Module 4: Study-Life Balance, Recreation, and Well-Being Flashcards
(26 cards)
Importance of Study Life Balance
Time Commitment: Full-time university students are expected to study around 30–35 hours per week, including lectures, seminars, and labs.
Rest: Rest is essential for effective learning. The brain needs time to process information, and the body requires exercise and sleep to maintain focus.
Plan: Effective planning helps maintain a balance between studying and personal time, ensuring time for both academic work and other activities.
Impact of Over-Studying
- Excessive studying can strain relationships with family, friends, and partners.
- It may interfere with non-academic responsibilities and personal interests.
- Over-studying increases the risk of unhealthy behaviours (e.g., smoking, substance use, poor eating).
- It can lead to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and self-harm
Benefits of Balance
- Health & Absences: A balanced lifestyle reduces stress and illness-related absences.
- Efficiency: Improves work efficiency during study hours.
- Engagement: Increases connection to courses and relationships.
- Focus & Concentration: Enhances mindfulness and task focus.
- Academic Success: Boosts learning efficiency and overall academic performance.
Wheel of Life
Do you feel connected and balanced in your:
- Academic / Professional
- Finances
- Health
- Family and Friends
- Relationships / Love
- Personal Growth
- Recreation, Culture and Hobbies
- Physical Environment
Connection and Community
Connectedness: A personal sense of belonging tied to meaningful relationships and activities.
- Other People: Connections with friends, family, peers, and colleagues.
- Natural World: Connection through nature, like hiking or gardening.
- Meaningful Values: Faith-based activities or personal/family values.
- Meaningful Work: Hobbies, volunteering, and passion projects.
- Culture and Heritage: Traditions and relationships tied to cultural identity.
Importance of Social Connectedness to Adolescents
- Adolescents are highly sensitive to peer rejection, which influences their behavior.
- A study using the Cyberball game showed that adolescents experience a greater mood drop after social exclusion than adults.
- This heightened sensitivity may lead adolescents to engage in risky behaviors to avoid social rejection.
- Peer acceptance holds more weight than health or legal risks during adolescence, driven by the need to form social bonds and establish independence
Benefits of Social Connectedness
- Improve Quality of Life: Social connection plays a major role in shaping health and mental well-being, impacting daily life, and improving overall happiness.
- Boost Mental Health: Friendships provide emotional support, increasing purpose, self-worth, and reducing stress. Lack of social support has been linked to higher risks of anxiety and depression.
- Increased Life Expectancy: Strong social ties correlate with a 50% higher likelihood of survival, highlighting the importance of relationships for both mental and physical health.
- Decrease Risk of Suicide: Strong relationships reduce the risk of isolation and suicidal thoughts. Social connectedness offers protection against mental health struggles, including suicide.
- Inclusive Learning Communities: Encourages compassion and challenges stigma based on identity, promoting understanding and support in diverse environments.
Loneliness
- Loneliness: Results from a lack of social connectedness, even when surrounded by others. It can occur during life transitions, such as starting university.
- Definition: Loneliness is the unpleasant feeling that arises when social needs aren’t met, often leading to a desire for connection.
- Measurement: The UCLA Loneliness Scale is commonly used to assess subjective loneliness levels
Effects of Loneliness
- Increased Cortisol: Higher stress hormone levels can lead to depression, stroke, or heart attack.
- Sleep Disturbances: Loneliness increases sleep issues, affecting overall health.
- Reduced Activity: Lonely individuals are less likely to engage in physical activity.
- Heart Disease Risk: Middle-aged adults living alone have a 24% higher risk of dying from heart disease.
- Weakened Immune System: Loneliness weakens immune response, similar to chronic stress.
Self Harm in Older Adolescents
- Lack of Connection: Social exclusion, withdrawal, and lack of support can contribute to self-harm.
- Early Risk Factors: Genetic history, childhood adversity, and psychiatric illness increase vulnerability.
- Personality Traits: Perfectionism, pessimism, and impulsivity heighten psychological distress.
- University Stress: Academic failure, social isolation, and substance use are key mental health risks for older adolescents
Combating Loneliness
- Loneliness and Social Connectedness: Loneliness stems from feeling socially disconnected.
- Social Prescribing: A holistic health approach that uses non-clinical activities (e.g., community events) to improve social connections and mental health.
- Other Approaches: Recreation and time in nature can help reduce loneliness.
- Perfectionism and Self-Doubt: If unaddressed, they can lead to isolation and avoidance.
Loneliness vs. Social Isolation
Loneliness: A subjective feeling where a person perceives that their social needs are not being met, which can occur even when they are around others (e.g., feeling disconnected in a group).
Social Isolation: An objective lack of social interactions or connections, focusing on the number of people one interacts with (e.g., only interacting with those in close proximity, like roommates).
