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college life

Health

5 Tips for a Healthy School Year

October 15, 2021

Schools are centers of learning, but when so many students are in one space for the majority of the day, the student body’s health and wellness can take a dip. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to ensure the healthiest, happiest school year possible. 

Stick with Healthy Meal Habits

Significant strides have been made to ensure students receive a healthy and nutritious lunch while at school, and there are more nourishing, healthy meal options than ever. Still, students may fall victim to unhealthy snacking habits, skipping meals or swapping healthful side options for sugary or processed snacks. Organizations with wellness initiatives, such as USANA Refer a Friend, support students in eating a full, healthy breakfast and packing a lunch that focuses on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats and very few unhealthy snacks. 

Practice Good Hygiene

Hand washing, sneezing in your elbow and regular cleaning of high-contact areas are invaluable habits to maintain while at school, especially during cold and flu season. Consider packing a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a pack of tissues along for the day. As well, students should avoid sharing food and drinks to avoid the spread of germs that could lead to more than a few sick days at home in bed. Nobody wants to get behind on homework, so prevention is the best practice to avoid getting a cold as well as a stack of incomplete history packets.

Take Physical Exercise Seriously

No matter the age group, it’s important for students to be regularly active during the school day. Everyone from a preschooler to a senior in college needs regular exercise to maintain a good bill of health, and all the hours spent seated at a desk school slow the movement momentum. 

Regular exercise is likely a part of the school day already, but fresh air and physical activities after school are great ways to further boost students’ physical health and wellbeing. After-school movement also helps to reverse some of the detrimental effects of sitting down and reading for most of the day, such as eye strain, posture issues, neck and back strain and muscle weakness.

Get a Good Night’s Rest

Sometimes, homework can keep older students up late at night. While it’s crucial that students get their work done, lost sleep guarantees that it will be tougher to focus and maintain high levels of energy and a positive mood the following day at school. An exhausted student is a less involved, concentrated and enthusiastic student. A good night’s rest is crucial for a great performance at school, and can improve immune function and help to fight off any bugs or illnesses that travel around the classroom. 

Minimize Stress

Because school is essentially a student’s job, it’s no less stressful than any other career. Deadlines, presentations, social engagements, peer influences, grades and extracurricular activities all come with a great deal of pressure. It’s important for students to make time to do things they enjoy outside of their schoolwork, and to talk openly about how they’re feeling about their course load and various school responsibilities. Things like deep-breathing, regular play, journaling, conversations over shared meals and dedicated down time can do a lot to relieve school-related stress, and when students feel healthy and happy, they’re more likely to achieve academic success. 

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Health Student Life

Why College Students Should Exercise Regularly

October 14, 2021

College can be daunting and exhausting. For some, managing their time well has become a part of their daily routine. But for some students who can’t handle college life well, focusing on several activities at once could be an overwhelming process.

As a college student with more than one stressor, keeping a healthy routine that includes regular exercise is essential. It’s not only great for physical benefits, but it can also rewire your brain.

Here are seven crucial reasons college students should incorporate exercise in their daily life.

Improves Concentration and Focus

You may not know it now, but a workout can help improve your concentration and focus.

When you exercise, you allow your brain to stimulate new cells. This can help boost your overall well-being, including concentration and keeping the mind focused. Such activity can result in being more productive in your school work and could help you ace that exam you’ve dreaded since the start of the semester.

Relieves Stress

Stress is one reason some college students fail to get a passing mark. We’re not generalizing the scenario, but we all know how stress could affect students’ study habits.

While stress can do that to people, exercise can counter the decline in neurotransmitters. As such, your brain will produce endorphins that could generally make you feel happier or relaxed. It could even lessen your chances of experiencing heart attacks or stomach problems.

Enhances Memory

The brain cells found in our hippocampus are responsible for the formation of memories. It’s also where you dig up and recall memories that are in the past.

So when you study for a quiz, you use the cells in your hippocampus to store and form memories that could help you remember what you’ve read. It’s a helpful tool when you sit down on your chair and start taking the quiz.

But like every cell in our body, they tend to diminish. To avoid losing your brain’s power, use exercise to help build a better block for your memory. It boosts the creation of these important cells that could make an impact on your college life.

