This Unit Contains:

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

YOU TRY IT--Evaluate Your Diet Log

THE ROLE OF EXERCISE IN REDUCING ANXIETY

YOU TRY IT--Measuring Your Pulse

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

The foods that we eat supply the basic energy that fuels our body. Without a proper diet we cannot perform at our best. Read the following example and see if it is you:

It is test day for Jenny, so she is in a hurry to get to school to do a little extra studying. She had a good dinner last night, then stayed up late studying. This morning she is in a hurry so has a glass of juice and a cup of coffee. After her 8:00 class she studies for a while and has a coke. By 10:30 she is tired and has a little headache. She feels hungry and a little nervous about the test that is at 11:00. She has another coke and a bag of M&Ms, and starts to feel a little better. About half way through the test the headache comes back and she starts to feel sick to her stomach. After school she goes home and "crashes" until dinner time. When she gets up she feels hungry enough to eat a horse.

Jenny was demonstrating a pattern that is fairly common to students of all ages, consuming most of her calories for the day at the evening meal, after her school activities. This is what was happening inside her:

The dinner meal supplied a good source of food and as it is slowly digested some of the blood sugar is absorbed directly into the blood, some is stored in the liver for use later. As she goes through time the blood sugar is slowly being used. The anxiety of the upcoming test causes a sympathetic arousal which increases certain bodily functions that call for more blood sugar. Since the reserves are low, she starts craving sweets. The caffeine in the coffee and coke serve to suppress her appetite and further stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. As the blood sugar drops further she starts to get a headache, ingestion of the coke and M&Ms temporarily relieves this as the sugars are rapidly digested and absorbed. Halfway through the test the reserves begin to run out again and she starts feeling bad. Exhausted, she falls asleep and when she wakes she definitely needs supper.

Jenny probably could have prevented this "yo-yo" effect by eating a decent breakfast of foods that are digested slowly. You want to concentrate on eating a wide variety foods. In particular, you should try to eat more servings of foods that are near the base of the daily recommended food pyramid:

Go back through the diet log that you kept, or think about the last five days and answer the following questions:

 

How many times did you eat breakfast?

 

On how many days did you eat something from all five food groups at the base of the calendar? 

 

Do you consume a large amount of caffeine?

(don't forget to include soft drinks and chocolate)

 

Do you consume large amounts of sugar-rich foods?

 

Is your diet regular or sporadic?

 

What are two things you would like to change about your diet?

1.

2.

Name:

Email:

The simplest and fastest way to see a dramatic change in how you feel while taking tests is to be certain that your diet supports maximum performance. Preparing for school is much like an athlete preparing for competition, and a portion of that is a training diet. The following are some things that you should do:

Dietary Suggestions for Students
1. Increase the regular consumption of food throughout the day.	Not necessarily more calories but spread throughout the day. Students need to eat a good breakfast, just as our mothers always told us.
2. Increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.	Fresh fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals, and complex carbohydrates that are digested more slowly than processed foods. Fresh products are better than canned or processed because they vitamin content is better and there are no added salts and sugars.
3. Increase the consumption of whole grain products.	Eat more whole grain breads, oatmeal and other cereals. These products are high in the B vitamins (that are depleted rapidly in stressful situations) and are also foods that are more slowly digested.
4. Maintain adequate levels of protein.	Have adequate consumption of eggs, milk products, lean meats, fish, beans, nuts. Caution should be taken not to overload in this area because many of these foods are also a source of fats and cholesterol.
5. Decrease the consumption of caffeine.	Substitute things such as de-caffeinated coffee and tea, fruit juices, and water for beverages. Fresh fruit in lieu of a chocolate candy bar.
6. Decrease the consumption of high sugar content foods and beverages.	Safer snack foods such as fruit or low-salt crackers can help, but eating regular meals will also help reduce the desire for snacks.
7. Decrease or eliminate the consumption of alcohol and other drugs.	In addition to the impairment of performance, the alcohol is metabolized into blood sugars that reduce the desire for "real food".

 

The lack of exercise will not cause anxiety, nor will vigorous exercise eliminate anxiety----but it can help. One way to dramatize this is to keep track of your resting heart rate. The resting heart rate is how fast your heart will beat when you are calm and at rest. Resting heart rates can vary greatly from individual to individual and still be within a normal range. A well conditioned marathon runner may have a resting rate of 40 beats per minute, but that is quite unusual. Typically women have higher rates than men. When we are anxious our heart rates go up dramatically and that serves as a cue to our minds that we are getting nervous. We can "fool" our minds if we can keep our heart rates lower, and exercise will help.

Regular aerobic exercise (exercise that increase heart and breathing rates) is needed to condition our bodies. To condition ourselves aerobically you need to bring your heart rate up to about 70% of the maximum rate (up to about 140 beats per minute) for 20-30 minutes 3-4 times per week. Popular aerobic exercises are: running, brisk walking, swimming, bicycling, aerobic dance, and cross country skiing.

Learn how to measure your heart rate. Two basic methods are used:

1). Feeling the wrist.

2.) Feeling the carotid artery in the neck.

 

To take a wrist pulse lay your left hand on a table, palm up (you may use the opposite hand if you wish). Place the first two fingers of the right hand firmly on the large bone in wrist on the same side of the wrist as the thumb. You should be able to feel a strong pulsation. Practice until you can do it.

 

To take a carotid pulse take the first two fingers of your left hand and press them against the side of your neck, just below your jaw. To find the right location go down from your ear and move slightly forward. You should be a little behind the Adam's apple. Practice until you can feel a pulse.

Choose either method that works for you and take your resting pulse rate.Count the beats for 15 seconds then multiply by 4 to get the beats per minute.

  (these are just for your practice, you do not need to submit them)

Resting Pulse Rate 

 

Now run in place for 30 seconds or walk briskly up 2 or 3 flights of stairs and take another pulse rate.

Active Pulse Rate 

Try taking your pulse rate the next time you are nervous, then try to reduce it by relaxation methods

If you are well conditioned, you will have a lower resting pulse rate and will also recover more quickly to a resting rate after exertion. By improving your general conditioning you will enter a testing situation with a lower heart rate and therefore can have a greater increase without feeling anxious. You will also be able to reduce your pulse more quickly.

Exercise itself can serve a relaxing function. If you have been very anxious or tense, a good work out will significantly reduce the tension. The next time you are very uptight while studying, take a study break for a 15 minute brisk walk, then return to study. It will help.

1. Listen to Test Anxiety Step 5 (CD2 Track 3) and complete the log sheet.

2. Complete the diet log for another 5 days: discuss it with your family.