Impacts of Isolation
Physical: Linked to poor health, substance abuse, and increased disease risk.
Emotional: Reduces confidence and self-worth, increases depression, despair, and self-harm risk.
Cognitive: Leads to shorter attention spans and forgetfulness due to lack of mental stimulation.
Recreation
Recreation: Derived from the Latin “recreare,” meaning to refresh and renew.
Definition: Recreation includes activities that provide relaxation, enjoyment, and mental refreshment.
Purpose: Helps reduce mental fatigue and improve overall well-being.
Types: Includes exercise, nature, and cultural activities
Two Types of Attention
Directed Attention: Focused and effortful; requires mental effort to block distractions (e.g., studying, driving).
Involuntary Attention: Effortless and pleasurable; held naturally by interesting stimuli (e.g., nature, music).
Mental Fatigue: Directed attention causes tiredness, while involuntary attention does not.
Direct Attention Fatigue
Directed Attention Fatigue (DAF): Results from overusing the brain’s inhibitory system to stay focused, leading to cognitive and emotional strain.
Effects:
- Input Deficits: Difficulty noticing or interpreting social cues, affecting communication and social interaction.
- Thinking Problems: Causes mental confusion, restlessness, and forgetfulness, impairing task performance.
- Behaviour: Leads to impulsive or reckless actions due to reduced self-regulation.
- Executive Functioning: Impairs decision-making and planning, reducing problem-solving ability.
- Emotions: Increases irritability and emotional discomfort.
- Worry and Rumination: Triggers overthinking and anxiety, worsening stress levels.
Refresh and Recover
Positive Activities: Engaging in enjoyable activities (e.g., hobbies, art) helps recovery from DAF.
Clear the Mind: Take short breaks from focused tasks to reset mental focus.
Sleep: Good quality sleep aids in mental and physical recovery.
Mind Wandering: Allow your mind to drift during activities like exercise or nature walks to restore attention.
Attention Restoration Theory
Attention Restoration Theory (ART): Developed by Kaplan and Kaplan, ART suggests that spending time in or connecting with nature helps restore attention and cognitive function.
Restorative Environments: Any setting that reduces stress and mental fatigue, helping to regain balance and focus (e.g., nature walks, quiet spaces).
Exercise and Endorphins
- Exercise triggers the release of endorphins, which promote happiness and reduce pain sensitivity.
- Endorphins improve mood and make vigorous workouts easier.
- Exercise boosts self-efficacy and gives a sense of accomplishment.
- Regular cardiovascular exercise benefits both physical and mental health.
- It promotes healthy sleep patterns and cardiovascular function.
- Combining exercise with mindfulness or meditation enhances overall well-being.
Physical Exercise and Coping
Positive Emotion – Exercise boosts pleasure, energy, and mood while reducing anxiety, tension, and fatigue through endorphin release.
Unity of Body and Mind – Active leisure (e.g., exercise) improves life satisfaction and encourages other healthy behaviors like better eating and sleep.
Heightened Self-Esteem – A sense of accomplishment from exercise enhances self-efficacy and self-worth.
Leisure – Exercise as a leisure activity increases stress coping by promoting control over health and time.
Problem-Focused Coping – Exercise promotes proactive coping strategies like seeking solutions rather than avoidance.
Wildlife Trust Findings
A 2015 University of Essex review found that contact with natural environments rich in wildlife provides multiple health benefits:
- Physical health: Increased activity improves overall health.
- Stress: Reduces stress and anxiety.
- Emotional regulation: Boosts mood and self-esteem.
- Social life: Encourages healthier social interactions.
Benefits of Nature
- Being in nature is beneficial for both physical and mental health.
- Nature connectedness — feeling part of a wider natural community — enhances well-being, life satisfaction, and reduces anxiety.
- Simply noticing nature, engaging the senses, and appreciating its beauty boosts mood and energy.
- Building a positive relationship with nature is more impactful than just spending time outdoors.
- Small, mindful interactions with nature (like noticing seasonal changes) can significantly improve overall well-being.
Cultural Activities
- Cultural activities (e.g., art, music, reading, writing) enhance well-being by improving mood and reducing stress.
- Culture includes language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music, and art.
- Engaging in creative activities acts like a natural antidepressant, improving mental health and emotional balance.
- Purposeful and meaningful cultural involvement positively affects neurological health.
Flow State
- Flow state (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) refers to being fully immersed in an activity, losing track of time and self-awareness.
- Achieved through creative tasks like running, swimming, or knitting.
- Flow helps regulate emotions, calm the nervous system, and boost mood.
- Creative engagement works like a natural antidepressant and reduces worry and rumination, enhancing well-being.