Stimulates Brain Cell Development

Our brain is a beautiful machine. It’s what keeps our bodily functions moving and fighting against external stressors.

However, the most exciting part of the brain is cell development that could help us improve our lifestyle.

Treat your brain as your physical body. To be able to function well, you have to feed it with essential nutrients. That includes maintaining a healthy exercise routine.

It’s essential to stimulate brain cell development at this stage in your life. That’s because it’s where you juggle school activities and the troubles of being an adult.

Builds Immune System Strength

At this point in your life, you’d want to avoid getting sick at all because missing one school activity can drastically affect your class standing. Building your immune system should be a top priority, especially because stress can attack your body in ways that you don’t expect.

Regular exercise is one way to boost your immune system. It will allow your body to fight off the common cold, flu, and sometimes even severe health conditions.

Improves Physical Health

Of course, the first thing you’ll notice when you start exercising is developing your physical health. You could quickly feel your muscles being pumped and improving your strength and endurance.

Exercising can include visiting the gym, doing home workouts, yoga, pilates, or even joining your school’s hiking club. Remember that you should pick a flexible regimen that could fit your schedule and match your physical capacity to move around.

We recommend making an outdoor trip once in a while to keep you inspired and to avoid the effects of burnout. You may not have the whole outdoor adventure gear, but to keep walking sticks for hiking in your college dorm is enough to last you an hour or two out in the wild.

Boosts Your Mood

We’ve mentioned earlier the effects of endorphins in our bodies. It’s essential to keep a positive vibe for most of the days during your college years. It’s a basic weapon to survive the most grueling tasks of beating deadlines, maintaining a grade, and learning from all your subjects.

You can improve your mood by doing light to moderate exercises at least three times a week. You may think that squeezing in a 30-minute exercise into your already busy day is hard. But you can achieve this without sweat with proper time management!

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Adulting

7 Time Management Tips for Working Students

October 11, 2021

Studying for a major exam or writing a paper is time-consuming, but it’s even more challenging when you’re dealing with a job at the same time. Effective time management can often be the difference between passing your classes and struggling, but how do you manage your time while you’re working? With the right plan in place, you can enjoy a successful academic year, all while keeping your job.

Read on for a list of 7 time-management tips for working students that will help to ensure success in school and your career.

Make a Schedule

Every successful venture starts with a good schedule in place. Whether daily, weekly, or monthly, the first step to effective time management is creating a schedule that works for you, then stick to it. If you need to, design a schedule that allows you to work in 30-minute increments. For example, jot down your work hours, then break up your non-working hours in smaller bites, noting which classes will need the most attention first and when.

Don’t Procrastinate

It can be easy to put off things you don’t want to do, but procrastinating will always result in you feeling stressed out later. Avoid putting off something you can do right now whenever possible. The sooner you accomplish tasks, the more free time you’ll have to enjoy things later on.

Prioritize

Set your priorities in order of importance and try to “knock out” the most essential items first. Even if you have to start small, doing things right away will make meeting deadlines and writing papers easier when the time comes. Not only will prioritizing tasks make it easier to get them done on time, but it will also ease your stress levels.

Plan Ahead

Create a daily or weekly to-do list so it’s easier to plan the things you need to get done in advance. Keep track of important dates and deadlines, and ensure that you’ll have plenty of time available to complete them in advance. Not only does planning ahead make it easy to accomplish tasks, but you’ll remember which things need to complete and when.

Avoid Multitasking

Many people think that multitasking is the best way to get things done, but it can actually backfire. When you multitask, you’re not dedicating all of your brainpower to one task. Avoid the temptation of multitasking and instead, try to put all of your attention on each item individually to stay focused.

Stay Healthy

Getting proper exercise and eating a healthy diet will help you feel better physically and mentally. Don’t forget to make sure that you’re getting plenty of sleep every night, too. When your body is healthy, your mind will be much more agile and able to retain important information.

Create a Routine

Creating a regular routine is vital to any successful lifestyle. Do your best to go to bed and get up at the same time every night and make studying a part of your daily life. Once you have a set routine, it will be much easier to stick to the daily things you need to do.Keep these seven tips in mind if you’re a working student to help you manage your time as effectively as possible. With these simple tasks, you can begin to make each one of them a daily habit that will set you up for success. Remember to devise a schedule and prioritize the most important things you need to do to work best for you and your lifestyle for a successful working life and academic career.

