Complicated’

We have heard that listening to Mozart as a fetus or child improves brain function. But does that actually work? I know most of us are not expecting a baby any time soon because we can barely afford to feed ourselves let alone a whole other human. But all of us were babies once and a lot of us will eventually reproduce (if this term is confusing to you, please take any physiology, anatomy, or psychology class here at MSU) so we can all learn a little something about the truth of the lifelong rumor that listening to Mozart as a child will improve your brainpower for future adulthood.

The BBC published an article that explains the history of ‘the Mozart effect.’ It was just getting big in the early 1990s (we all knew 90s babies were superior, and this just adds more reasons why). The Governor of Georgia even funded a project to send every newborn Mozart’s mixtape. Lullabies are still a thing too. Even animals like cows are believed to succumb to ‘the Mozart effect’ but the science behind it is milky at best. We saw that once this study came out, there were lots of similar tests to prove that genius is impressionable and Mozart’s legacy will live on.

The OG study was done on young adults who were psych patients. They were asked to complete a puzzle-like task after listening to 10 minutes of silence, soothing sounds (where’s my rain mist background noise), or Mozart. The effects were extremely short-term (Like 15 minutes) and really only worked on spatial manipulation (like predicting shapes from folded pieces of paper). Even the psychologist that performed this test explained that she didn’t thing it was very conclusive. But of course why would anyone listen to her after she gave us the secret to making us smarter?

So despite these shaky results, people went nuts. We know that everyone has an obsession with babies (guilty) and making babies smarter by playing music was an easy way to bolster the obsession. Some further analysis of the original study showed that Mozart only affects our paper unfolding abilities (did you know a paper can only be folded at most 7 times? Check out the mythbusters episode about it). And like I said, the effects ware off before most people finish a 5k. All of this craze isn’t all for nothing, though. There is science behind music and its effects on our brains, but not to the extent at which we may believe.

So whether you listen to it in utero, in your crib, or running to your 8am after missing the bus, Mozart will only help you in origami or when you want to figure out how cootie catchers work. It probably won’t improve your test scores, but if it works for you then why not? At this point, I am open to anything to save my biochem grade.

 

Any Questions? : Your brain on drugs

We have all seen that meme with the egg, you know the one where there is a whole egg in one frame and someone is frying an egg (because that is honestly the only way to eat eggs, I have an egg theory I will be happy to tell you about sometime) in the other and the caption reads “this is your brain, now this is your brain on drugs” and it is supposed to scare you away from ever doing drugs because who would want a fried egg brain? Not me.

Many of us went through the D.A.R.E. program in middle school that was one of those things that is optional but not really. Remember? It used A LOT of scare tactics that mostly made you freak out and never want to even say the word drugs again. If you can’t relate to this, you probably at some point in your lifetime had somebody tell you that drugs are bad for you. Because they are. But most people over exaggerate the extent to which drugs affect you. Cue meme about the egg again.

We hear about drugs all the time. That guy down the hall that frequently smells up your entire floor, or the girl that takes Adderall before each of her exams, or that one frat that you’re always shocked never gets busted but you know they probably paid someone off (I am not calling out anyone specific but if the shoe fits). There was that big conspiracy theory about the government using LSD on people without their knowledge or consent (major red flag). This whole thing is called MK-ULTRA and if you want the thrill of drugs without the actual drugs, I would recommend it. And who doesn’t love a good ol’ government conspiracy theory? This is one of the first times we see a stark contrast between the views of the government and its people. One party was using this drug because they believed it had brainwashing effects while the other believed it would enlighten us (the beginning of hippies).

Moving on to broccoli, and no I don’t mean the green vegetable your mom had to force you to eat when you were little. I mean marijuana. Legislatures have been trying to, and some succeeding, in legalizing the selling and smoking of marijuana. This is all centered on the fact that medical marijuana has been used to treat illness and pain due to its depressant nature of its active chemical, TCH. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Food and Drug Administration is slow to allow it because of the lack of tests on this chemical. Aside from this, there are other effects that depend on how pure your leafy greens are and how much of it you smoke. This is what everyone talks about as ‘getting high’ (but second-hand highness is not a real thing). Some long term effects include memory impairment and brain development. It is also to risky to use while pregnant (along with almost everything else). There is also much controversy over the addictiveness of marijuana. It CAN be addictive but most people develop a physical dependence on it instead of a physiological addiction. So users beware.

