EXERCISE
AND
EXERCISE- IS IT ADDICTIVE?
We ve all heard about the
health benefits of exercise
It increases the quality of
life by reducing the chance
of acquiring osteoporosis
and cardiovascular disease
Exercise produces a good
feeling usually attributed to
endorphins reduces stress,
increases self-confidence
and burns calories But it
may be unhealthy tor some
people
As our society becomes
more obsessed with fitness,
thinness, and body image in
relation to a healthy life
style exercise addiction
may become more common
In fact you probably know
someone who is an exercise
nut It is hard at first to tell
the difference between a
person who exercises and
one who is addicted, but it
becomes easy when an ad
diet is deprived of their fix,
exercise Twelve to forty
eight hours of abstinence
leaves a fitness fanatic an
xious. irritable, frustrated,
restless depressed and or
feeling guilty for not work
mg out As tolerance to ex
ercise increases, greater
amounts of time are spent
working out This may be at
the expense ot family ob
ligations, romance, work
school or friends The only
way to relieve the syrnp
toms, in these people s
mind is exercise
A longer break from exer
use creates more intense
problems This may happen
on a vacation, or it an injury
forces a layoft ot the exer
case regimen It should be
noted, however that an ex
ercise addict is likely to take
an active vacation like a bi
cycling trip or a ski tour A
problem with injuries hap
pens when the addict exer
cises through the pain and
ends up with a more serious
injury In addition to serious
injuries relationships, work
and school performance
may suffer .when the addict
isn t exercising
As with all problematic be
havior. there are ways to
overcome exercise addic
tion Acknowledging the be
havior is the first step Find
ing out why exercise is im
portant to the addict may be
helpful in replacing some
exercise time with other ac
tivities Talking with a friend
or counselor is another
method of helping yourself
or a friend overcome addic
tion to exercise
by Nysa Williams
ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH?
Sleep It's certainly at times a
scarce resource tor all of us Its
so easy lo sai rifice a few -hou's
ot precious sleep every night to
timsh that term paper or socialize
with your tnends Experiencing a
good night s sleep is as important
in a person's over all physical and
psychological wellness as is
eating and exercising correctly
The reasons why people need
sleep is still not complelely un
derstood by scientists ye! for in
dividuais who can t or don't get a
good night s sleep are much more
likely lo tie irritable mentally and
or phy- ally tued and experience
diminished work performance In
rare cases people who can t get a
good night s sleep over an ex
tended period of lime because of
sleeping disorders can expen
ence overall disorientation, hyper
tension and even death in ex
tremely rare cases
What are some ways to combat
thr se sleepless nights
1 Exercise regularly but not with
m two h up- before ,ou go to bed
(sex is not categorized as exer
cise in this instance!
2 Take care ot sounds and lights
that bother you it you can Get
earplugs or find the courage to
tell your neighbors to turn down
the stereo. T V etc
3 Eat before bedtime it that
Peg 1 Mili- meat and letti. e con
tain an amino acid called trypto
phan which is a natural sleep in
ducet
4 Avoid coftee leu sott drinks or
chocolate all ot which contain
cafleine tor al leas! two hours be
fore going to bed
5 Avoid sleeping pills alcohol
and other drugs, except in small
amounts because these types ot
sleep inducers have a tendency
to put you to sleep fast but leave
,ou tired the next day Medic a
lions or other drug sleep indue
ers' can prevent the deepest
sleep which is called REM (rapid
eye movement) sleep from hap
pemng It seems that in order for
your body to feel really rested or
experience good quality sleep
you must go into REM where and
when dreaming occurs When
your body is denied REM sleep or
the chance to dream, you feel
feed and irritable the next morn
mg Also many sleeping pills or
drugs lose Iheir effectiveness
over time and can even be addic
tive or dangerous to some people
with certain sleeping disorders
How much sleep do you need9
Sleeping eight hours per night
was once the standard prescrip
bon but most people sleep an av
erage ot 6 to 8 hours each night
Some people need as little as 4
hours and others need as much
as 12 hours It depends on you
Can you i atch up on lost sleep 1
When you deprive your body of
sleep, you can't really catch up'
on lost hours but the next time
you sleep your sleep will most
likely be deeper and ot higher
quality
by Brian Wornath
CAMPUS FITNESS RESOURCES
• The Outdoor Program Room 23 ol the EMU
346 4 36
Otters i'* .,’s. tot University
students and the community
m kayakmg day hikes backpacking
canoeing, rafting, bike louring and
su'trng caving Te‘emark skiing and
winter camping
- Otters a resource library ot maps
baits touring information mstruc
tional sessions video sessions
equipment swaps and a used equip
ment lending library
.... . " ■
Gertinger Hall 346 4113
-Ot'ers a aide variety ol non credit
hmess classes such as aquatics
yoga dance clowning aerobics and
team sports each term
Otters open recreation hours m
gyms poo and weight training rocdi
- Provides bee nformabon sheets on
'•t'lpss activites
-Prccdes maps for eyeing and tog
ying aruund campus
wwww+wwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
• Club Sports Room 5 of me EMI
Provides a coed, competitive re
creational program tor students tac
ulty and staff that bridges me gap be
tween intercollegiate programs and
intramural programs
Activities mcude Aindo Badmm
ton Baseball Bowling. C'ew Cycling
Equestrian Fencing Judcquiitso Ka
rate Lacrosse Ranger Challenge Rt
lie Rugby Sailing Skiing Soccer
Swimming Table Tennis Tae Kwon
Do. Ultimate Fnsbee Volleyball Ice
Hockey Snowboarding and
Walerpoio
• ■ . ' ‘ Ph,s .1 Ed i! J Id Hu • a'
Moveme M Studies 18'Essiinge'Hail 3464105
-Offers a wide variety of fitness and
sr-od s> . asses *e outdoor pur
suds madiai arts 'acket sports team
sports and yeqa each term whi " an
be taken for credit or no credit
-Offers nydrosta! weighing for
measurement of body fat for a sman
fee 346 a'35
www wwwwwwwwwwwww-wwwWA
DID YOU KNOW
• • •
Thousands more people die from silting
on the couch loo much than from sudden death
white exercising Regular enerase drastically re
duces the nsk of heart attach
Studies have !ound that sede^tar,- men afe tw
to three times more likely to die prematurely of
a heart attack than those who evercise 'eguiany
Forty five minutes ot brisk walking burns
about 260 calories or about 27 pounds ot
weight loss in one year Walk don t weight
' After and during an intense workout spray
mg or splashing cool water on yourself may feel
refreshing, but it doesn t rehydrate you or lower
your body temperature sigmlicaniy Be sure not
to let the cool spray distract you from drinking
plenty of water-before during and after your
workout