Solutions to a Sound Body and Mind

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Apr 3, 2024

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Solutions to a Sound Body and Mind Corinna Arabia-Meyer ENG 105 Arizona State University Cover Letter:

I found writing project 2 to be rewarding. It was fun to be able to come full circle after all my research from project 1 and put it to good and viable use by proposing a solution to my issue. I really found that the proposal outline for project 2 helped me a lot with my flow and annotations. Project 1 outline was useful because it guided my writing and helped me formulate and structure my essay. The project 2 proposal however, I found to be much more useful. The questions I answered helped me clearly identify each counter argument, rebuttals for each, the alternative solutions, etc. What was really beneficial was the annotated bibliography. It forced me to do a lot of research beforehand and really find good and credible sources. It also required I get a hard copy of something(as we could not use just internet sources) and this encouraged me to be creative in finding something and was also very rewarding when I did. Actually writing project 2 I found to be a bit difficult to structure. I ended up following exactly as the rubric lays each step out which helped guide me. In my head it all makes sense and works, but I just want to hear some feedback to make sure my reader isn’t confused or turned around as they get through the text. Also, I want to make sure I fully supported my solution method and provided enough detail as to why. I am unsure if I need to provide more actual solution steps or if what I wrote and what images I included are adequate. I also wrote this in the form of a newspaper article addressed to the ASU online student body. If this needs work let me know. I hope you enjoy reading and hope the information is beneficial and informative. Any feedback is appreciated. “Exercise is not an option. Everyone needs to exercise throughout their lives to maintain healthy strength and stability throughout the body. As a

young adult it is extremely important to maintain physical health to prepare your body for the years ahead.” ---Emily Peterson, Physical Therapist at Hackensack Meridian Health Wellness Center. To My Fellow Peers, Physical health is vital and needs to be maintained once you become an adult, and it is a definite must for an Arizona State University online college students. As students working online, we are required to spend large amounts of time sitting at a computer, stagnant and inactive. The U.S. News reported on the following: Though Arizona State University's online programs, our undergrad and graduate courses are structured in seven and a half week sessions rather than 14- week semesters. For one session, a student should expect to spend six hours a week on coursework for every course credit. In other words, if a student is signed up for two or three courses during a session and each course is worth three credits, that student should plan to spend between 36 to 54 hours a week on coursework (Chapman, 2015). This very stagnant time that we spend working can be extremely dangerous. Ideally, I would tell anyone that they cannot be inactive for that long everyday, however, since it is required for us online students, a feasible solution is in order. This inactive time must be made up through exercise because the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle are in fact life-changing. It has been reported that, “Inactivity leads to declines in bone strength, muscle strength, heart and lung fitness and flexibility and is a key contributor to most of the chronic and debilitating diseases

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associated with aging and for a significant number of preventable deaths"( Adams, Adams, Ray, & Simon Fraser Univ., 2003, p. 2). Therefore, physical workouts are a necessity for online students. Not only will exercising help decrease the risk for spinal injuries/pains from sitting so long, but it will improve mental clarity-helping decrease computer time by making you work more effectively. The solution I propose is as follows: every ASU online student should take 45 minutes daily-5 out of 7 days minimum-to practice aerobic exercise and take 15 minutes to stretch before and after. Not only will this solution be the simplest and most effective, but it will also be budget- friendly, decrease the risk of injury and future medical cost, as well as create a new, healthy lifestyle that incorporates strength of body as well as strength of mind. Some sources claim that an alternative solution to staying fit is solely a healthy diet, and some possible stretching. They claim that eating healthy and stretching will keep you lean and trim and healthy. This method, however, will not truly solve the issue at hand. Even in 400 B.C., doctors knew that the food you consume is irrelevant if you fail to stay physically active. "Eating alone will not keep a man well," Hippocrates famously wrote. "He must also take exercise”(Oaklander, 2016). If you change your diet so that you consume the most nutritious and healthiest foods, you may trim down, but this will not help the problem of inactivity and weak muscles. A study done at the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen tested blood and muscle samples from 48 sedentary adults, who in various groups changed their energy