There are lots of risks with using drugs- both legal and physiological. And I would recommend strong caution should you still decide to abuse any type of substance. Be safe and watch out for each other. Take care of yourself. Your mom and the D.A.R.E. police officer and I all have that in common: we care about you and want you to be healthy.

 

So this is your brain, this is your brain on drugs. Any questions?

 

 

Dealing with Addiction

Addiction. It can be defined as reoccurring brain condition in which the individual is heavily engaged in certain thing or substance. The most common addictions found in the US are drug and alcohol addiction. According to a recent study, a whopping 23.5 million Americans are addicted to be exact. To break it down into more comprehensible numbers, one out of ten people above age 12 suffer from alcohol or drug addiction. It can often be hard for people to determine when an addiction began for them. But one thing is for sure – an addiction can only begin through experimentation. In the teen years, many people are usually either curious or peer pressured into trying out a substance. Sounds harmless, right? Come on now, it’s the teen years. Everyone wants to try something new. Wrong. Some people can do it once and completely satisfy their craving. For others, it is not that simple as other factors can play a role. These factors can include the availability of substances to the person, family environment as well as mental health. So starts the move away from an innocent curiosity and on towards repeated experimenting. This comes before the regular use of a substance begins. Experimenting mainly occurs with other people that are also engaged in the substance. Teenagers may do this experimenting in party-like atmospheres where drugs and alcohol are more of a given. Past the experimenting stage comes the normal frequent use of the substance. Now that the substance is no longer foreign to you, you may find yourself going back to it in situations. That could be when you’re at a party, when you’re bored, when you’re upset, etc. Eventually, this regular use can become so “regular” than it classifies as risky. For example, you may find yourself going to take an exam when you’re under the influence or perhaps even driving a car. Gradually, the body becomes adjusted to a substance and starts to crave more and more of it. People may find pleasure from the alcohol, drugs or whatever other addiction they have. Receptors in your brain release a chemical called dopamine when a person is happy or excited and these addictions can temporarily provide that. When the body becomes adjusted, it needs higher and higher doses to feel the same reactions and this is where addiction starts. So why don’t people just stop? It’s much more complicated than that. Because your body becomes so dependent on it, it notices when it is not being supplied. And that’s where it gets bad. That’s where the relapses and tremors and shakes come along. Your body systems can shut down until the body gets what it is craving. You may even feel emotionally disturbed. Perhaps, stressed, anxious, depressed. You may even begin to feel hopeless and desperate because you no longer feel in control of your life. This is where you must get help. And the sooner you are able to realize this, the better. Treatment options for addiction include rehab, detoxing, therapy and medication. Support groups cans also help with the process because it helps you understand that you are not on the journey to recovery alone. Understanding addiction and being aware of the signs can help in reducing your possibilities of addiction. If you are unsure on where to start or what to do, call the addiction hotline at 1-800-662-HELP. And do not forget that, recovery is possible. It may not seem like it at times, but through patience, supplemental information and treatment it is completely possible.

 

 

Coffee Craze: Is coffee actually bad for you?

