Holiday Health
“For me, overeating doesn’t just add on weight, it makes me actually sick. I have to eat slowly so I am satisfied with the amount I can have.”
Ever since being diagnosed in October 2002, Angelo has had to be careful about what foods she consumed. Anything spicy or greasy tends to leave her with intense stomachaches and cramps and can leave her in pain for a full day.
“It can last up to 24 hours after I have eaten,” Angelo said. “Usually if I overeat, the next day I’ll be feeling bad and reduced to eating only crackers because I don’t want to risk feeling even worse.”
While Angelo has to carefully monitor her food intake on a daily basis, doing so is tougher around the holiday season.
“It is harder because there are a lot of holiday foods that I like to eat and look forward to eating when I go home. It’s annoying having to work in eating something I really like. I have to find a time when my Crohn’s is under control before I can eat foods that I like. I get frustrated and I feel like I’m old.”
For healthy students the holidays are a time of temptation. With delectable holiday treats sitting around and a break from the structured routine of school, healthy eating and exercising habits can rapidly vanish. Experts warn against giving into these temptations and advice students to stay physically active. A recent study from the National Institue of Health suggests that the commonly held idea that Americans gain five to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and the new year is false. While the study more accurately states that Americans only gain about one pound over the holidays, students still need to be mindful of their health.
“Don’t skip meals,” said Ann Chapman Student Health Services dietician. “This is really important. In fact, you should eat every three to four hours. You should also stay physically active, even if it is different activities than usual. If you normally jog, you can go ice skating with your friends or cross country skiing if you live somewhere really cold.”
Chapman also advises to avoid packing on the winter weight by eating limited amounts of holiday sweets. Rather, students should opt for healthier snacks. Some options she suggests are 100-calorie snack packs, fresh fruit or dried fruit, like a package of raisins, low fat granola bars, fat free pudding, string cheese or applesauce.
Snacks aren’t the only place where the intake of food should be limited. At holiday feasts, people should not overeat to the point of feeling uncomfortably full.
“It’s better to not have a huge feast and overload calorie and fat intake in one feeding,” Chapman said.
With limited income, and consequently limited amounts of food year-round, Krysta Beaver, Lawrence freshman, doesn’t follow this concept. Rather, she takes advantage of the abundance of food available.
“I dig in,” Beaver said. “I’m a starving college student; I don’t get the opportunity to pig out on a good, home-cooked meal very often. Eating is followed by a two-hour, tryptophan-induced coma.”
The holiday season also ushers in another health risk for college students: stress that is a result of final exams and projects.
“Stress mostly comes from finals,” Angelo said. “I take little breaks when needed and I tell myself it will be over soon. When I’m working hard during these last few weeks, I remind myself that I’ll get to relax later and that helps me get through it.”
John Wade, Counseling and Psychological Services psychologist, agrees that it is important for students to take breaks from schoolwork.
“Making sure they still do other activities that aren’t all school related is important,” Wade said. “I realize this is difficult. Students should exercise and socialize, but probably not as much as normal. It is important to look at things in perspective. Think about how important this situation will be in five years. It’s still important, but not as urgent.”
Amanda Knoll, Quinter senior, has a demanding job to worry about in addition to the typical stress of finals that other students deal with. Knoll is the scholarship hall director of Sellards Scholarship Hall, which is a position typically filled by a graduate student. Knoll’s job requires her to be available to assist her residents whenever they may need her.
“When I have finals the next day, some situation always comes up,” Knoll said. “It requires time to deal with it, time to process the situation after it happened and time to take steps to deal with situation. If an emergency comes up, I have to deal with it immediately, regardless if it is one hour before a final or the day before when I am studying.”
With these extra responsibilities, Knoll has a hard time scheduling sleep. As a result, she relies on the caffeine in coffee to keep her going.
“I have at least three cups of coffee a day, and sometimes they aren’t small cups,” Knoll said. “I go out for espresso at least twice a week and sometimes five time a week.”
Caffeine has become such a staple in Knoll’s life that her means of relaxing even revolve around this stimulant.
“To reduce stress, I drink coffee. Seriously, I’ll meet with my friends at a coffee shop and just relax.”
Wade warns students against replacing sleep with artificial stimulants like caffeine or relying on them for extra energy.
“Anything that gives a short-term boost of energy is followed by a crash of a low mood or a little depression,” Wade said. “Increasing energy artificially also increases anxiety, heart rate and breathing patterns. Sugar and caffeine do increase anxiety symptoms. It may feel good in a way, but also makes you more anxious during a time of stress.”
Wade suggests stepping back from the situation and assessing the importance of the task at hand. This tactic can be used with all holiday events, such as party planning, gift shopping or holiday baking.
“It’s easy to become overly focused and have tunnel vision,” Wade said. “We get really focused on finals or really focused on Christmas shopping that we loose perspective and become overly stressed. It’s really easy for anyone to do.”
This over emphasis on holiday details can lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder, commonly known as the holiday blues. The The American Psychiatric Association describes this type of depression as affecting patients during the fall and winter and is characterized by exhaustion, loss of interest in daily activities, social withdrawal and weight gain. Wade said the onset of this is commonly the result of unrealistic expectations.
“Expectations are so high that unless the experience meets unrealistic expectations, we feel let down. If our expectations are sky-high, it’s easy to miss them. We expect this to be the best day of the year, and it realistically may not be, so we feel let down.”
Living at home for winter break is another stressor during this time of year unique to students.
“Living with my mom for a month is stressful,” Beaver said. “My mom is a fantastic lady and a very good friend of mine, but I’ve moved out and lived on my own. Living with her again will be very stressful.”
Not only a change in atmosphere, but a change in pace can also affect students. After a semester of demanding class requirements and busy schedules, a month of downtime can come as shock.
“If dealing with a lot of free time, look for meaningful activities, spend time with friends or volunteering. Having some structure is important,” Wade said.
After the stress of the holidays is over, some set New Year’s goals for themselves to loose the weight they recently gained. When doing this, Chapman warns to not be too ambitious and take baby steps towards the ultimate goal.
“Set small, achievable goals,” Chapman said. “Look at one aspect of your eating habits you are not happy with. For example, if you drink three sodas a day, just drink two a day for a couple of weeks then go down from there. Or, if you don’t ever exercise, start exercising two times a week for 20 minutes each time.”