At this point of the year, I think we are all near our breaking points. AP tests are creeping up, homework just keeps piling up, and we find ourselves getting less and less sleep. However, we are still sane, I assume. To ease our days, we usually have some form of hobby that takes our mind off of things. Whether that's TV, hanging out with friends, playing video games, or sports, these activities get our minds off of the homework that will cause us to fall asleep later in the night. The problem with this is that these activities take more and more of our time each day, causing us to get less sleep. So what do we do when the very thing keeping us sane is the very thing getting us closer to becoming insane.
An easier example to see this is coffee. I have heard from many adults that coffee is a "drug." Coffee keeps adults awake and alive to work. However, coffee isn't that great either when too much is consumed. As adults want to drink more coffee to ease the work load, that extra coffee is causing extra damage. The same goes for high school students.
Students tend to allow more distractions in at this time of the year to ease the stress. The very thing students really need, sleep, can not be achieved as much anymore. Many can say that all that is need is to get rid of this trend is to cut the distraction out. That most likely will not work out as planned. Cutting the activity out is pretty much like instant coffee withdrawal. I'm sure an adult drinking a cup of coffee each day for half a year can not just quit instantly and expect to survive the day like a walk in the park.
These problems need to be addressed at earlier times. The only way to ensure the safety of a students mind and grade is to secure a solid work and break pattern at the start of the school year. Change is not as easy in the middle of the year. A "bad" work pattern may be a "normal" work pattern for a student. I even find myself falling into this breaking point as I see myself get less and less sleep. Vacations are usually times to recover and should also be considered heavily.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
How to Solve our Sleeping Problems
As average high school students, our top enemy every night is sleep. Some may say homework but there is no doubt that the lack of sleep has some heavy lasting affects on us during the day. Students often cannot get out of the cycle of having to sleep late a night once started and find themselves sleeping late every night. These habits cause the student's grade to suffer as he/she slowly falls asleep in class. However, this problem can easily be solved with at least one of the following methods.
Drink lots of coffee in the morning. Coffee is known for keeping people up throughout a whole day. Adults basically run on coffee so why can students not be the same. Students can have any amount of sleep the night before and have no troubles falling asleep in school with a whole pot of coffee. Of course some students may not like the taste so the alternative is consuming candy in the morning. Candy contains sugar that works just as well so the higher consumption means a higher chance of being awake longer.
Turn to a high calorie consumption diet. Our bodies shut down because of excessive use of energy from previous work. Eating more will provide more energy for the working body. In theory, the body will never need to rest if enough energy is being consumed to replace the energy burning off.
Constant intensive exercise is another way to solve these problems. The body shuts down at any chance the body is able to rest. If the body is never able to rest, the body will never need to go to sleep. Exercise keeps the body alive and active. A thirty minute run in the morning with a jog and a few push ups in between periods must be enough to keep the body active the whole day. If one feels sleep coming in class, simply standing up will put the body in work and divert concentration.
If all else fails, not doing one's homework is the best possible way to restore the hours lost from a lack of sleep. Students will have no problem with rest if homework was not issued. Students will be wide awake in class and no one would be sleeping. Surely the health of the students is more important than a grade.
Even though some people actually use these methods to stay awake, these methods should not be considered by a high school student. Time management is the best possible way to solve sleep problems. With a good schedule, sleep should not even be an issue. This may be hard for most but a small nap after coming home from school can greatly help. The elimination of procrastination is the true solution to sleeping problems.
Drink lots of coffee in the morning. Coffee is known for keeping people up throughout a whole day. Adults basically run on coffee so why can students not be the same. Students can have any amount of sleep the night before and have no troubles falling asleep in school with a whole pot of coffee. Of course some students may not like the taste so the alternative is consuming candy in the morning. Candy contains sugar that works just as well so the higher consumption means a higher chance of being awake longer.
Turn to a high calorie consumption diet. Our bodies shut down because of excessive use of energy from previous work. Eating more will provide more energy for the working body. In theory, the body will never need to rest if enough energy is being consumed to replace the energy burning off.