When I see the word coffee, I really see the word caffeine. And anything with caffeine has me sold. Living within a university, you’ll run into numerous little coffee shops – going from Starbucks to Biggby’s or even Tim Horton’s – for the very obvious reason that college kids are continuously running around or just run down by the everyday tasks that need to get done and need something to keep them going. But what happens when you are continuously drinking coffee? Does that eventually begin to take a negative toll on the body? Actually, not really. Like everything else, coffee in moderation is not necessarily considered to be harmful. However, coffee can affect certain groups of people like children, pregnant women, and those with high cholesterol. One of the most important things to look at when getting coffee is the quality. Not all coffee is the same, but you already knew that. The quality of the coffee depends on the beans that the coffee originally came from. Bad coffee consists of coffee beans that are too ripe. Additionally, it can also consist of coffee beans that have gone stale. This can occur when the coffee beans mix are exposed to oxygen and end up becoming oxidized. In order to keep coffee beans at their best, keep them away from sources of moisture, oxygen and light as well. So basically, a cool dry place will be sufficient. If your coffee consists of bad coffee beans, you are actually more prone to more sicknesses. Even if you have to spend a couple extra dollars on some quality coffee, it is worth it in the long run. Another aspect to consider when you are drinking coffee is WHEN you are drinking it. Many times, people will drink coffee late into the day which can affect your sleep schedule. In one of my earlier blogs, I talked about this point. It is best to drink your coffee before mid-afternoon hits to ensure that it will not leave you laying wide awake once it is time to hit the sheets. Not only will drinking too much coffee keep you up but the amount of coffee you drink also plays a role. Both of these can often lead to a restless night or even cause insomnia, which is the inability to sleep. If you happen to be sensitive to caffeine, then it is especially crucial that you watch how much you are drinking. As I mentioned earlier, certain groups of people can be more affected by coffee than others. Children who drink coffee are more likely to wet the bed because the caffeine in coffee can cause the diuretic effect. Basically, caffeine makes you lose fluids. These fluids then exit the body, so if children are drinking large amounts of coffee then wetting the bed is very likely. With pregnant women, the effect is not on the woman herself but rather the fetus. Recent studies have shown that caffeine may lead to low birth weight in newborns. The final group consists of those that have high cholesterol. Those with high cholesterol most likely have a slow metabolism. Thus, these people should avoid coffee because of the terpenes found within it. If the body is unable to metabolize the coffee intake, then the risk for cholesterol-related diseases like heart disease can actually increase. For the most part, coffee is essentially harmless if you have it in moderation. The average person can actually have 1-6 cups of coffee a day. So, there’s not much to worry about here (unless you happen to fall into the group(s) I mentioned which in that case, you should not have). Continue on enjoying that mocha or espresso or latte or whatever other fancy word there is for coffee. It’s really a brew-tiful thing to enjoy.

 

Distinguishing Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, & Binge Eating

So, were talking eating disorders. Let’s start off with a simple definition that generalizes what they are and then break it down into the three most known. An eating disorder consists of a mix of physiological disorders that involves abnormal and/or disturbed eating habits. It can affect anyone, meaning people of all ages, genders, races, religions, etc. According to ANRED, approximately eight million people suffer from eating disorders. To put that into perspective for you, that is about 3% of the total population. Doesn’t sound too concerning?  The population of New York is approximately 8.5 million. Does that put in into perspective for you? Eating disorders are one of the most common forms of mental illness. In a college study conducted by NEDA (National Eating Disorder Association) on about 1,000 students, approximately 20% – both male and female – either currently suffer from an eating disorder or have had one in the past. Looking in on Michigan State, the current population is approximately 50,000. If we calculate the percentage based off the initial results, we would get approximately 10000 students. Which brings it to 1/5 people. Eating disorders are a lot more common than many people anticipate and because of this, it is important to be able to distinguish the differences as well as be able to tell the signs. We will start off with anorexia. Anorexia is properly known as anorexia nervosa and it is associated with weight loss or abnormally low body weight. It ties in as an emotional disorder because it can root from a person’s obsession with what they eat and/or be very fearful of weight gain. Anorexia nervosa, as with many eating disorders, is much more common in women than men due to not seeking help because of stigma. Following the DSM-5 criteria, a person is diagnosed of anorexia if they purposely restrict the amount of food they are intaking, possess an intense fear of gaining any weight, and reject the seriousness of his/her body weight/shape even when it is physically noticeable. With that being said, there are many signs and symptoms you should be aware of if you feel that you or someone you know may possibly have anorexia. Common physical signs include stomach cramps (occurs when the muscle mass decreases), dizziness, feeling cold often (resulting from poor blood circulation because there may not be enough iron on the red blood cells for oxygen to attach to), induced vomiting and poor immune function. Mental and emotional signs include obsession with counting calories, hardly eating, or even fears being “fat” despite no significant weight gain. Because the body is being deprived of the essential nutrients it needs, the body will begin to shut down in an attempt to conserve any and all energy left. This can result in serious consequences such as hospitalization. Next, we will look at bulimia which is similar yet different from anorexia. With bulimia, a person will eat abnormally large amounts of food which will very likely be followed by induced vomiting because of guilt and shame. Going back to the DSM-5 criteria, a person diagnosed with bulimia will display reoccurring episodes of binge eating (we will get to this later), preventing weight gain through unusual acts (induced vomiting, fasting, or extreme exercise), and constantly are self-evaluating his/her body. The signs and symptoms are similar to those of anorexia including binge eating, purging, and becoming bloated often (because of fluid accumulating in the tissues). Serious health consequences of bulimia involve imbalances in electrolyte and chemical levels which can lead to serious issues involving the heart and digestive system. The final disorder we will touch on is known as binge eating which is like bulimia. With binge eating, a person will often eat large amounts of food and also feel guilt and shame afterwards. The difference that lies between bulimia and binge eating is that a person will not purge. Eventually, this does accumulate and very often leads to obesity. To be diagnosed as a binge eater, a person will eat larger than normal amounts of food, feel as if they have no sense of control over this and continue this cycle at least once a week for around three months. Signs and symptoms include those that I mentioned earlier for anorexia and bulimia along with a noticeably fluctuating weight. If left untreated, binge eating can lead to extreme weight gain in a short amount of time. With that being said, it is important to know about these common eating disorders. Even if you are personally not affected by any, many others are. You may have seen it right before your eyes and not though anything of it. If you do happen to be experiencing these signs and symptoms, it is best to talk to your doctor and get the help needed to prevent damage or further damage to the body. If you are unable to see a doctor, try the National Eating Disorders Association Hotline – 1-800-931-2237 for more guidance and information. That’s all for today, folks. Until next time.