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Adulting Student Life

Essential Apps for College Student Survival

October 7, 2021

If you’re a student who’s constantly multitasking, college can seem like a difficult endeavor. It’s especially true if you rely on a part-time job to make ends meet. But at the same time, you’re always trying to balance out other activities and engagements, such as meeting friends, gaming, and relaxing. Managing social and academic life, in this regard, requires that you’re fast and super productive.  

As the education sector integrates more and more technology, students can find new innovative ways to balance their academics and social life. So whether you’re a college freshman or in your senior year, you’re probably looking for apps that can make it easier to survive college. 

Here is a list of some essential apps you can use to manage time and improve your productivity. 

Evernote

A big part of college life entails “note-taking.” How about having an app that allows you to take notes by entering text and ideas?

Evernote can do just that. This amazing app is a “must-have” for every student. From note-taking, organizing them to managing tasks, everything becomes a piece of cake with Evernote. It allows you to take comprehensive notes by adding images, audio, PDFs, text, and documents. 

Even better, the app includes a wide variety of tools that enable students to recall learned material saved as personalized notes. 

Plus, Evernote has an effectively integrated search engine to help you trace phrases within your notes, providing faster notes retrieval. It not only hastens your revision sessions but also allows you to incorporate material relevant to your concepts.

Grammarly

It’s not uncommon for students to turn in fantastic assignments, only to lose marks because of poor grammar or lackluster vocabulary. Sure, it seems unfair, but you can’t deny the importance of good grammar when it comes to writing quality assignments. In this case, apps like Grammarly can be a huge help. This app can significantly improve sentence structure and boost your work’s readability and clarity.  

In addition to this, Grammarly offers numerous suggestions for different errors to help you understand your grammatical weaknesses. The app is compatible with many other applications to enrich your communication.

Turnitin

Turnitin, like the former, is an important service for writing quality papers. The app catches plagiarism in the work and allows you to correct all the plagiarized parts of your essays.

Prezi

College presentations are challenging and can be time-consuming. Use Prezi to add a wow factor to your text while reducing the effort and time spent making a presentation. With Prezi, you can keep your focus on research and deliver a comprehensive and appealing research presentation. 

Another thing that makes Prezi even better is its easy-to-use feature. You don’t need to have video editing expertise or graphics to use Prezi.

Microsoft Office Lens

Microsoft Office Lens is an excellent app that has revolutionized note-taking. It provides students an easy way to scan material for conversion to Word, PDF, PowerPoint, and save to the cloud or local device. It helps students to concentrate on their revision instead of spending time taking notes.  

Dropbox

Dropbox is a popular app that ranks high as a cloud storage solution. The app allows students to access all documents easily. With Dropbox, students can seamlessly access documents and files across numerous devices. 

Mint

Finances are some of the tricky elements in the life of a student. Mint is a smart app that helps students keep track of their expenses, thus enabling them to develop healthy spending habits. Besides this, Mint offers suggestions to create financial goals to help college students balance their accounts.

In a nutshell, campus life is hard. But for all your student-life challenges, there is a comprehensive app to reduce the burden. The given apps are the top picks to help you make stellar essays, manage time, and boost productivity.

BIO: Lyle Solomon has considerable litigation experience as well as substantial hands-on knowledge and expertise in legal analysis and writing. Since 2003, he has been a member of the State Bar of California. In 1998, he graduated from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, and now serves as a principal attorney for the Oak View Law Group in Rocklin, California.

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Student Life

7 Habits That Ruin Your Productivity

October 4, 2021

Being productive is something we all want, and often struggle to achieve. Successfully navigating college involves a high level of productivity, but getting sidetracked is a common problem that many students face.

Little habits that creep in can soon become entrenched, sapping concentration and motivation. Becoming aware of these is a good first step in dealing with college life—and enjoying it.

There are seven common habits that get in the way of being productive.

1. Trying to multitask

Our brains are not built to manage more than one task at a time. A study on the subject revealed that only 2.5% of research participants could multitask successfully. Stick to one task at a time, finish it, and then move on.