balance through exercise and some through diet. Pernille Nordby, who conducted the study as a PhD student at the University says, “Perhaps this study shows that the body is designed to make optimal use of nutrients, regardless of which diet it’s on….it also shows that our health depends, more than anything else, on how active or inactive we are”(Hoffman, 2012). Although it is true that diet is a big component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating healthy will not reduce the risks associated with extensive sitting, nor will it increase brain function or induce heightened blood-flow in the body. It is much more effective and efficient to exercise the body for a myriad of reasons rather than to just diet. Likewise, even though stretching is essential and should be a part of everybody’s life, it will not help strengthen the muscles. Strength is the key tool in achieving great physical health, however stretching throughout the day is a great way to loosen muscles, prevent injury, and increase flexibility-as shown in the chart. Other methods suggest that a light workout is all you need, and many sources say you should rotate your workout schedule to focus on one area of the body each day. I hear people talk about “leg day” and such, but I would suggest that each and every workout focus on the core for at least half the time. The entire workout does not need to be all core, but making at least half of it focused on the core will ensure stability and never failing strength. According to the

Huffington Post, core strength “ ...is not just about the abdominal muscles, but also about training your back, your glutes, and the entire area that connects to your spinal cord and helps your body support your spine, so that the burden of supporting your body weight isn’t just placed on your bones”(Gaynes, 2011). The rest of the workout can be up to you, as long as you keep your heart rate up. Also, I will be outright and say that you need to break a sweat in order to get stronger. It is not worth spending an hour and a half a day on a light workout when instead you can workout intensely for 45 minutes and achieve so much more and so much faster. The purpose of strengthening the core is because it is the literal core to your stability and balance. Working out the abdominal muscles also goes hand in hand with the bilateral and back muscles, and all work together to support the spine. I want to really stress to the online student community just how important it is to protect the spine. The spine is everything-it literally holds us together and upright and it is very prone to injury if not treated or protected properly. Especially in this day and age, and especially for ASU online college students-who need to sit and work at a computer everyday, hunched at a desk, straining their necks towards the screen for hours. Dr. Dena Stern, personal trainer and managing editor of Exercise.com explains the importance of core strength when it comes to excessive sitting, “I sit at a desk at a computer all day, 12 hours a day, and this is a way that I can keep myself from having horrible back pain as I age” (Gaynes, 2011). The spine is prone to herniations and bone deterioration if this position is held often by a body with weak muscles. This poses many risks to the spine which can and must be diminished through muscle strengthening exercise. I found an interesting study carried out in Sweden where 80 young boys were tested

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to see if exercise would help render benefits that were site specific-primarily specific to the spinal bone and lumbar spine area. This research focuses directly on how core strengthening exercise benefits spine and bone density. The study explains the exact exercise program, which consisted of core based, as well as general cardio based exercise. After 2 years, of this fitness regime, the 23 count control group(non- exercise group) and 57 count exercise group was compared through lumbar vertebrae analysis and X-rays of the entire body. The results showed that the annual bone mineral content gain was 3 percentage points higher than the control group(Alwis et. al., 2008). This proves that core based exercise is directly related to bone and mineral accumulation and strength in the spinal vertebrae, and therefore enhances the skeletal benefits of the spine. This amazed me as the 3% difference was seen after only 2 years of strength exercise...imagine what a lifetime could mean! My simple solution proposes 45 minutes of daily aerobic exercise which can be performed at home. Aerobic activity is those exercises that get your heart rate up. They are much more intensive than anaerobic exercise, which are more leisurely, easy activities that do not cause you to break a sweat. A stretching regime should also be incorporated daily to increase flexibility and help prevent possible injury while working out. For a student, aerobic exercise can be especially useful for increasing brain function and heightening mental clarity. Aerobic exercise works by increasing blood flow and various endorphin release to the 5-HT system in the brain's’ hippocampus. The 5-HT system is a system of serotonin receptors which affects various biological and neurological processes such as