And They Were Roommates: How your mental health is impacted by your living situation

Freshman year is hard enough: you move away from the comfort of your life at home, leave friends and family behind, transition to a university that is way bigger than your high school. You have to figure out how to get from your 8am in South Wonders to your 10:20 in the Psych Building in the 30 minutes you have between the two. You need to balance time spent doing RSOs, hall events, UAB craft nights, office hours, and Union Late Nights. And on top of all this, you are adjusting to living with a complete stranger. Being a college student should be a superpower. Honestly, you are juggling so many things WHILE making real adult decisions without any parents telling you what time to be home by or when to do your laundry. It is just like fighting crime and saving cats. Oh, and don’t even get me started on trying to figure out CATA.

Everyone warns you about choosing a roommate. “Don’t pick your best friend, that never works out.” “But don’t pick a total stranger, what if they’re too different?” “Trying RoomSync.” “Write a Bio and post it on the FaceBook page.” “Message some people who seem nice.” “Be yourself!” “Don’t be too open.” In my efforts of finding that perfect someone, I onced flooded this girl’s inbox with pictures of my neighbor’s dog because she mentioned having a dog. She ended up blocking me. There is thin line between being friendly and being creepy. If you find it, let me know. So my roommate search continued as I checked the Facebook page several times a day hoping to catch that perfect someone to share Freshman year with. Eventually I found her. However, perfect would be a bit of an overstatement and there was very little sharing going on. My experience begs the question: does anyone ever find their perfect roommate? You hear the horror stories, but do these people actually affect our mental and physical health?

There is lots of research on the importance of having safe and clean housing. There is a threatening rise in homelessness in the US. There are also studies on the negative health effects of being homeless. World Health Organization (WHO?)- World Health Organization (WHO?) explains that the quality of your home is correlated to your risk for infection and disease. They propose global housing standards to be put in place. So I think we can all agree that living in a home is important. Probably a top priority. And there are ways to help those who are in unsafe housing or out on the streets. Here are some resources and ways to help in the Lansing area.

There are studies  as well on how the health of your hospital roommate shortens you stay and actually decreases the amount of treatment you need. So next time you go to the hospital, request a healthy roomie and it will actually save you $$$.  The next time you tell someone to “Get well soon,” maybe you should just move in with them.

So we have your health covered, what about your mental health or mood? Some studies show that having a negative (they like to be called glass-half-empty) roommate impacts you negatively. (I am endorsing a U of M study here so you know if must be worth the read).

However, there is conflicting evidence and because these tests and studies are done on people, there is bound to be a lot of bias. This study explains how these effects may not be as dramatic as we might have believed. And other studies show that we may not even be in charge of this, but our genes are  (that reminds me, I borrowed my roommate’s jeans but haven’t given them back yet…Rachel if you are reading this, I am sorry!)
Moral of the story: surround yourself with healthy germs (aka healthy people). We cannot always avoid the crazy roommate, but have you ever considered being the roommate that improves their health?