Keeping on top of assignments and tests isn’t easy. Many students find themselves stretched across a number of activities at anyone time. Trying to multitask, however, often results in taking longer to complete things.

2. Constantly checking email and social media

It should come as no surprise that interrupting your work regularly with distractions lowers productivity. The habit of checking social media constantly disrupts your focus and ends up eating away even more time as you try to settle back down to work.

A few tips to help curb this habit include:

–    Use tracking apps to monitor how long you spend online

–    Use apps to block access to certain websites

–    Go back to the basics: switch your phone or other devices off while you complete a task

3. Being too hard on yourself

Some people believe that being ultra-harsh on themselves is good for self-discipline and personal growth. But beating yourself up when things don’t go right can actually make you even less productive than usual. The mental energy it takes to scold yourself saps your concentration, and with it, your ability to work and study.

4. Not taking breaks

It might seem like plowing through tasks without a break is the best way of getting things done efficiently. But not taking breaks can have a negative impact on your productivity.

Getting adequate rest, taking some time out to play games, or do anything else you enjoy increases your overall productivity and reduces your chance of burning out.

5. Waiting for the perfect moment

A common form of procrastination is waiting until you feel “ready” before beginning your work. No matter how tempting this might be, it’s probably one of the worst ways to approach your studies. Before long, this habit can become a full-blown mental block.

6. Leaving difficult tasks until last

This also relates to procrastination and perfectionism. It can be easy to push your more difficult tasks to the back of your mind. However, putting them off can prove disastrous in the long run. By the time you get around to doing whatever needs to be done, it’s likely that you’re tired and unmotivated.

7. Saying yes to everything

Completing assignments, studying for tests and taking part in student activities are all important parts of college life. Despite this, trying to do absolutely everything can get in the way of enjoying your time as a student—as well as destroying productivity.

To produce good work and engage with your studies, you need to set boundaries around how you’re going to spend your time. Learning how to balance life and work is a great skill for everyone to master.

Nobody is productive 100% of the time. Set realistic expectations and manage your time well and you’ll make maintaining a high level of productivity a good habit.

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Adulting

Adulting 101: 15 Tips Everyone Should Know About

October 1, 2021

Let’s face it: Adulting is hard! How can you make your life smooth-sailing when transitioning from being parent-dependent to living your life on your own terms?

When you were younger, you probably felt excited about the independence that comes with adulthood. But as you entered this stage, and went off to college, you probably realized you have to include home and health responsibilities, finance management, and some organization into the equation. 

It can seem overwhelming at first. Here are some tips to make your adjusting easier as you handle your grown-up responsibilities.

Home

Tip 1: Clean Your Home Regularly

By regularly, I mean at least once a week. During your adulting years you’ll experience more stress. Putting off cleaning your home will just make it worse. 

Cleaning your house regularly doesn’t just make the place tidy and organized, but it also clears your mind from too many worries. Vacuuming and mopping can be even more of a hassle if you put it off for a few weeks, so make it a habit to knock it out when you clean the bathrooms, counters, and other parts of your home.

As you declutter your house, you declutter your mind as well. 

Tip 2: Learn To Do Minor Home Repairs

You don’t have to be like The Fixer from Youtube. You just have to learn the very basics so you can fix small damages quickly. 

You’ll also get to save some money which you’d otherwise need to spend on experts for doing tasks you’ll later realize are so simple to do if you just did a little bit of digging on how to do it. 

Some of the things you can learn to do online are:

  • Clearing gutters
  • Patching small holes
  • Clearing gutters
  • Replacing light bulbs and light fixtures
  • Replacing a blown fuse
  • Turning off the main power supply if you’ll be out for a few days
  • Unclogging a drain
  • Plunging a toilet
  • Turning off the water supply
  • Replacing air filters

Tip 3: Learn Laundry and Mending Skills

Did you ever have a white shirt that turned pink after laundry? That doesn’t only happen in movies, it happens when you mix colored shirts and white ones in one wash. 

Or have you tried wearing a shirt that used to fit right only to feel extra tight after it went through the dryer? It happens.

