You’re coughing and sneezing but your exercise routine has achieved a nice rhythm and you don’t want to lose momentum. There are two voices in your head—one encouraging you to rest—the other urging you to get up and go. Now what do you do?

It’s the toughest call and it’s and it’s usually made under duress.

Fear of prolonging the illness holds you back; the desire to work up a sweat spurs you on. What should you do, heed the advice of others to rest and wait it out, or follow your instincts, and soldier on despite the congestion?

Conflicting reports about the consequences of exercising when sick only add to your dilemma. You’ve read that it’s a good move, but other evidence points to it being bad. And feeling crummy isn’t making your decision any easier.  Being active helps you alleviate some of the stress from exams and holidays yet do you conserve your energy for that all-nighter you are sure to pull for your final exam.

Well, you can take comfort knowing that every person who enjoys exercise has, at one time or another, shared in your agony. It’s about risk-taking. The risk of increasing the severity and duration of the cold, spreading the infection to other organs, leading to injury due to weakness and coordination issues, etc., are increased while exercising with a lower respiratory illness.

Your first consideration should be the people around you.  Do the other members in the Loft, at the EDC Fitness Facility or your teammates want to be around you while you are sneezing, and coughing.  They won’t appreciate you too much if you pass your bug onto them.  So if you think you are infectious, stay home.

Assuming you are not contagious do the following quick check to help you decide whether to exercise or not.  If symptoms are above the neck (and you don’t have a fever), such as runny nose, sore throat and sneezing, continue training. Go slow at first, and if you feel energized continue, increasing the pace.  Complaints below the neck, namely chest cold, fever, muscle soreness, and aching joints, provide ample reason to stay in bed.

If you do make the decision to exercise start at lower intensity.  If you feel fine, increase the intensity but considering shortening your workout.

If you feel the need to workout and are sick remember these important tips

• Eat a well-balanced diet.
•  Avoid rapid weight loss. Rapid weight loss have been shown to impair immune function.
• Try and get a good nights rest. Lack of sleep can reduce immune functioning
• Avoid over-training and chronic fatigue. Space workouts or activities as far apart as possible. Keep “within yourself” and don’t push beyond your ability to recover.
• Drink more water.
• Limit alcohol intake. Alcohol can be dehydrating which, in turn, may decrease your resistance to bacteria.
• Finally, listen to your body. If you are really sick you will feel better and recover faster if you let yourself rest.  The sooner you get better the sooner we can see you back in your yoga class or on the ice with your teammates.

When I went to university I had a difficult time making the transition.  During my first year, I reached the half-way point and I still hadn’t found that feeling of being “in stride” with it. I understood the routine of getting up for classes and making sure I caught my bus at the same time every day.  I also felt the stress of the workload piling up on me and I barely had any free moments to relax and not think – to be young and having fun.

I thought my January resolutions would’ve held out … but who was I kidding. I knew it would be the same pattern as before, and just thinking that way had already set me up for failure. I knew that if I was to succeed with what I wanted out of life I had to really take a good look at myself, really see who I was and face some of the unwanted answers to the question “Who am I?”. I would have to make some tough decisions, and change the way I live by recognizing my personal patterns (both good and bad).

Here are some tips that helped me back then and continue to help make my life one that I design for myself and not something that others have programmed for me.

1)     Just Do It

One thing that stops most of us is our inability to just do something, anything. What should I do? How should I do it?  Just the momentum of movement will lead us to answers we seek as long as we remain detached to the outcomes and remain focused on ourselves. Energy creates energy. Fears will be there and barriers will come but by taking a simple step towards what you want you will bring yourself closer to that bliss we all chase.  This one step will also create emotions within ourselves which, when they are in line with our true path, will lift us up and carry us further down the path of our dreams. However if you deal with any type of anxiety this can seem like a huge deal. It’s easier said than done. Work on being gentle with yourself and working on non-judgment. If you can find yourself at a point where you can forgive yourself for doing nothing you are on the right track to getting into doing something. There is no race in life. You are on your own timeline which can give you that sense of freedom and relieve some of the pressures on ourselves.  Read More →

I recently went to the Red River Mutual Trail at the Forks to go skating.  This was my first time skating in many years and the experience was fun!   I do not have skates and went to Iceland Skate Rentals, located in The Forks Market, and rented skates for $5.00 ($3.00 for kids).  They also offer skate sharpening.  Conveniently, there is a designated area with mats to change your skates in the atrium of The Forks Market.