anxiety, appetite, cognition, learning, memory, mood sleep, etc. According to a study done at The National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, “The 5-HT system is modulated by exercise, though such modulation is brain-region-dependent and is affected by the intensity and duration of exercise. The 5-HT system is known to interplay with the BDNF pathway to form a positive feedback loop that plays an essential role in regulating synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis and neuronal survival in the adult brain”(Lin and Kuo, 2013). This proves that the higher intensity and duration of a particular exercise has increased positive effects on the brain. Likewise, the body experiences increased and heightened results if it undergoes a more intense workout. The goal of my solution plan is to incorporate aerobic workouts because they are more effective in getting the heart rate up, making you break a sweat, and really working the lungs. Examples of this are jogging, hiking, or swimming. These workouts require the body to produce more oxygen, therefore causing the heart and lungs to work harder, becoming stronger and more reliable. This is so important as lung and heart health are a huge factor for years later in life. The Times Magazine states, “People who take good care of their hearts in their twenties have better brain health by the time they reach middle age”(Sifferlin, 2017). As young adults, it is extremely important to make sure we are taking care of our bodies in preparation for the coming years. The Activity Pyramid is a good guide to help you begin to incorporate daily exercise. Now is the time when we need to build up our strength and make sure our bodies are

equipped for the future. Strong muscles prevent injury, future pains, and make our minds, hearts, lungs, muscles and bones resilient for the years ahead. Furthermore, it has been proven that daily exercise from early adulthood on has been responsible for huge decreases in possible future medical costs. The Conference Board of Canada estimated “that a 1% increase in physical activity could lead to annual healthcare savings of $10.2 million for ischemic heart disease (i.e. anemia due to obstruction of the blood supply mainly as a result of arterial narrowing), $877,000 for adult-onset diabetes and $407,000 for colon cancer”( Adams, Adams, Ray, & Simon Fraser Univ., 2003, p. 3). Besides all the benefits previously discussed, perhaps some will be more persuaded by this fact: taking care of yourself now can save you lots of money, pain, and time in the future-it will ensure a better quality of life in the years to come. First of all, I understand where you’re at right now. I get how overwhelming and exhausting the college workload can be and understand how it can consume all of your time. Many college students find themselves not as active as they once were and this can lead to a multitude of physical issues down the road. For college students, physical activity can reduce stress, increase focus, and increase memory. I am here to urge you all to prioritize and free up some time to incorporate a daily fitness regime. As a college student myself, I know that very few of us are able to

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get enough exercise as we need in our hectic schedules. When it comes to time, I believe the time can and should always be made first for your health. Brain function and the science behind exercise benefits on the brain were previously discussed, proving elevated levels of clarity and focus in active people. So, instead of stressing and cramming for a test, instead take 30-45 minutes to stretch and workout. It will increase brain function and probably cut down your study time tremendously. I hope that the following solutions will help you find the time and means to you put your health first and encourage your physical well-being. Steps you can take to free up some time for activity are: 1. Make yourself a written schedule Writing things out is a sure way to incorporate all that needs to get done and making sure it does 2. Prioritize your tasks Look at your schedule with a new mindset about the importance of your health 3. Find 15 minutes Even if your day is insanely hectic, you can find 15 minutes to get your heart rate up and get your blood pumping. It’s ok to start small, just as long as you progress from there. 4. Take your studies with you With today's modern technology, it is easy to take information with us wherever we go. Printing out a lecture or downloading video/audio lectures to listen to while out for a jog can be a great way to make use of your time while exercising for lifelong benefits. You can also keep active while

studying by: doing wall stands while reading, standing while writing, etc. A bunch of these little exercises can be found at: https://greatist.com/fitness/deskercise-33- ways-exercise-work 5. Wake up early Waking up early get the metabolism going early and will definitely help you sleep sooner and faster at night. Try waking up an hour earlier than normal and getting a workout in. 6. Cut down on screen time Today we are so caught up in our electronics that we spend so much time sitting looking at our phones or laptops or TVs. Try to cut down this time and use it to get active. 7. Try to make your leisure activities more active Instead of seeing a movie or going to a restaurant try out a yoga class with friends, go bowling or take a hike with your partner. Some other concerns you may have about beginning a more active lifestyle are that you cannot afford a gym, equipment, or a trainer. When it comes to equipment, all you need is your body. There are thousands of workouts you can do that uses only your body weight and they can be extremely intense. This link will bring you to a list of 50 great workouts you can do at home: https://greatist.com/fitness/50-bodyweight-exercises-you-can-do-anywhere . It is all about knowing yourself and what you can handle and going from there. Also, you can try working out in ways that are fun for you such as going for a hike, running around the block, swimming, dancing in your living room, boxing, etc. In my