What’s Up? Stress Levels, That’s What: Looking at mental health.

In my previous blog, I focused heavily on stress and how it can impact your physical health as well as how to prevent it. This time, we’re looking at our mental health. Just as stress can impact the body, it can just as equally affect our mind and emotional well-being. With so much going on, you may find it easy to neglect your mental health and focus on what’s in front of you at the time being. Not a good idea. Overtime, it’ll all catch up to you and you WILL crash. Bad. Which will just put you behind and then you’ll stress about catching up and put too much pressure on yourself and stress out even more and the cycle continues. Get where I’m going with this? Look after yourself now to prevent having to make up for it in the future. For starters, it is important to know that positive mental health will allow you to work at your fullest potential, work in a productive manner and better deal with the everyday stress brought on by life. If you feel that you need work on one or more of these areas, then it is a good idea to analyze the smaller things that contribute to positive mental health. For one, sleep is VERY important. According to a study done at Stanford, the average college student should be getting approximately eight or more hours of sleep. Of course, it is different for everyone so you will have to study your body in figuring out how much sleep is best for you individually. Not only is getting enough sleep important but it is also important to ensure that you are getting quality sleep. Tossing and turning as well as waking up in the middle of the night constantly can really impact your sleep. Even if you are getting the required amount of sleep, you may still feel tired and groggy because you are not getting quality sleep. Start with keeping a constant sleep cycle. In other words, going to bed and waking up at the same time. As you develop this habit, your body will adjust and know when it is time to go to bed versus when it is time to be awake. Another thing is caffeine. If you’re drinking caffeinated coffee late into the day, you’ll find yourself wide awake at night. Obviously. That’s how caffeine works. The best time to cut off coffee is around 2 pm. That way, you’ll come down from the caffeine by bedtime. On the topic of beverages, about three hours prior to bed, it is recommended that you stop eating in order to prevent waking up in the middle of the night and constantly running to the bathroom. Don’t forget to keep lights and sounds to a minimal in the sleeping area. (That includes your phone, too.) If you seem to be struggling to fall asleep from outside noises, a white noise machine just might be able to help you out. (I’ve attached a link to make it easier for you. Thank me later.) Improving the quality of your sleep will allow you to function better throughout the day with much more energy. Aside from sleep, exercise plays a big role in decreasing stress and allowing for better overall mental health. In my previous blog – What’s Up? Stress Levels, That’s What: Looking at physical health. – I stressed (haha, get it?) on the importance of exercise on physical health. It is just as important for your mental health. And no, I don’t mean high intensity exercise until you pass out type deal. Studies have shown that low to moderate levels of exercise can improve many aspects of the mind. When you take part in physical exercise, your body makes endorphins which is essentially a chemical in the brain that can act as a natural painkiller and is known as the “feel-good” chemical. Increased endorphins will allow for reduced fatigue, higher ability to concentrate, and improve the overall cognitive function of the brain. Endorphins also play a role in mood so the more endorphins are released by your body, the more happy sensations you will feel. Which will lead to a happier you. And who doesn’t wanna be happy? So what’re you waiting for? Go get some exercise in. If that hasn’t convinced you to exercise, maybe yoga is more of your thing. Yoga is a mind-body practice which aims to incorporate poses, breathing and meditation to achieve the overall goal of reduced stress and better fitness. (Interested in learning more about the benefits of yoga and meditation? Click here.) If it seems that all these are intact for you but you are still struggling with mental health, then there is a possibility that there is a more serious condition contributing to your mental health – mental illness. I’m no doctor (yet) but if this is the case, you should think about speaking to your doctor. Mental illness can arise from various causes and can have a huge impact on your mental health. Mental illness is defined as health conditions that affect your mood, emotion and behavior. The most common mental illnesses for college students include depression, anxiety, ADHD and eating disorders. I’ll just give a quick sentence summary of each. Depression deals with feelings of sadness as well as a loss of interest in activities that you may have once enjoyed. Anxiety concerns constantly occurring feelings of nervousness, tension and worrying. ADHD involves chronic inability to pay attention and hyperactivity. Last but not least, eating disorders deal with either abnormal or serious disturbed eating patterns involving too much or too little eating. I have just listed the most common among college students. There is a much wider range of mental illnesses. Again, talking to your doctor will give you a better sense if you do feel that this is the case. Your mental health is very important to your well-being and should be just as big of a priority as your physical health. We all tend to get busy and drown in the workload in front of us, but believe me. If you look after your mental health now, you’ll have a lot less to stress about later. Incorporate these tips into your daily lifestyle at your own pace – you’ll be feeling a lot more energized and happier. Say goodbye to stress and say hello to a happier, healthier you.