There are a few different options at The Forks for skating.  There is the Rink under the Canopy, the hockey rink near Scotia Bank stage, the skating trails on land, and the Red River Mutual Trail.  When you are ready to head out, there are mats all the way to the river. 

The skating area is lined with trees, and separates an area where you can play hockey.  I slowly skated my way down the river from the Forks to Osborne and back.  The warming huts were not on the River the day I went, but there are a few huts on the river now. 

According to www.besthealthmag.ca ice-skating is a great way to embrace winter and get some exercise.  They say it is easy on the joints because it’s low impact, and it improves your balance and coordination.  They also say that a 155-lb woman skating slowly (less than 14 kilometres per hour) burns about 387 calories per hour.  Fast, full-out skating burns 633 calories per hour. 

They offer a few tips:

• Find skates that fit comfortably.  Skates are usually a size smaller than your normal shoe size.
• Wear thin wool or fitness socks rather than doubling up with two pairs of
  regular socks.
• Lace the skates firmly and stand up. Your heel should be right at the back of the boot, and your toe should not touch the front end. Your heel and ankle should feel snugly gripped, as if you’re wearing running shoes, but not tight or painful.
• Get the store or your local rink to sharpen the skates before you hit the ice. If you’re skating leisurely once a week indoors, sharpening once a winter is fine. Outdoor ice contains grit and mineralized water and is harder on your blades, so sharpen every outing or two.

So, if you’re looking for an activity next weekend, head to the Forks and go skating!

Let’s talk about Sleep!

Transitioning to college life can be tough and may contribute to loss of sleep and fatigue. Sleep debt is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. It is what leads to mental and physical fatigue.There are a lot of choices to make when you enter post-secondary education. Choices that might help you balance your demand include whether to work, how many classes to take, and how long study time should be. There are two main reasons for lack of college student sleep:

• Late night studying
• “Social” commitments and late night partying

You can’t give up either of the above on a consistent basis. But your body needs sleep on a consistent basis, and this conflicts with the trappings of a successful and fun college life. Here are some tips and information that can help you with sleeping as a College student.

• Did you know that everyone has their own unique sleep needs? You should be able to go to sleep at the same time, get up at the same time and feel rested during the day. Find out how much sleep you need by trying to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night for a week, see how you feel and adjust from there. No need for naps. It may take a week to adjust, being sleep deprived students that you are, but you can do it. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get 7-9 hours of sleep at night.
• According to the National Sleep Foundation hitting SNOOZE does not help. It actually makes you more tired throughout the day. The snooze button is one of life’s little luxuries. At best, it’s a psychological crutch. At worst, it’s throwing off your brain chemistry for the day. As well, it’s certainly not helping you get any real sleep; you do not make it back to REM sleep that helps you feel rested. Set your alarm for when you need to get up, get up and give yourself time to get ready without being rushed!

Are you often feeling “run  down”  Did you know?

• Being sleep deprived impacts the immune system. Our ability to fight off infections becomes more difficult. This puts us at risk during cold and flu season, which is now!
• The heart and lung function is adversely affected by lack of sleep and is associated with worsening chronic lung and heart disease and high blood pressure.
• A common myth: Watching TV helps you sleep. This is untrue as TV is stimulating and can interfere with falling asleep.

Tips for sleep:

• Turn off your cell phone. Pick a time, like after 10pm to turn off your phone so its not a distraction
• Set yourself clear boundaries. Keep a regular sleep wake cycle, tell yourself you will only stay out so long, and stick to it.
• Have a study buddy. You can keep each other on tract and on time.
• Exercise. Daily activity can help you get a deeper more restful sleep during the night. Experts generally recommend exercising at least 2-3 hours before bed. However, everyone is different, so try to fit exercise into your schedule where you can. For tips on exercise see our previous blog.
• Put your computer to sleep. Bright screen savers can be distracting and keep you from sleep.

If your fatigue does not improve with consistent restful sleep, seek medical advice as you could have a medical condition resulting in your fatigue. For depression, sleep apnea, anemia or diabetes to name a few.

For more information on sleep tips see BedTimeNetwork or American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Researchers believe lack of sleep may contribute to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety in College students. For more information on mental health and sleep see Mental Health Canada.

Services at Red River College such as counselling, tutoring and academic support check out the RRC student services website click here. These services can help relieve some of the burdens causing you to miss out on sleep.

Visit us next week for info on stress and tips for dealing with it.

