As a school and as a society we’re caught between sensationalist stories of an H1N1 pandemic and reckless disregard for our health. Although health tips are flying around nearly as quickly as the influenza that inspires them the Graphic has noticed that much of this well-intentioned counsel comes across as banal and unhelpful.
But judging by the 3.2 million American college students reporting flu-like symptoms common-sense changes still need to be made. And Pepperdine seems to have more than its fair share of the sickly. With this in mind we’ve crafted a pared-down Pepperdine-specific set of suggestions:
Share the spirit not the germs: We applaud the community focus that permeates Pepperdine. We love the countless events where masses of students gather to volunteer celebrate the artistic talent of their peers or simply hang out with friends. And we certainly understand the physical and social hunger that inspires grabbing glorious goodies out of communal dishes.
But when 50 students pack a Coffeehouse you can bet that at least one of those people was coughing up their own soundtrack earlier in the day. Don’t let them be the opener to your own bedridden performance; stick to the pre-packaged treats. (We aren’t ignoring the environmental impact of all that plastic but a mountain of tissue paper doesn’t help the planet either.)
Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we test: Even students who didn’t learn about nutrition for their laboratory science requirement have probably noticed that college students need food but this lesson comes from religion and philosophy classes. We at the Graphic sometimes skimp on sleep or social time to fulfill other obligations (and as long as we’re disclaiming the last things we’d advocate are slacking and inappropriate drinking). However we can’t overemphasize the well-established link between happiness and healthiness.
From the truism that laughter is the best medicine to recent peer-reviewed journal articles showing that happier people— defined a variety of ways— live longer and are sick less often the consensus is clear: A wide grin may be the best line of defense against sickness.There will always be important tests and other commitments tomorrow scuffling for our attention. That’s all the more reason to smell the roses today.
So get involved with activities you’re passionate about make time for spiritual life and give your friends a call. Just don’t stand too close to them.
Early to bed early to rise … kept Benjamin Franklin successful until the age of 84— no small feat in the 18th century. As with the previous nugget of advice sleep is easy to sacrifice and sometimes must be postponed but there’s nothing high-achieving about averaging four hours of sleep per night. Unless you’re one of the lucky ones meant to function on so little sleep all you’re doing is lowering your efficiency and attentiveness. Sleep-deprived people work more slowly and weaken their immune systems setting themselves up for an illness that could keep them from accomplishing anything but catching up on old editions of the Graphic as they sit in bed for several days.
Wash your hands. Really. It’s not catchy or ground-breaking but too many of us ignore our kindergarten teachers’ sage insight: Soap kills germs and water removes them.
Recognizing that all-important time accounts for much of our hygienic lapse administrators wisely distributed Purell dispensers near eateries throughout campus. They can’t quite match old soap and water but they can be a lifesaver (conceivably literally). Make sure to scrub too.
Keep it to yourself: To those who’ve already succumbed to one of the illnesses cutting through campus you have our deep sympathy. We know that sometimes keeping your eyes open can be a struggle. But please keep your mouth closed. Cough into your elbow limit how often you touch things and stay home if you can. You’ll recover faster and interrupt the vicious cycle of sick students infecting healthy ones.
Don’t stop here: We could go on of course. Students should eat more nutritiously exercise more often and look into appropriate vaccines. But really the message is simple but easy to forget: Be careful. Think back to those lessons you learned in elementary school and put them into practice.
And give another look to easily ignored lists like this one. We’re not doing this for our health.