What’s Up? Stress Levels, That’s What: Looking at physical health.

Stress. It tends to creep up every now and then. But as a college student? It’s inevitable. You try balancing being a full-time student with a part time job on top of extracurriculars all while eating healthy and hitting the gym 5 times a week as well as getting a full eight hours of sleep. Oh, and don’t forget to maintain a social life on top of all that. Yeah, it’s pretty rough out here. But as impossible as it seems, it’s important to look after yourself and maintain your stress levels. While some amounts of stress are good for you, too much can have negative impacts on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We’ll start off with the body. Stress can affect your body on both the inside as well as the outside. Your body has 11 important organ systems and stress can impact 8 out of those 11. More than half. One system shuts down and then the next and so forth. To begin with, there is the musculoskeletal system. More than likely you’re aware that when the body is stressed, the muscles tend to tense up. The muscles do this because this is the body’s normal reaction to guarding against any form of pain or injury. When this becomes chronic, the muscles in the body can knot up which causes even more pain. Then the good old nervous system. Continuously sending signals to our brain about what is going on around us. Always keeping us in tact. But when you are stressed, the nervous system signals the body to go into fight or flight mode. Either the body will try to fight off the threat or run from it. When you are exposed to constant stress, the body will cautiously stay in this mode which can cause you to feel constantly drained of energy. Stress can also affect your respiratory system by making you breath harder. It might not seem like a big deal, but hyperventilation can cause a panic attack to occur in some cases. Then, there’s the cardiovascular system. You’ve heard it a bunch of times and you’ll hear it again. Stress can lead to the development of long term problems regarding the heart and blood vessels. Moving down to the digestive system, you’ve probably felt “butterflies” in your stomach when you were stressed. This occurs because your brain is more aware to surroundings and sensations so just about anything could cause an upset stomach. Or even muscle knots in your abdomen aka cramps. The absolute worst. Not to mention, stress can cause your immune system to act very poorly. Its main job it to protect the body against disease and pathogens. If you’re under constant high levels of stress, the immune system can’t work as well as it should and this can lead to you constantly getting sick. And then there’s your physical appearance. Constant stress can cause you to develop premature wrinkles through cortisol which is the main stress hormone. Studies have actually shown that this hormone breaks down the elastin and collagen in your skin which is responsible for elasticity of the skin. Stress can also cause you to change your normal eating patterns – causing you to eat differently than usual – and can result in weight gain or even weight loss. So what’s there to do about all this? Let’s go in order of the body systems I mentioned. For muscle knots, try massages. They help with blood flow through the body which will help decrease muscle pains and knots. Breathing exercises and techniques can help with preventing or lowering the onset of one. To keep up with good heart health, take multivitamins. Omega-3 fatty acids are also needed, which can be found in fish. If you’re like me and are not a big fan of fish, try omega-3 fish oil capsules. Omega-3 has been shown to help with preventing heart disease and lowering blood pressure. It also helps with preventing wrinkles. For good heart health and body in general, WATCH WHAT YOU EAT. Seriously. I get it, it’s hard trying to live off check to check as you pay off rent and those horrendous student loans. But, you’ll thank yourself later for this. Drop the ramen noodles and nacho fries from Taco Bell, both of which are filled with tons of sodium that’ll have you feeling bloated and at a loss of energy the whole day. Try cutting out fatty, sugary and processed foods and replacing them with more fruits and vegetables. Your body will feel so much better, so much more energized this way. And don’t forget to stay hydrated! Major key. Dehydration can make you feel tired, bring on muscle cramps, and even bring on premature wrinkles. No one wants that. So a cup of water. Actually 8, according to the health authorities. Exercise is important, too. I’m not telling you to go the gym every day of the week until you become a bodybuilder. Although the gym is a great place to get in shape, you might find it difficult to incorporate it into a busy schedule if it’s not something you usually do. Start off with little things and then work your way up. Walk to class instead of taking the bus. Take the stairs instead of using the elevator. Put down your phone and go ride your bike. Go for a run. Things like this can make small but significant impact on your body. When you start to feel comfortable with small amounts of exercise, challenge yourself and hit the gym. Moving on to wrinkles. As I mentioned earlier, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is necessary to feel good and look good. Fruits and vegetables contain lots of antioxidants which combat the free radicals floating around within our body. Free radicals cause damage to our skin and antioxidants work to stop this from happening. Essential oils can also be beneficial because they contain antioxidants as well. Just a couple drops can go a long way. Plus, they smell good. Who doesn’t wanna smell good? Your body is important and should be a priority. I mean, you only get one so why not treat it in the best way possible? By incorporating these tips into your daily lifestyle, you will see great changes. But don’t do it all at once. You’ll get overwhelmed and give up. Slow and steady. Work on these things one by one and soon you’ll have it all down. You’ll look good and you’ll feel good. Adios to you, stress.