From Health Services U of M Practicum Nursing Students

Alexis and Candice

Physical activity improves health and wellbeing. According to Health Canada it can reduce stress, strengthen the heart and lungs, increase energy levels, as well as help you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends that individuals get at least two and a half hours of exercise a week, keeping an emphasis on getting moderate to vigorous physical activity broken down into sessions of ten minutes or more. As students we know the challenges of incorporating exercise into a busy schedule. Between the classes, studying, travel time, work, families and other commitments it often seems like there is not enough hours in the day. The idea of healthy living often falls to the wayside. According to a study done by McMaster University, regular exercise tends to steeply decline among youth as they move to university or college. Researchers found a 24% decrease in the 12 years from adolescence to early adulthood, with the steepest decline occurring during the transition to higher education. That is not good for young adults who need all their energy for school and home life!

Keeping physically active is key to a healthy lifestyle but remember it is best to check with your doctor before starting a new routine. If you have any chronic illness such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease it is important to consult a physician before starting. We have found some tips on how to incorporate exercise into your daily life, all of which we have tried and found have worked for us.

• When waiting for a bus, a ride to work or to start school every morning, try exercising.
  • It gets your blood flowing and makes you feel more awake. Simple exercises such as calf raises are easy.
  • If you want to increase the intensity of your workouts you can try doing squats or lunges. Check out the American Council on Exercise for detailed instruction on how to do these properly.
• Take more trips.
  • If you have to bring the two garbage cans to the road make two trips to the curb instead of carrying both cans at the same time.
  • You can park farther away from the store, which will result in more walking to and fro.
• Use apps to help you workout. Yes there is an app for that!
  • Apps by Runtastic help you stick to a workout routine and they’re FREE. Some keep track of how many sit-ups or squats you do while another can track how far you’ve run and how many calories you’ve burned.
  • If you can’t find time to fit a workout in, track your daily activity is by using the Runtastic pedometer. This app tracks how many steps you walked as well as how many calories you’ve burned in a day.
• When you’re watching television, get up and move during a commercial break.
  • During a commercial break get up and do 20 jumping jacks, sit-ups or lunges.
  • By doing so you are getting on average 15 minutes of exercise when watching an hour-long television show.
• Sneak in workout.
  • If you have an hour lunch break take the first 30 minutes to eat and the next 30 minutes to walk around campus or do three flights of stairs. This will boost your energy for the rest of the day.
• Utilize various resources within the RRC community. To learn about various facilities on both the Notre Dame and Exchange district campuses visit here. RRC Athletics and Recreation Services offers a variety of fitness classes, personal training and fitness assessments. For more information on any of these programs call (204)-632-3030.
• Acknowledge that you are awesome for exercising!
  • Any sort of exercise, regardless of the intensity or duration, benefits your heart, muscles, mind, and overall healthfulness. Anything you can squeeze into your day is great. Aim to never leave a workout thinking anything other than, “I’m super proud of myself for what I did right there—I’m the best”

Stay tuned next week, as we will be discussing the importance of sleep and giving tips on how you can feel more energized throughout the day. We appreciate any feedback or comments about what we have discussed or what you would like us to talk about.

Health Services EDC Practicum Nursing Students Alexis and Candice

As students it is often hard to stay healthy while going to class, cooking and cleaning, and finding time to exercise. As important as studying is, it is even more important to remember that your health affects your marks and your potential as a RRC student.

This blog series will run over the next five weeks and will consist of tips on how to eat right, access the right health services for you, and preserve your mental health and wellbeing.

For example, it is important to start your school day right by eating a healthy breakfast. Canada’s Food Guide recommends a variety of healthy servings of protein or meat, grain products, fruit, and milk products to start your day off right. As students it is sometimes hard to plan a healthy diet on a student budget, but it is possible! Visit here for the Health Canada website for great healthy and easy meal ideas!

Individuals often find it hard to incorporate the recommended 60 minutes of activity into a day full of studying and classes. Did you know that an easy and productive way to get your 60 minutes of daily exercise is to try is studying while walking on a treadmill? If you don’t have a treadmill, you could get your 60 minutes of exercise by breaking it up into short 10 minute intervals. Do this by going for a walk or climbing a few flights of stairs. For more great tips and tricks for busy students on the go, and for those who hope to keep up a healthy lifestyle check back next week!

