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Health and Wellness: Life and Career Skills Series by 
Health, Wellness, and Physical Fitness, Grades 5 - 8+ by 
A Doctor's Dozen: Twelve Strategies for Personal Health and a Culture of Wellness by 
The physical dimension of wellness involves taking care of your physical body.
Being physically fit, choosing healthy foods and getting enough sleep can maximize your energy and prevent many chronic illnesses. Avoiding harmful elements like tobacco, excessive alcohol and drugs helps your body be its best without hindrances. Preventive healthcare, like regular doctor visits, eye and dental exams, and taking care of health concerns also falls into this dimension of wellness.
The physical dimension of wellness involves taking care of your physical body. It involves listening to your body and applying general knowledge that helps individuals reach optimal physical functioning. Daily physical activity is one of the biggest components in developing a healthy lifestyle. Participating in physical activity, choosing healthy foods and getting enough sleep can increase your energy, help with weight management, and boost your overall self-esteem. Physical fitness also plays a key role in preventing many chronic illnesses such as heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. Avoiding harmful elements like tobacco, or excessive alcohol and drugs helps your body be the best version of itself. Benefits of Physical Activity | Physical Activity, Why is physical activity so important for health and wellbeing?
Wellness Challenge Activities:
MOVEMENT:
Physical fitness doesn’t just imply working out. Getting a little bit of movement everyday can help in so many areas of life: improve sleep, build muscle, reduce feelings of stress, prevent future chronic diseases, and provide mental clarity, just to name a few. Movement looks different for everyone, so find what you like and stick to it! Activities can include household chores, walking your dog, doing yoga, dancing, and more. We want to challenge you to participate in at least 30-60 minutes of physical activity for 2 days this week, and notice how you feel! Do you feel strong afterwards? How is your mood? How does your body feel? Fitrec - Home, How much physical activity do adults need? | Physical Activity.
Campus Fitness and Recreation:
Merrimack fitness and recreation aims to provide numerous weekday and weekend sport and fitness related activities that look to contribute to a healthier lifestyle. The fitness center located on the second floor of Sakowich has group fitness classes, personal trainers, yoga instructors and a wide variety of equipment that students can utilize. We encourage the utilization of these resources because they have tremendous benefits on our overall well-being. Throughout this week we will be partnering with the fitness center to encourage participation in one or many of their group exercise classes. The schedule and link to participate are here. Group Exercise Sign Up, 20 MIN FULL BODY WORKOUT | At Home & Equipment Free.
SLEEP:
Sleep plays a key role in problem solving, decision making, and learning! As college students, it is ideal to aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night to optimize your daily functioning. Of course, it can be challenging to prioritize sleep along with classes, studying, homework, etc. However, sleep plays an important role in the learning process! Quality sleep is important for consolidation of new knowledge from short to long term memory- which is why it is better to get a good night’s sleep prior to an exam rather than pulling an all nighter.
The social dimension of wellness encourages contributing to your community by practicing healthier living and initiating better communication with those around you.
Are you friendly and outgoing, or solitary and introverted? Are you involved in your community or detached from the world around you?
It’s important to point out that someone with a lot of friends isn’t necessarily more socially well than someone with a few friends. To be socially well means that your individual expectations and desires regarding your interactions with others are being met.
SOCIAL WELLNESS:
The social dimension of wellness encourages active involvement in ourselves, others, and our relationships. Social wellness is about engaging and enjoying positive interactions with those in your everyday life. It’s important to have a strong social network for ongoing support and assistance. Social Wellness involves practicing sympathy, effective listening, and showing compassion for others. Relationships should be mutually supportive and mutually beneficial for all parties involved. Increasing your social wellness has been linked to boosting self-esteem, relieving depression, decreasing blood pressure and enhancing your immune system.
Stay Connected with the Merrimack Community:
Through this tough time of social distancing and isolation it can be very difficult on the body’s mental and physical health. Here on campus there is tremendous opportunity to connect with your peers and colleagues both in person and virtually. There are numerous events and activities that you can participate in daily that can be found in both the dean’s desk and the weekender. Check out the 60+ student lead organizations and clubs offered here at Merrimack College. Let us know if you participated in any of the events in the dean’s desk or reached out to any student led organizations this week!
Maintain Normal Healthy Relationships:
Social distancing creates many obstacles to maintaining our everyday relationships and friendships. It’s difficult to stay connected with friends, colleagues and loved ones, when many social events/activities are being postponed or canceled. It's important through these hard times to remain connected. Maintaining healthy relationships leads to reduced stress, reduced anxiety, improved mood and healthier behaviors. Finding ways to keep in touch is important, even if it’s going out of your comfort zone. Many of the ways you can stay connected include, social media, writing letters, spending time outdoors socially distanced, talking on the phone, and scheduling virtual game nights.
Take Up A Hobby- Try Something New
Partaking in hobbies is a great way to meet new people and develop new interests. Trying new things can put you in touch with a completely different community of people and help you break out of your comfort zone. Trying new or different things can have so many benefits. It allows you to broaden your social circle but also enhance your mind and imagination. Hobbies give you a way to release yourself from everyday stressors and break that same routine you’re accustomed to. We encourage you to explore your hidden talents and interests. The Office of Student Involvement has put together a list of many different virtual activities to try and we encourage you to explore new avenues. These activities include, cooking classes, broadway shows and musicals, coloring pages and virtual escape rooms. Trying new hobbies.
Always Be Yourself:
It's key to always be yourself no matter the social situation you are in. Once you find out who you truly are as a person, you will begin to make lifelong social connections that can’t be broken. To have positive social wellness you first need to be able to appreciate yourself for who you are. Don’t aim to please everyone, don’t worry about others opinions, stand up for who you are and most importantly take care of yourself first. Once this happens you can surround yourself with people who want you to succeed. “Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will LOVE the real you”.
The Art of Being Yourself, What Does It Mean To Be Yourself? | Carly Sotas | TEDxYouth@Granville
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