Constant intensive exercise is another way to solve these problems. The body shuts down at any chance the body is able to rest. If the body is never able to rest, the body will never need to go to sleep. Exercise keeps the body alive and active. A thirty minute run in the morning with a jog and a few push ups in between periods must be enough to keep the body active the whole day. If one feels sleep coming in class, simply standing up will put the body in work and divert concentration.
If all else fails, not doing one's homework is the best possible way to restore the hours lost from a lack of sleep. Students will have no problem with rest if homework was not issued. Students will be wide awake in class and no one would be sleeping. Surely the health of the students is more important than a grade.
Even though some people actually use these methods to stay awake, these methods should not be considered by a high school student. Time management is the best possible way to solve sleep problems. With a good schedule, sleep should not even be an issue. This may be hard for most but a small nap after coming home from school can greatly help. The elimination of procrastination is the true solution to sleeping problems.
Monday, February 16, 2015
What to do when you are sick for the next day of school
I'm sure we all have been in this scenario. You have a terrible cough. Your eyes are red. You feel like you are dead the moment you try to attempt to get off of your bed. We all have been sick, and I'm sure we all have been sick on the morning of a school day. So what do you do? Do you try to stagger through six periods of tests or do you just become absent?
For those who have a slight fever, you say "eh" and "I don't really feel that sick." Some of these people find themselves asleep during a major math test while some make it through without a scratch. But was the risk worth it? Students all over the country are forcing themselves to go to school because these students know one day can mean a whole letter grade change. No matter what condition they are in, they find a way to go to school. These attempts can lead to more problems for the student as the sickness worsens from the other sicknesses in school. An example of this can be seen in the winter. You take a test and you suddenly hear half the class trying to hold their mucus in. No one gets a tissue because they know time is the most important value for this test. On the next day, those people don't show up for class and the next few days, which hurts their grade more than talking the test on a day they feel better.
For those who are obviously walking corpse, staying home isn't a bad idea. Don't take the risk to find out you had to stay in the nurses office for the whole day. Missing one single day can't kill your whole grade, unless it's the Semester Final. If you are having trouble deciding whether to go to school or not, consider this article, How Sick is Too Sick for School?. For those saying you are "sick" just to get more time to do homework, consider the habit that could grow. We all have issues holding us back from school. Its the student's responsibility to make the "correct" choice in the long run.
For those who have a slight fever, you say "eh" and "I don't really feel that sick." Some of these people find themselves asleep during a major math test while some make it through without a scratch. But was the risk worth it? Students all over the country are forcing themselves to go to school because these students know one day can mean a whole letter grade change. No matter what condition they are in, they find a way to go to school. These attempts can lead to more problems for the student as the sickness worsens from the other sicknesses in school. An example of this can be seen in the winter. You take a test and you suddenly hear half the class trying to hold their mucus in. No one gets a tissue because they know time is the most important value for this test. On the next day, those people don't show up for class and the next few days, which hurts their grade more than talking the test on a day they feel better.
For those who are obviously walking corpse, staying home isn't a bad idea. Don't take the risk to find out you had to stay in the nurses office for the whole day. Missing one single day can't kill your whole grade, unless it's the Semester Final. If you are having trouble deciding whether to go to school or not, consider this article, How Sick is Too Sick for School?. For those saying you are "sick" just to get more time to do homework, consider the habit that could grow. We all have issues holding us back from school. Its the student's responsibility to make the "correct" choice in the long run.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Measles: the next EBOLA?
As most of us know, measles seem to be all over our nation's news. The latest case, outbreak, and possible movement of this virus are closely monitored and immediately put on our televisions. The fact that this topic in the USA started in everyone's favorite theme park can cause the average American to panic when seeing kids get those red spots on their faces. The virus is spreading in our nation, but how serious can it get?
