You'll be sorry if you're sleepless

Rarely do I get enough sleep. Getting in six hours is honestly considered a "good night," and I'll still be exhausted the next day.

I've always just assumed that the only real effect is constantly feeling tired, but recently I stumbled upon an interesting article that proved I could be causing potential long-term damage to my body. Greaaat.

According to an article from the American Psychological Association there are about 40 million Americans who suffer from more than 70 different disorders related to lack-of-sleep.

After some extensive reading online about how important sleep is, below is an excerpt from from Harvard Medical School that includes some facts you might not know.

The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get enough sleep:

1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

Bottom line: get some zzz's. [Note: I need to heed my own advice, as it is currently 12:40 a.m.]

First is the worst, second is the best

At the University of Florida, football is like a religion.

Every week, pray to the football gods (Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer) and hope that they will lead us to glory. Last Saturday, although we added another win under our belt, we dropped to number two. Thanks a lot, Alabama.

Though we are by no means out of the running for anything, this led me to thinking about the role of the underdog, and how sometimes it helps not to be No. 1.

I've always been a fan of the team that isn't favored to win, and it turns out that many others think the same way. Here are two articles that agree and support the underdog:

The New Yorker
An independent blog

Well, on that note - GO GATORS!

Dangerous Diets

She chowed down on not one but two grapefruits in a row before class started two days ago. I had never spoken to her, as we sat on opposite sides of the room in this class, but after her rapid consumption I couldn't help but overhear her talking about this "miracle diet" she was on -- The Grapefruit Diet.

[http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/ear0947l.jpg]

According to an article on WebMD.com, this diet has been around since the 1930s and is considered to be a fast pass weight loss system -- with the average person losing about 10 pounds in 12 days. However, these 10 pounds are normally water weight and come right back upon return to your "normal" diet.

For some reason, this diet has acquired the name "The Mayo Clinic Diet," when in reality, the renowned Mayo Clinic does not endorse or promote this whatsoever, only that grapefruits are a good low-calorie addition to your diet, but not a good entire diet.

To those grapefruit dieters - realize that you are lacking many nutritious values -- I'd just stick with exercise and a well-balanced, well-rounded diet.

Glee is all the hype, literally

Tired? Need a boost? Just take pseudoephedrine, or decongestant drugs, like the cast of Glee did. It certainly hyped them up.

In the last episode, aired Oct. 7, the school nurse's character (well, actually a woman pretending to be a nurse) gave the cast decongestant drugs to enhance performance. As shown in the clip below, it definitely added extra spunk.

As an avid Glee follower, I was intrigued by this drug use, and immediately looked it up online after the episode. Turns out, it got a lot of backlash. Associated Content and Entertainment Weekly both published articles almost immediately talking about the negative mixed message this show is sending to viewers, most of which are high school students. Turns out, pseudoephedrine is involved in the production of Meth and is widely controlled and monitored around the nation. Is this really a message we want to be sending? I think not.

Is it wrong that mainstream media outlets are producing shows that support the abuse of over-the-counter drugs? Feel free to share your thoughts.

She knows her stuff

Her day begins at 2:45 a.m.

She has coffee and a pudding, thoroughly reads all daily publications, gets on the treadmill to run 8-10 miles -- then, she goes to the gym. After weightlifting and possibly a kickboxing class, she is the first one to open the doors to her office. Marta Montenegro is not only a certified personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, with two masters' degrees under her belt, she is also the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of SOBeFit Magazine.

[http://sobefitmagazine.com/default.aspx]

Marta came and spoke to our class on Thursday. She shared her insight and experiences about starting up one of the newest, trendy Florida health and fitness magazines, SOBeFit. Her magazine, with just three issues to date, has become quite the success and won five 2009 Charlie awards including the silver award for "Best New Magazine."

The magazine is great and packed with relevant, healthy advice. Marta says she has a loyalty to her readers to make sure all the content is safe and sends positive messages.

When asked her motivation to do it all, she responded with, "I just think that someone is training or working harder than me, and I want to beat that."

Like I said, she knows her stuff.

Why join a group?

Group fitness classes are some of the most popular ways to get into shape. They have been around since the beginning of time, from the 80s Jazzercise to the recent trendy Zumba, and continue to attract men and women both young and old.

I had a chat with one of University of Florida's fitness instructors, Melanie Rubin, 20, and found out the 411 about group fitness. Melanie currently teaches four different classes - total body, turbokick, cycling and core.

Fitnecessity: How did you become a group fitness instructor?
Melanie: I participated in UF's instructor training program, which was a 10-week, labor-intensive program that involved practices and training multiple times a week. After the 10 weeks, there was a final audition and thereafter, I was hired to be an instructor.

Fitnecessity: What would tell someone who was attending a group fitness class for the first time?
Melanie: I would tell them to expect to get a great workout while having a lot of fun! Group fitness is a motivating environment, so they must be prepared to be challenged. Just follow along with the instructor, relax and have fun!

Fitnecessity: What is your ideal workout?
Melanie: Something that involves both cardio and strengthening portions. I think it is important to get the heart rate up, get yourself sweating and start burning those calories by doing some form of cardiovascular exercise.

Thanks, Mel. If you go to UF, I highly suggest you go to one of her classes, and be prepared to sweat. A lot.