Module 4: Study-Life Balance, Recreation, and Well-Being Flashcards
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.
Glam Lifestyle
Longevity: Arts and heritage sectors promote longer, healthier lives by aiding recovery and supporting well-being.
Resiliency: Participation in arts and heritage helps manage aging, long-term health issues, and mental health challenges.
Community Connectedness: Non-clinical programs in arts and heritage improve mental health, offer preventive care, and reduce pressure on healthcare systems.
The Three R’s: Reading, Writing and Resetting
Music and Well-Being: Music activates brain systems linked to mood, emotion, and memory, improving sleep and overall mental health. Kim Innes found that both music and meditation significantly enhance mood and sleep quality.
Reading and Writing: Journaling about emotions reduces cortisol levels, improving sleep and mood. High cortisol is linked to poor health.
Creativity and Health: Engaging in creative activities like writing and music boosts mental and physical health.