To avoid those things from happening, here are some laundry skills you need to keep in mind:

  • Separate delicates, whites, and darks when washing
  • Do small loads at low heat when drying clothes to avoid shrinking
  • Use warm water or cool setting to prevent color bleeds
  • Hang delicates when drying to keep the cloth quality intact

Moreover, you’re bound to get ripped shirts, popped buttons or broken zippers one day. Learn to do basic sewing, button, and zipper change. There are plenty of tutorials and how-to articles out there!

Health And Wellness

Tip 4: Learn To Cook

Relying on fast food, takeouts, and deliveries isn’t just unhealthy, it bores a big whole in your pocket. I’m not saying you have to avoid those altogether, you just have to minimize depending on them by learning to cook. 

You can either take a cooking class, ask your mom to teach you, download meal apps, or watch Youtube videos on meals you’d like to eat. 

Tip 5: Set At Least 30 Minutes Daily For Exercise

You don’t have to get a gym membership. A short walk, 15 minutes of light stretching, or a video-guided exercise on Youtube will suffice. 

As you grow older, you’ll start to feel aches here and there. Setting a few minutes of exercise a day keeps you physically agile and prevents sores you’d likely get from sitting all day. 

Tip 6: Schedule Annual Doctors Appointments

Taking care of your body now will save you from serious health complications down the line.

Scheduling appointments for yearly physicals, regular teeth cleaning, and eye check ups will help you catch anything early and get it treated before it gets worse.

Finances

Tip 7: Create A Budget

Unless you have an unlimited inflow of cash, you’ll need to create a budget. It’ll help you prioritize spending on the essentials and put spending on wants in place. 

Spending like a king on the day you receive your pay or allowance will get you hanging by a thread weeks before the next allowance or pay arrives. 

Creating a budget also allows you to allot some cash for savings so you’ll have something handy for the rainy days. 

Tip 8: Save For At Least 3-6 Months Of Your Monthly Expenses

You don’t know when times will get hard. If you find yourself unexpectedly unemployed, an emergency savings fund will save you stress and potentially getting yourself in debt.

Tip 9: Consider a Secondary Source Of Income

If your time allows for it, find another source of income. It’ll help you save bigger amounts, pay off debts faster, or give yourself a break on a nice vacation.

Flipping burgers isn’t your only choice. If you have a creative eye you can design comic books, magazines, or booklets then get it printed to be sold or as a portfolio to get clients. You can also do digital illustrations if you have the knack for it. Side hustles are everywhere if you look hard enough.

Tip 10: Learn A New Skill

Find a skill you’d like to develop and think of ways you can make money from it. 

The digital world offers a lot of potential and it continues to grow since the demand for it in virtually all industries increases. 

Interested in photography? Learn it and create a website for it.

Always on social media? Learn social media marketing. 

Want to master writing? Learn copywriting or content writing SEO for eCommerce. 

If you can’t find a physical job right after graduating or if you want to quit your stressful 9-5 job, having an extra skill will ensure you’ll have other ways to fend for yourself. 

Tip 11: Get Insurance

There are tons of types of insurance, but for adulting, the best ones to get are life insurance, medical insurance, and auto insurance. Don’t forget tuition insurance if you’re still in college, and renters insurance whether you’re living on or off campus!

Getting insurance will ensure injuries or accidental damage are covered and you won’t be shelling out a ton of money out of pocket.

Others

Tip 12: Plan Out Every Day And Stick To It

Wait. Before you say planning and organizing is not your cup of tea, hear me out first. 

You don’t have to be extra detailed about your daily, weekly, or monthly activities. That’s too overwhelming. 

Just jot down the most important things you need to get done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. 

You can take note of:

  • Homework
  • Meetings
  • Regular chores
  • Bills payment dues
  • And important events

This way you won’t condemn yourself for missing events, forgetting to have some broken appliance checked, or being late and unprofessional in meetings. 

Creating a simple organizer or journal says a lot of your work ethics. When adulting, you always want to leave a good impression.

Tip 13: Acknowledge Your Limits

You are no superhero. Don’t spread yourself too thin by committing to too many meetups, work, and other activities. 

Thinking you can do everything will only lead to burnout. When you’re adulting, the world isn’t too forgiving when you break down from exhaustion so make sure you get enough rest by acknowledging you can only do so much. 