Health Services Clinical Nursing Students Alexis and Candice

I love autumn, even if it does bring winter…. Here’s why:

• Every church and community centre are having a fall supper, it would be a sin to miss such a gluttonous event – so find one here.
• The colours…and the distinct smells that really can’t be described to any justice.
• Summer clothes and shoes are going on clearance – check those flyers and go mall walking!
• Curling is back! Maybe I’ll join a league instead of just yelling at my TV again this year. The Roar of the Rings Olympic Trials are in Winnipeg this year, we’ll see you at the Patch?
• 3 shows. Game of Thrones. The Walking Dead. Downton Abbey. This season I will even try to be more active while watching the tube.
• Even Halloween brings a happy chill to my spine with all the spooky activities that can be had – like corn mazes and haunted houses!
• The chore of raking leaves is always rewarded with the joy of jumping in the soft piles….even dogs love it!

Christine Crowe joined RRC from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where she served as Dean, Faculty of Academic and Career Advancement. Christine now leads RRC’s Schools of Indigenous Education, International Education and Continuing Education, while also overseeing the College’s regional campuses, Language Training Centre and community outreach (full bio here).

Mike Krywy (Chair of the Wellness Committee) went for a leisurely walk with Christine to get her thoughts about wellness.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts about Wellness. To start with, who are some of the people in your life that you look up to as Wellness role models?

My mom was a dancer, choreographer and a teacher who danced with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. One of my most powerful memories was watching her sit on the floor listening to music, and picking something for her next routine. She could sit on the floor for hours, but you could tell that she wasn’t in the room — she was creating that piece of choreography. Afterwards, I’d watch the choreography come to life during the practices with her dancers. I was her pianist for a while, and it was fantastic observing her in the creative process and seeing the beauty that came from it.

My mom suffered from depression through much of her life, and she used her creativity to bring herself out of her depression and back to the light. A year after she retired, she passed away. During that time I think she grieved because so much of her life was tied to that creation, and she didn’t know what to do when she was no longer creating. From her life I learned there is power of doing what you love, and how those actions can sustain and feed you.

I know you have a couple of young children. Are they also wellness role models for you?

They are amazing role models for me.

First of all, I’ve learned from them that “not knowing” is okay. “Not knowing” is a place of curiosity and a source of great adventure. It is not something to hide or be afraid of. It speaks to humility. As an administrator, I’m someone who people often come to looking for answers. And that’s a scary place to be sometimes. However, if you’re able to admit that you don’t know something but are willing to explore finding an answer together, you’re able to move forward.

The other thing is “Being present”. I have learned a great deal from putting down my iPad and playing with my kids. The other day my kids were jumping on the trampoline and said, “Mom, come join us.” I hesitated. For one thing, I am terrified about jumping on the trampoline, as I haven’t done it for years. So I told them, “I just need a minute — can’t you do something on your own?” Then I stopped and said to myself, “Wait a minute, they want to do something with me. They want to play with me.” So I went and jumped on the trampoline…and it was terrifying! But it was also very fun.

I’ve had many of the same experiences with my own children, such as when they ask me to go for a swim and I make excuses about the water being too cold. Once I drop the excuses and jump in with them, I never regret it. Is there anything else that your children taught you? Read More →

A brave team of 8, the ‘United Colors of RRC’, braved a hostile territory of pink, blue, green, purple,and yellow this past Sunday at the Color Me Rad race at Red River Exhibition Park.

We had a great time and while most plan to take part again next year, one runner and her husband plan on taking part in Rad Runs in Vegas and Fresno later this year too!

Please enjoy our before and after pics below and we hope to have you on our team next year!

To learn more about the race, please read the wellness post from June 27th and various articles in the news as well!

Sixty percent of all skateboard injuries happen to children under 15 years old and are predictable and preventable. Make sure your child has a good helmet and all the other safety equipment.  After watching the incredible display by Tony Hawk at Polo Park and the great example they showed in wearing all their safety gear, it is important to reinforce safety habits. The height of the ramp was breathtaking. After it was over and as I was picking up my son, I could not help but notice the number of skateboarders trying out their skills. Some had safety gear, some did not. We can use professionals’ habits of safety to reinforce that it is the right thing to do. In our  communities do we ask skate parks to post signs that encourage wearing of safety gear?

Did you know we have a fantastic kids safety resource at our fingertips? A number of Canadian child safety groups got together and now you can connect to them under Parachute!

They have free downloads on many topics from a quick reference on how to spot a concussion in sports to home and recreational (don’t forget about summer water safety!) activities for kids and their parents.

There is a volunteer group called ThinkFirst you should check out. Chapters are across Canada and they support child safety and could likely use some more volunteers to spread the word about child safety.

From Health Services