opinion, the gym objection cannot be classified as an objection. You do not need to pay for a gym when you can get the same workout(possibly a better one) all on your own at home or outside. Gyms are a great way to go if you are training for a competition, per se or training as a professional athlete, but to simply get stronger and improve your health, a gym is unnecessary. A brief guide to a few home workouts can be seen in the image. Finally, altering your current lifestyle to become more active and healthy will surely create more balance in your life. Dr. Campbell, an emeritus professor at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions talks about the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle; “Too often,” he explained, “people with pain get caught in a vicious cycle of inactivity that results in lost muscle strength and further pain problems”(Brody, 2017). Exercise is a great tool to help us avoid these dangers. According the a Times Magazine article, Dr. Robert Sallis, a family physician who runs a sports- medicine fellowship at Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center in California, was interviewed and said that he tells his patients that they must exercise, in fact, he prescribes it! He says it has worked wonderfully and has even diminished the need for him to dole out medication for some patients. "It really worked amazingly, particularly in my very

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sickest patients," he says. "If I could get them to do it on a regular basis--even just walking, anything that got their heart rate up a bit--I would see dramatic improvements in their chronic disease, not to mention all of these other things like depression, anxiety, mood and energy levels"(Oaklander, 2016). Practicing physical exercise daily will promote one’s sense of self, increase productivity, and be rewarding as goals are set and achieved. New schedules can be set and maintained which will help you thrive as both a student and a human being. Becoming stronger and more flexible will also open up many options for new activities and different ways to spend your free time. Cardiovascular strength is shown to improve, memory and mental functionality, and overall quality of life. Ultimately, you have to want to take care of your body. You need to look at each workout as an investment. You are making an investment in your body, your mind and your future. Working out will lead to a better quality life, but it is up to you to make it happen. References:

Adams, Adams, Ray, & Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby. (2003). Strength Training A Natural Prescription for Staying Healthy and Fit . S.l.]: Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse. Alwis, G., Linden, C., Ahlborg, H., Dencker, M., Gardsell, P., & Karlsson, M. (2008). A 2‐year school‐based exercise programme in prepubertal boys induces skeletal benefits in lumbar spine. Acta Pædiatrica, 97 (11), 1564-1571. Brody, J. E. (2017, September 11). Alternatives to Drugs for Treating Pain. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/well/alternatives-to-drugs-for- treating-pain.html?emc=edit_nn_20170921&nl=morning- briefing&nlid=78362344&te=1 Chapman, J. (2015, October 02). Discover the Weekly Number of Hours Online Students Study. Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2015/10/02/discover- the-weekly-number -of-hours-online-students-study Gaynes, S. (2011, September 10). What's So Important About Core Strength? Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/10/whats-so-important-about-core- strength_n_955931.html Hoffman, T. (2012, April 11). Exercise better for health than dietary changes. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from http://sciencenordic.com/exercise-better- health-dietary-change Lin, T., & Kuo, Y. (2013). Exercise Benefits Brain Function: The Monoamine Connection. Brain Sciences, 3 (1), 39-53.

Oaklander, M. (2016, September 12). The New Science of Exercise. Time Magazine,42 . Sifferlin, A. (2017, July 19). How Heart Health is Linked to Brain Health Later in Life. Retrieved September 21, 2017, fromhttp://time.com/4863369/heart- health-brain-exercise/ Workouts link: https://greatist.com/fitness/50-bodyweight-exercises-you-can-do- anywhere Images: Core workouts: Mixtapecomics.com Activity Pyramid: Gymmotivators.com Office Stretching Guide: cakeordeathcartoon.wordpress.com

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Multimodal Analysis: I chose this advocacy ad design for 2 reasons. First; I wanted to convey that we have the passion and ability to take control of our bodies, our health, and our lives if we really tried. I chose to make the image a broken computer from which an athletic looking figure had just emerged. The computer represents-both literally and figuratively-a confining technology through which we are required to work. Showing the person having broken out of the screen, desperately sprinting to freedom, shows what we are all capable of. I thought this would encourage the viewer(no matter if they workout or not, are overweight or not), that there is hope for them. The second reason I chose this design was because I find it impactful and attention getting. The broken corner of the computer and the puffs of smoke and electricity bolts show that some sort of sudden and powerful action has taken place. Since the computer is simple and does not contain color, I chose to make the figure full of different colors and life. This is a sharp and defining contrast which draws in the eye and creates an effective focal point on the person, and symbolizes the difference between human and technology. This contrast shows that we as human beings have different needs to live, and unlike a computer cannot sit at a desk all day. I decided to use a little play on words when it came to the text. I wrote “WORK your way OUT”. With WORK and OUT big and bolded, and the other 2 words small and somewhat insignificant in between them. This makes it easy to read solely “WORKOUT”, but when the whole sentence is read it makes sense