Compared to other countries, the current status is just a dot next to a circle. According to Disneyland measles outbreak continues to spread, 57,000 cases were found in the Philippines compared to less than one hundred here within two months. In addition, measles are not as life threatening as the news displays it. "Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat, and is followed by a rash that spreads all over the body. About three out of 10 people who get measles will develop one or more complications including pneumonia, ear infections, or diarrhea. Complications are more common in adults and young children," according to the CDC website. Measles can be controlled. Several vaccines and shots have been made to treat the virus. The numbers are just large in other countries because of a weaker infrastructure compared to the USA. The USA has controlled the virus in the past and can do it again.
Measles is not the next ebola. Compared to the devastation ebola has caused, this is nothing. According to the CDC, only one out of one thousand people will actually die from measles. There are not even a thousand people in the USA with measles. The chances of getting measles is extremely low with today's vaccines and the chance of this creating a national disaster is even lower.
Compared to other countries, the current status is just a dot next to a circle. According to Disneyland measles outbreak continues to spread, 57,000 cases were found in the Philippines compared to less than one hundred here within two months. In addition, measles are not as life threatening as the news displays it. "Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat, and is followed by a rash that spreads all over the body. About three out of 10 people who get measles will develop one or more complications including pneumonia, ear infections, or diarrhea. Complications are more common in adults and young children," according to the CDC website. Measles can be controlled. Several vaccines and shots have been made to treat the virus. The numbers are just large in other countries because of a weaker infrastructure compared to the USA. The USA has controlled the virus in the past and can do it again.
Measles is not the next ebola. Compared to the devastation ebola has caused, this is nothing. According to the CDC, only one out of one thousand people will actually die from measles. There are not even a thousand people in the USA with measles. The chances of getting measles is extremely low with today's vaccines and the chance of this creating a national disaster is even lower.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Local News
From what I heard from one of my teachers, local news is apparently completely trash. This surprised me since I always thought news was important. Because of this opinion, I decided to watch the local CBS news at 6:30 with my dad for a week. My results surprised me as all I could say was "this is local news?" The average news was a small event happening to some rich and social looking family, cute animals, "Seaworld," Bill Cosby, and local sports. The occasional "breaking news" did put some action into the broadcast but I didn't really see it as "breaking" since reporters seem to already have a detailed story on it. A car crash or chase was the only action that seemed to close the gap in the circus of stories in local news. The news pretty much has every genre of movies but condensed into short stories. Local news is meant for the entertainment of the average viewer, not to give consistent information of major events.
Among my "favorite" stories are "couple has star wars themed wedding," "woman's new car burns up in flames shortly after returning home from the dealership," "more than a hundred people wait in front of an unopened Chick-fil-A for free chicken," and "cat stays stuck underneath a moving car for ten miles before found." Stories like these have no real purpose for the average person watching the news. I even had a hard time believing this was news at several times. Everyday I began to laugh at the ridiculously exaggerated stories the news presented. As a hard working high school student, I can't imagine that I would grow up to enjoy useless stories like these as an adult.
Not all of the news was trash though. The occasional stories that could relate to me, such as a school lock down, did catch my attention. I'm not saying that local news is just the "Anchorman" in 30 minutes, but maybe just a significantly less extreme version of it. I'm not sure if it was just my age, school, or what my teacher said that caused this, but all I know is, I would rather watch national news.
Among my "favorite" stories are "couple has star wars themed wedding," "woman's new car burns up in flames shortly after returning home from the dealership," "more than a hundred people wait in front of an unopened Chick-fil-A for free chicken," and "cat stays stuck underneath a moving car for ten miles before found." Stories like these have no real purpose for the average person watching the news. I even had a hard time believing this was news at several times. Everyday I began to laugh at the ridiculously exaggerated stories the news presented. As a hard working high school student, I can't imagine that I would grow up to enjoy useless stories like these as an adult.
Not all of the news was trash though. The occasional stories that could relate to me, such as a school lock down, did catch my attention. I'm not saying that local news is just the "Anchorman" in 30 minutes, but maybe just a significantly less extreme version of it. I'm not sure if it was just my age, school, or what my teacher said that caused this, but all I know is, I would rather watch national news.
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