Also, learn to say no. It’ll save you a lot of trouble in the long run.

Tip 14: Take A Break

When everything is closing down on you, take a breather. It could be a weekend drive, a few days of vacation on a beach, a visit home, or a day of hiking near nature. 

Pulling a bit away from your usual routine will help you think clearly of why you’re doing what you’re doing and get you re-energized to start your routine again. 

Tip 15: Keep A Routine Maintenance Of Your Car

Your car breaking down in the middle of nowhere or the middle of a busy street will take your stress to a whole new level. Towing and repairs can be costly too. 

To keep preventable breakdowns from happening always do:

  • Regular oil change
  • Tire rotation/alignment
  • Filter change

Just like learning minor repairs in a house, you should also learn to change a flat tire. It’ll save you time waiting for somebody else to do it for you and save you money for calling on a tire expert to do this simple task. 

Don’t forget about registration renewals too. The last thing you want is paying for a ticket!

Conclusion

Adulting doesn’t have to be back-breaking ( figuratively and literally). Keeping these 15 adulting tips on your home, health and wellness, finances, and other areas will make your grown-up responsibilities worth-taking, less stressful, and best of all, enjoyable. 

Other Student Life

6 Tips to Launch an E-commerce Business While in College

September 27, 2021

Starting a business while you are still in college can help you earn money even before you graduate. This can help you be a self-supporting student or pay your student loan afterward.

If you are wondering what kind of business you can start while still in college, we suggest that you dive into e-commerce. Here’s why:

  1. It gives you the potential to earn while you sleep.
  2. It does not cost much to create your own e-commerce site.
  3. It has the potential to grow exponentially.

If you are interested in opening your online store, here are six tips you should keep in mind:

Define Your Market

The key to having a successful business is to ensure that people will be willing to buy your products. As such, you must define who your target market is.

Luckily, your college can be an excellent starting point. Observe the trends in your school or figure out their common dilemma. From there, you can niche down.

For instance, you notice that your schoolmates rely too much on processed food. What could be the reason behind it? And how do you intend to respond to it?

Find a Product to Sell

Once you have determined your target market, what you need to do next is to figure out what you can sell to them.

Using our previous example, there are two ways you can cater to the student’s need for a nutritious meal:

  1. You can sell homemade nutrition bars. It is cost-effective and easy to do on your part, while it gives your schoolmates an option for a healthy snack.
  2. You can dropship healthy, ready-to-cook meals. It eliminates your need to produce the product and manage your inventory. Plus, you can have a high profit margin.

These are just two examples of an online business model. You can come up with your own, depending on the resources that you have.

Name Your Online Store

After determining your target market, the product you will sell, and how you will sell it, the next step is to turn your business idea into reality. You start by naming your online store.

Here are some quick tips you can keep in mind:

●  Make it short and simple so that people can easily remember it.

●  Consider incorporating your target keyword (more on that later).

Set Up Your E-commerce Website

Here’s why you need a short and simple name for your e-commerce business: It’s because it will also serve as the domain name of your website.

To set up your online store, you will need a domain name and an e-commerce website builder like Shopify or WooCommerce. From there, you can choose a web design theme that you can tweak a bit before you begin.

Your website does not have to be perfect. But it should be functional.

And while this is the part where you will need to spend some money, setting up your e-commerce website should not cost much.

Understand SEO

Search Engine Optimization is ensuring that your e-commerce website will appear on search engines.

So, if you are selling nutrition bars online and one of your schoolmates typed in “affordable nutrition bar” on Google, your online store should be one of the search results.

Although you need to consider various factors in ranking a website for a specific keyword, we suggest learning SEO basics first. That way, you would know the fundamentals you need to apply on your e-commerce site for launch with a bang.

Leverage Social Media

Social media is an excellent way to market your business. More so, if your school has various Facebook Groups where you can join and sell your products.

You can also make a dedicated page for your online business to expand your market reach. What’s important is that you follow each platform’s guidelines.

It may sound like a lot of work, but starting an e-commerce business while still in college can benefit you. And when you follow the tips listed above, you can launch and grow your online store without hassle.

