How to Take Care of Yourself to Improve Learning

This article or area is currently under construction and may only be partially complete. Please come back soon to see the finished work! (9/12/2023)

Original Editor - Michael Rowe

Top Contributors - Ewa Jaraczewska, Jess Bell, Tarina van der Stockt and Kim Jackson  

Introduction

Students who are beginning their college education must adapt to a new environment and engage in newfound responsibilities. To endure this transition, students may develop unhealthy behaviours that include bad dietary habits, sedentary life style, and sleep deprivation. Research shows that healthy diet and good lifestyle behaviours possitively affect cognitive functioning, where fast food consumption lead to poorer executive functioning and poorer visual memory performance in students. Habits around self-care, including diet, exercise, sleep, and social relationships, can have a significant impact on one's ability to learn effectively.

Social skills are the type of behaviours that are socially acceptable and enable an individual to effectively communicate with others. Social relationships can be defined as a "sum of the social interactions between people in the process of joint activities", and they are influenced by the family, teachers, peers, and individuals themselves. Student's academic performance can therefore be influenced by both family and school contexts.

This article offers a general approach to how diet, exercise, sleep, and social relationships impact students' learning.

Balanced Diet and Learning

Pollan's principles of balanced diet:

• Eat food

"Food is what you buy in the bakery, butcher, and deli sections in supermarkets."-- Michael Rowe

• Not too much

"Portion you dish up should be about the size of a medium-sized bowl."-- Michael Rowe

• Mostly plants

" A diet should be made up mostly of fruit and vegetables."-- Michael Rowe

Diet and Cognitive Function

Facts:

• The brain needs up to 25% of your daily energy output
• The brain needs a steady supply of glucose from complex carbohydrates for sustained mental clarity and focus
• To nourish and protect neural tissue, we need foods rich in fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals
• Consuming a variety of foods like fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains can have significant impacts on mental acuity
• To supply adequate energy for the brain we must:
  • eat nutrient-dense foods
  • have regular meals and snacks to maintain blood glucose levels
• To help maintain energy levels and mood stability we should limit the intake of processed foods that are high in sugar and unhealthy fats
• Hydration has positive impact on cognitive abilities, including concentration and memory, so drink plenty of water.

Regular Exercises and Learning

"Taking regular breaks to include some form of exercise, may boost performance."-- Michael Rowe

Facts:

• Regular physical activity improves blood flow to the brain, contributing to better cognitive function
• Combination of aerobic and strengthening exercise helps to reduce stress, enhance your mood, and enhance sleep quality.
• Exercise may improve neuroplasticity, leading to improved memory and fosters mental resilience
• Regular exercise stimulates the release of hormones that boost focus, memory, and learning capacity.
• Light exercise can counteract the fatigue and mental fog associated with long periods of study
• Exercising helps the brain to transition to the diffuse mode, which is a relaxed state of mind where your brain is better at making connections between different ideas.
  • Running or walking are best to allow your mind to enter the diffuse mode.
  • Brain's diffuse mode allow better problem-solving and a deeper understanding of what you're learning.

Well-Rounded Exercise Regime

A combination of two to three of the following activities can be considered a well-rounded exercise regime:

• Aerobic activities
  • Examples: walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling
  • Benefits: raises your heart rate and boosts blood flow and oxygen to the brain
  • Dosage: went to thirty minutes of moderate exercises, three to five times a week
• Yoga
  • Benefits: improves mood, reduces stress, and increases focus
  • Dosage: two to three times a week
• Dancing
  • Benefits: improves coordination, balance, memory, spatial awareness, and the social aspect can provide cognitive benefits.
  • Dosage:one to two dance classes per week
• Jumping jack
  • Benefits:facilitates constant movement of all parts of your body, and can therefore stimulate a significant increase in blood flow to your brain
  • Dosage: one to two minutes breaks as often as needed throughout long study sessions to reboot your energy and concentration
• Tai Chi
  • Benefits: challenges the brain part involved in concentration, problem-solving, and mental flexibility
  • Dosage: ten to twenty minutes, a few times a week
• Strength training
  • Example: weight lifting
  • Benefits: boosts levels of hormones that support memory and learning
  • Dosage: two to three strength training workouts per week
• Stretching exercises
  • Examples: gentle stretching in your neck, shoulders, and back
  • Benefits: increase blood flow and relieve muscle tension that can interfere with focus
  • Dosage: thirty to sixty seconds hold for each stretch
• Heart-pumping activity
  • Examples: running up stairs or skipping
  • Benefits: helps to immediately boost focus and cognitive performance
  • Dosage: five to ten minute sessions of a high-intensity cardio workout, two to three times per week

Resources

• bulleted list
• x

or

1. numbered list
2. x