when related to the image. This sentence has a figurative meaning-as in “work your way out” of any state of inactivity you may be trapped in. However it is relevant to the image because it can be read literally in terms of the person who is trying to “work his way out” of the unhealthy sedentary lifestyle that can take hold of an online student. I also wrote a brief statement along the bottom: “45 minutes a day, 5 days a week: invest in a lifestyle” I think this is powerful because not only does it clearly state my solution proposal, but it also shows that the goal of my project is to instill a lifelong change, not a temporary one. For those who may not have read my project 2, this ad shows everything I wish to convey and the viewer should have a clear understanding of the goal of the ad. If the audience has read my work however, they should know how staying physically active can literally add years on your life, prevent a myriad of death-related diseases/injuries-which save you medical costs, and ultimately help you become a successful student and healthy human being.

Revision Reflection: After receiving feedback from my peers and instructors, I was able to clearly see what worked in my rough draft and what did not. It was as if I had gained the perspective of the reader rather than as the author, and this really helped me revise and restructure the text in order to make it less confusing and more organized. During my feedback workshop, I was able to speak one on one with my instructor to go over what needed work in my paper. Right off the bat, he educated me on the formatting technique to use for beginning your paper with a quote, which I had tried to do but without proper formatting. Revising this by putting it above my work before my own words had even started and italicizing it help to bring it to life and make it stand out as an attention grabber from the start. Before this paper, I had never began my work with a quote and was always unsure of how to properly do so because I had seen so many variations, but the feedback helped give me a clear understanding and now I feel comfortable with this if I ever choose to do it again in the future. Revising my advocacy ad was fun and now I feel it is much more functional and relative to my work. Before, I had an obese character graphic with an athletic looking runner inside his belly, trying to break out. I was iffy about this from the

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start, but did like the idea and the play on words “WORK your way OUT”. After discussing this with my instructor and getting some great feedback I decided to go a bit of a different route. We both agreed the ad looked almost like an obesity ad, which is not what I am trying to convey. I toyed around with this concept of maybe making a person at a desk with an athletic person trying to break their way out of them, but this wasn’t working out to my liking. I did, however think the computer element was perfect because of my audience-ASU online students. I ended up finding a broken computer graphic and made it look as if a person had just broken their way out. I toyed with the computer design-at first I had just an outline but this looked too plain. Then I found a colorful one but I really only wanted the person to be colorful. I finally found a simple black and white desktop and this worked perfectly for me. I kept my initial wording at the top the same, and wrote at the bottom, “45 mins a day, 5 days a week. Invest in a lifestyle.” I feel this is impactful and will really show the viewer that it is vital to get out of that sedentary lifestyle in order to be happy and healthy. It is an investment. Further, additional feedback helped me really look at my work and see it as a reader would; it was pointed out that my paragraphs seemed a bit unstructured towards the bottom because one acted almost as a conclusion paragraph, but was followed by a few additional ones which left the reader confused. Once this was pointed out to me I completely felt enlightened and I understood where the reader was coming from. The text following that seemingly conclusion paragraph described some very solid and informational examples and steps that could be taken to reach my proposed solution. As my instructor showed me this, we both agreed that these paragraphs were like the meat of my paper and needed to be moved up into the middle of the essay before the final conclusion. Revising this

required some restructuring and new paragraph formatting, as I had to make sure that the paragraphs flowed together nicely. This process was almost fun for me because all the hard work(researching and analyzing) had been completed and now I simply needed to put the words together in a way that made sense and was organized and reader friendly. Without this feedback, my essay would have had all the parts, however the way it was structured would have taken a lot of the impact and credibility away-weakening my work. I am so glad that I received this helpful feedback which made me see my mistakes and make my project better overall.

Solutions to a Sound Body and Mind

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