Health

How to Better Manage Your Sleep

July 15, 2021

Sleep is a vital part of success in life as well as an educational career. Many students fail to acknowledge or regard this fact when going about their day, and they can feel the consequences. Having a regular sleep schedule and getting enough sleep contributes to improved memory, happier moods, better coordination and higher academic performance. Without consistency in sleep, people tend to be in worse moods, have short tempers, be more susceptible to illnesses and more. If someone is experiencing trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, not being able to get up with an alarm, requires caffeine to stay awake, feels exhausted or takes long naps, they may be experiencing lack of sleep. Luckily, there are many different options to try and get a sleep schedule back on track.

There are a lot of things anyone can do leading up to bedtime to secure a better sleep pattern. A large influence of sleep deprivation is having caffeine in the afternoon. Even if someone does not feel the effects of the caffeine or feels that they will be okay if they don’t have it too late at night, consuming it at any point in the afternoon is detrimental to getting rest. Another contributing factor is an excessive use of electronic devices and looking into blue light. Blue light is what the eyes absorb when looking at electronics, and seeing too much of this before bedtime can affect the body’s circadian rhythm and disturb sleep. Avoiding falling asleep to the TV and using electronics about an hour before bedtime is a great way to steer clear sleep deprivation. Instead, one can read, journal or meditate before bedtime. Having an overly hot or cold room can cause a person to have trouble staying asleep at night. Making sure to cool off a warm room and have adequate heat in the winter time is beneficial to keeping the body comfortable and undisturbed. Decluttering the bedroom is also a small but important step in decreasing stress and distractions. 

It may be hard at first to start getting up early, but being awake in the morning increases productivity and sets one up to go to bed at an earlier hour. Staying up late doing homework is less effective than waking up earlier to get it done, so it is good practice to switch the habit of cramming work into late hours. Along with waking up early, it is important to establish a set sleeping schedule that can be maintained throughout most of the week. Going to bed and waking up at the same time, and at more reasonable hours, is best for the body’s rhythm and the brain’s productivity. Napping has both positive and negative effects depending on how people take them. Napping for less than an hour and before midday is the healthiest option, whereas napping for more than an hour and late into the day can decrease one’s ability to sleep and stay asleep. 

If these and other methods don’t seem to help, it is not a bad idea to consult a doctor about sleep medication or to try natural supplements. Melatonin is a common and useful natural supplement that helps people sleep well and establish a better sleeping pattern, however it tends to weaken the body’s natural production of melatonin if used too long and comes with some small side effects. 

When going through life and pursuing an education, keeping the body healthy is crucial to maintaining a balanced lifestyle. Getting enough sleep and having a set and habitual sleep schedule is one of the most important contributors to being happy and healthy. There are many simple methods to trying to improve one’s sleep, and the best reason to try any of them is that sleep plays into every other aspect of life, so why not make it better?

BIO: Alessandra Gluck is currently a student at the Honors College at Arizona State University. She is double majoring in English Creative Writing and Journalism and Mass Communication. She is also a Member Intern at Grad Guard Insurance Company. Alessandra enjoys writing and plans to pursue this passion throughout graduate school.

Adulting Student Life

College Students and the Economy

July 13, 2021

The state of the economy has an enormous impact on the way that everybody spends their money. This impact both indirectly and directly affects college students in many ways. 

A weakened economy might make it harder for a student who supports themself because maybe they won’t be able to find a job that offers the right pay or the right hours to cover all of their bills and still have some fun. If a student sacrifices their school work for a job that allows them one or all of those things, then their academic performance is likely to decline. If this same student also has a work study job or is involved on campus in extracurriculars such as clubs, organizations or social events, they will likely be forced to enjoy less of these things so that they can decrease the likelihood of academic shortcoming. 

When a student is supported by an elder, the same effects of a weakened economy are likely to occur in the student’s life. A student that was not used to working before may need to now. Also, someone in this situation may receive less support from their financial supporter than they are used to, which can lead them to the same situation as one who supports themself. 