How to Properly Spot: Staying Safe and Lifting Big in the Gym

People who are always looking to seek improvement in the gym know that they need to push themselves. This typically involves increasing the weight they are lifting and pushing for an increase amount of repetitions. When you push yourself with weight that you have never tried before, there is a chance that you cannot lift it up yourself. This is where a spotter comes into play. Whenever you decide to challenge yourself to a hard lift, it is essential to have a spotter behind you, for both your safety and to ensure you complete the lift. However, there are many people that do not know how to properly spot for many lifts. Some people make it too easy for the person trying to seek improvement, while others push the lifter too much before helping, which can lead to injuries. In this blog, I will be going over different ways to spot individuals for different workouts using proper methods.

Many of these workouts I will be mentioning are part of my male workout plan, and require a spotter for the heavy sets. One of the most popular workouts out there is the bench press. Many individuals want to lift heavy weight for this workout, so a spotter is always necessary for those strong sets. I have personally experienced many spotters who have improperly assisted me in the lift. For example, one way that you can improperly spot is by holding the bar and mimicking their movement during the entire set. This makes the lifting easier depending on how much the spotter is touching the bar. This form of spotting will prevent the lifter from improving their muscle mass, because they are not using as much energy that they could be. Another improper way to spot is the exact opposite of the previous spotting technique, where the spotter does nothing for a few seconds even when you clearly cannot get the weight up. Although the spotter may seem to be pushing the lifter, this way of spotting can lead to easy injury or unnecessary muscle soreness because of the intense struggle the lifter experienced. In my opinion, the spotter should not touch the bar until the bar is no longer moving in an upright position, or begins to move down. The moment the bar stops moving up, the spotter should put a few fingers under the bar to lightly assist them. This light assistance allows the lifter to still earn the rep he his on, by still making him lift the majority of the weight. I recommend this technique of spotting for both flat and incline bench press, along with seated shoulder press.

Another important workout that I recommend having a spotter on is your heavy sets when squatting. When squatting, there is a chance that the lifter may not be able to get the bar back up, which will result in dropping the bar down onto the safety bars if there is no spotter. Dropping the bar can be very dangerous on your knees and even your back, especially if the safety bars are not high enough. This is why having a spotter is very important, because it will minimize the amount of times you will ever have to drop the bar. For spotting someone who is squatting, you again want to just watch and do nothing until you see struggle. Once the squatter can no longer lift the bar up, or even if it begins to lower, immediately put your arms under their shoulder, chest region and lift up to assist them in finishing the rep. This technique is a safe way for both the lifter and the spotter.

For most dumbbell workouts, a spotter is not necessary because you can very easily drop the weight if you cannot finish a rep. I only would use a spotter if I am doing a very heavy set, and I want them to assist in the last rep because I know I will not get it up myself, but still want to reach my rep number for that set. Spotting helps lifters not only push themselves to improve their weight, but also keeps the lifter safe. Overall, having a spotter is very important when lifting weights at the gym and getting one is as easy as asking someone you have never talked to before for a quick spot.