Health, Wellness and Lifestyle

 Something that I invest a lot of time and attention to is my hair and skin care. Maintaining clear skin and shiny, healthy hair makes me feel good, so I do everything I can to keep it looking nice year round. One thing that I have found has really helped me with my hair & skin is avoiding buying every 'viral' product I  see online. I have gone through so many expensive products that I never ended up using completely because of this because they didn't work well for me. A product that works wonders for a friend may not have the same effect on you. Now, I try to find what's best for my hair or skin, because everyone is different.  Since I am not an expert on hair nor skin care, my best recommendation is to do your own research and find what products best suit your hair and skin's needs. For example, I discovered that I have high porosity hair, which means it absorbs moisture very quickly and dries very quickly. However, it is also more prone to breakage, so I hav...

 What is a Sunday Reset and why should I have one? The Sunday scaries are a real thing, and they're no fun. I absolutely hate waking up on Sundays feeling so stressed about the upcoming week that I don't even know where to start. While Sundays are great for relaxing and decompressing, I also like to use them productively to get a jump on the week ahead. This is what I call my 'Sunday resets'.  In addition to relaxing, I like to designate many of my Sundays to cleaning, homework, and any other tasks I want to get out of the way before the week starts. This helps alleviate stress and makes me feel more prepared for the upcoming week. Here are some things that I like to do during my Sunday resets: 1.) Plan out my week : I use my Sundays to plan for the week ahead. If I have a test that week, a club/ work meeting, or anything else of that sort, I'll make sure to write it down so I know what's coming and what I need to prepare for. Writing down my weekly plan makes m...

Protein Packed Meals That Taste Good  A lot of people try to incorporate as much protein into their diet as they can, but this isn't always easy. If you're like me and don't really enjoy protein shakes or bars, this blog is for you! Today, I'm going to be talking about some of my favorite quick and easy high protein meals that you can make. 1.) Salmon, orzo and spinach: Salmon has a ton of protein and can be cooked in so many different ways. I like to airfry mine, which takes about 8-10 minutes. Sautéing spinach takes less than 5 minutes, and your orzo will take around 10 minutes to cook. All you have to do is season your salmon before cooking, and you have an entire, protein packed meal in no time.  2.) Chicken and broccoli pasta: This dish is super easy, especially if your chicken is already cooked. All you have to do is combine your sauce ingredients with your pasta and bring them to a boil. After this, stir in the broccoli until cooked, followed by the chicken, parm...

 Is the Overconsumption of Caffeine bad for our long term health?     Almost every teenager or adult drinks caffeine at least once a week, depending on how busy their schedule is or how much sleep they typically get. Personally, I love caffeine. I love making iced coffees for class or having an energy drink before a workout. However, while caffeine works well as a pick me up, it can pose a threat to our health if we consistently drink a lot of it. Panera bread is currently facing law suits as a result of one of their products, the charged lemonade.  The lemonade contains so much caffeine and is served in such a large container. A young woman died from overconsumption of this lemonade, which is why there are now lawsuits against the chain.  For reference, a large charged lemonade is about 390 mg of caffeine. They also offer free refills, so people could end up consuming multiple portions of this.  A nitro cold brew at Starbucks is 280 mg of caffeine for a gr...

 Save time and Stress In my last blog post, I listed some ways that we can reduce stress. In this blog, I wanted to touch on how time management specifically can help eliminate stress from your life. There is nothing worse than feeling overwhelmed and that you have too much to do with not enough time.  To help with this, I have found that keeping a planner or calendar to plan my activities ahead has been beneficial. I keep a planner for my school work and also note which days I am working, have appointments, or other events worth noting. I have a physical planner , but there are also good apps that can be used to organize your work and schedule. Keeping my homework in my planner motivates me to complete it. I feel as if writing your tasks down makes them seem less overwhelming, and it helps when you are able to check them off one by one. Knowing when I have a day coming up that is busier than usual, I can plan accordingly to avoid rushing around when the day comes.  I als...

     Stress is something that we all experience, some more than others. College can be an especially stressful environment, and the American Institute of Stress states that "Eight in 10 college students experience frequent bouts of stress." Though it is difficult to deal with, there are various things you can do to manage and decrease your stress , and in this blog I am going to share some with you.  Muscle relaxation and  exercise are two very good techniques in decreasing stress. Something as simple as stretching or yoga is a great way to quickly relieve stress and take tension out of your muscles. You can also do a more intense form of exercise like cardio such as running, biking, or lifting weights. I find that exercising outdoors helps me relieve stress because I enjoy being in the fresh air. Exercise is known to improve mood and increase endorphins. Journaling is another great way to take some things off your mind and relieve stressful thoughts. You can jo...