With a student’s academic career on the line, it is important that students know where to find information on the economy, and what to do with such information. Here are some resources that can help even students who are not majoring in business or economics understand how the economy may affect them and those close to them: 

  • We The Economy: This Youtube channel is dedicated to explaining economics and current events through short videos. 
  • TEDEd: This is a website that contains compelling talks about current events… often economics related! 
  • Econedlink: Students K-12 can find both economic and personal finance resources from this website for free. 
  • American Economics Association: Providing information on everything from economics to plausible career opportunities, this website is a great resource for students looking to learn more about finance, economics and the workforce all in one place!
  • The New York Times: Staying up to date with current events in the news is a great way to track the economy and gauge how one’s financial situation could possibly change. 

The White House: With this resource, one can find ample information on current events as well as different social issues and topics, including economics, climate change, foreign policies, defense and more. 

BIO: Darique Williams is a senior at Arizona State University. He is studying Economics and is currently a summer intern at Grad Guard Insurance Company.

Career

Becoming a Pharmacy Technician: What to Know

July 12, 2021

Pharmacy technicians help a pharmacy run smoothly. They support the pharmacist, customers and medical professionals by dispensing medication. If this career path piques your interest, there are many different paths you can take to become a pharmacy technician. It all depends on whether you need to take pharmacy technician classes to get licensed or registered and certified in your state. Follow these steps to determine the path that’s right for you.

What are the regulations in your state?

Each state has different regulations about who can work as a pharmacy technician. The  Pharmacy Technician Certification Board provides an at-a-glance look at state requirements. You can easily see if your state requires certification, licensing or registration, or both. This is an excellent first step to help you plan your timeline.

Next, you will want to take a closer look at your state’s requirements. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy can give you more specific information about your state’s requirements. This resource can help you make sure you have all the current information you need to become a pharmacy technician in your state.

No Regulations

There are currently only five states that have no requirements besides a high school diploma or GED. These states do not require technicians to register with the State Board of Pharmacy. If you choose this route, most of your learning will come from on-the-job training. After at least 500 hours of work experience as a pharmacy technician, you will be eligible for certification through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).

National Certification

Two dozen states require pharmacy technician certification. Some of them require it in order for pharmacy technicians to become licensed or registered. Others just require it to get a job as a pharmacy technician and perform specific duties.

Before you take the exam, you have to finish a PTCB-recognized training program or have 500 hours of work experience as a pharmacy technician. However, you can apply to take the test if you are within sixty days of finishing your program. Your certification will be granted once you provide proof of completion. This could be a copy of your certificate with your name, completion date, and the title of the program you finished. It could also be an official letter from the training program with the same information.

The pharmacy technician certification exam takes about two hours to complete. It currently costs $129 to take the PTCB certification exam, but make sure you check their website for changes. Once you pay the required amount, PTCB will email you to let you know if you are authorized to schedule your exam. Some employers may even pay for employees to take the certification exam.

Licensing or Registration

Almost half of all states require licensing or registration in addition to national certification. Pharmacy technician classes can prepare you for both.

The registration process may look a bit different in each state, but you can probably expect an application, an application fee, and proof that you’ve completed the training that your state mandates. Check the State Board of Pharmacy for specific requirements.

If you decide to take pharmacy technician classes, or if your state requires them, the time requirements can vary. Programs can range from a few months to two years. Programs may offer a certificate, diploma, or degree.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists requires accredited programs to include a minimum of 600 hours of instruction over at least 15 weeks. Longer programs may offer you an associate degree and extensive hands-on training in the field.

The length of the program is just one factor to consider. You will want to make sure the program you choose can meet your other needs.

  • Does it meet your state’s requirements?
  • Can it help you achieve your personal career goals?
  • How much does it cost?
  • Will the school help you find a job after graduation?

Other Considerations

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, pharmacists are taking on more patient care roles, like giving flu shots. This means pharmacy technicians are also being asked to play a greater role in pharmacy operations.

Even if your state does not require licensing, registration, or certification right now, requirements are getting stronger all the time and could change in your state. Employers may also prefer to hire pharmacy technicians who have completed a program and obtained certification.

Look for a school that offers flexible, accelerated programs to meet state requirements and give you an edge in the pharmacy technician field. You will leave with an associate degree and preparation for the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE).

You can complete an accredited training program and become a licensed pharmacy technician in less than two years. Find out what your state requires and choose the right path for you.