USU Campus Rec and USU Student Health Services Podcast

This is our first podcast! We teamed with USU Campus Rec to bring you the podcast. It covers the benefits of proper eating, sleeping, and exercise. There are also great tips to help you not stress finals week. Tune in for announcements from USU Campus Rec and USU Student Health Services. Enjoy!

USU Campus Rec and USU Student Health Services Finals Week Podcast

Alcohol Awareness Video

Here is a video created by USU Student, Heidi Justice, about Alcohol Awareness Week!

Distracted, Drunk, Drugged & Drowsy Driving

This week, USU Student Health Services presents Distracted, Drunk, Drugged & Drowsy Driving Awareness Week. Visit the display on the second floor of the TSC to learn about the dangers of distracted driving.

Last year a USU student was killed in a car accident due to distracted driving. She drove her car under a semi truck because she was distracted by her cell phone. Technology is distracting drivers more and more whether it's a cellphone, or GPS system. It is a smart rule of practice to leave your phone in your trunk while you drive, so you aren't temped to respond to a text, or surf the internet. Also, only operate a GPS while your car is parked. It is important to remember driving is a serious task. Anytime you get behind the wheel you put your life, and others lives in danger. Always stay alert and distraction free while driving.

Texting While Driving

Facts

• 25% of drivers in the United States reported that they “regularly or fairly often” talk on their cell phones while driving. In Europe, percentages ranged from 21% in the Netherlands to 3% in the United Kingdom. 
• 75% of U.S. drivers ages 18 to 29 reported that they talked on their cell phone while driving at least once in the past 30 days, and nearly 40% reported that they talk on their cell phone “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving. 
• 9% of drivers in the United States reported texting or e-mailing “regularly or fairly often” while driving.
• 52% of U.S. drivers ages 18-29 reported texting or e-mailing while driving at least once in the last 30 days, and more than a quarter report texting or e-mailing “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving.
• In 2010, 3092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.
• 18% of injury crashes in 2010 were reported as distraction-affected crashes.
• 11% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.
• Drivers who use hand-held devices are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. 
• Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.
• Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind
• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. 

Read the Distracted, Drunk, Drugged & Drowsy Press Release

How to Exercise at Your Desk

As a college student you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk. Here are some great exercise tips to help you burn calories, help circulation, and prevent stiffness while you are studying at your desk.

1. While sitting at your desk, use proper posture. Your back should be straight, your shoulders back, and the top of your monitor should be level with your eyes. Do not rest your wrists on the keyboard or on the mouse pad. This helps prevent the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome. Keep your legs bent at the knees so that the knees are only slightly higher than your hips. Feet should be flat on the floor or on a step stool.

2. Stretch while sitting to prevent stiffness in your limbs. 

Neck: slowly flex your head forward and backward, side to side and look right and left. 

Shoulders: Roll your shoulders forward around 10 times, then backward. This helps release the tension off your shoulders.

Arms and shoulders: A good stretch for your arms and shoulders is to brace your hands on the edge your desk, each about a shoulder width away from your body. Twist your hands in so they point toward your body and lean forward, hunching your shoulders. Take this a step further and push your shoulders and elbows closer to the desk.

Wrists: Roll your wrists regularly, around every hour or so. Roll the wrists 10 times clockwise, then 10 times counterclockwise. This will help minimize the potential for getting carpal tunnel syndrome if you spend a lot of time typing.

Ankles: Roll your ankles regularly. As with your wrists, roll the ankles in a clockwise motion three times, then counterclockwise. This helps improve blood circulation, and prevents that tingling feeling you can get when blood circulation is cut off.

Chest: Notice if you tend to hunch in front of the keyboard. To counter that, perform the following exercise: Open your arms wide as if you were going to hug someone, rotate your wrists externally (thumbs going up and back) and pull your shoulders back. This stretch is moving your body the opposite way to being hunched and you should feel a good stretch across your upper chest.

Abdomen: Contract your abdominal and gluteal muscles, hold them there for a few seconds, then release. Repeat this every few minutes all day long while you're working at your desk. 

Calves: Stretch your calves. While sitting, lift up your legs on the balls of your feet and set them down. Repeat until your legs are comfortably tired. Repeat about 10 minutes later, and continue doing this routine for about an hour or so. This will exercise your calves, and will help prevent blood clots from developing in your legs. 

3. Stand up and walk around every half hour to keep blood flowing to your limbs.

4. Look somewhere other than your computer screen every half hour, to prevent eye irritation and headaches. 

5. Breathe deeply and hold your stomach for a few minutes while breathing in, and release stomach muscles while breathing out. If possible take a short walk outside to get fresh air.

6. Drink water throughout the day. Keep a water bottle with you, and take breaks to refill your water bottle, and stretch your legs.

Some other tools to keep close to your desk are a hand gripper or elastic band. These tools work your forearm muscles, use them while reading text book chapters. Also, keep a stability ball close by.

Sit on it with your back straight and abs firm. You will burn calories stabilizing your core and body on the ball. Use while sitting or talking on the phone.

USU Campus Rec

Hey Aggies! Get ahead of the curve this year, don't wait until you set your New Year's resolutions to get in shape. USU Campus Rec offers ways for everyone to stay in shape. They offer the Big Blue Race Series for the runners out there, club sports, intramural sports, the ORP for those that love staying active outdoors, aquatics programs for swimmers, and Fun Fit Forever programs that include Zumba, Yoga, Spinning and more!

Take a look at USU Campus Rec's new blog, visit http://usucampusrec.wordpress.com

Bullitis

Check out this video about Utah State University's Health and Wellness Center! Don't forget to stop by the Health and Wellness Center for your flu shot, only $20.

Alcohol Awareness Week

Last week USU Student Health Services held an event for Alcohol Awareness Week to spread awareness about alcohol use. The event was held over the course of two days, October 24th and 25th, and was held in the TSC International Lounge from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There were many booths, each one offering different informational items. There was the opportunity for students to take a pledge to either always have a Designated Driver (DD) or be a DD for their intoxicated friends. USU students take the pledge to show they will always be safe while drinking. There was information about how much alcohol is to much for your body size, what a real serving size of an alcoholic drink is, goggle games, the opportunity to ask further informational questions, and contests to win free movie tickets. Hundreds of students took the pledge, enjoyed treats, did the goggle games, and learned the real facts of alcoholic drinks. By bringing awareness to the USU student body about the dangers of alcohol, the students will be able to practice safe drinking habits now, and in the future. The event was successful, and many pledges were taken. Lots of students became better informed about the risks of drinking, and how it really affects their bodies.

Goggle Games

The Doctor Is In The House

DD Pledges

                                               

Alcohol Awareness Week

Tomorrow, October 24, USU Student Health Services is holding an Alcohol Awareness event. Student Health Services will have booths set up in the TSC International Lounge from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Stop by to get informational materials, ask questions, play goggle games, and enter contests.

Do you think you already know all there is to know about alcohol? Check your knowledge against other students at USU and watch this video.

Breast Cancer Awareness 2012

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). NBCAM is an annual health campaign worldwide. It is organized by all the major breast cancer charities, to spread awareness and to raise funds for research, prevention, diagnosis, and cure. In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, USU Student Health Services set up a booth outside the Taggart Student  Center on the patio to spread awareness to the Utah state student body. The booth was set up on October 2 and 3 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The booth was dedicated to spreading awareness about breast cancer, raise funds, sign students up to participate in Relay For Life, and get the student body to wear pink. The volunteers and interns manning the booth passed out pink ribbons, candy, pamphlets, entered students into a content, sold t-shirts to raise funds, and answered questions throughout the afternoon. Breast cancer is a serious disease that needs to be addressed by spreading awareness in whatever way you can. 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, and 1 in 36 will loose their life to the disease. Student Health Services shows support every year for the cause. The more awareness that is spread to people the more likely it is that they will become concerned, and willing to help the cause. The best protection is early detection.

If you would like to get more involved with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, visit the USU bookstore and buy pink gear. 20% of the profit from the purchase will go to Breast Cancer research. Also participate in this years Relay For Life. To sign up for this years Relay For Life at USU visit http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=48465

For more information about National Breast Cancer Awareness Month visit http://www.nbcam.org