Category Archives: Lifestyle

Front/Home, Lifestyle

Making the most of the zzz’s

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By Suzie Lee

In the 21st century, people’s lives have become so busy they sacrifice at least one thing to maintain their routines–sleep.

    Among the college students, there is a popular myth called “The 2 Out of 3 Myth”: People have to choose two of the three–getting enough sleep, having a social life, or getting good grades because they will never have time for all three.

    Most people decide to choose grades and social life over getting a good sleep; sleep is underrated by many people even though it is proved as an important health factor.

    Celebrating its annual Sleep Awareness Week, March 11 to 17, 2018, the National Sleep Foundation is  highlighting the theme of “Begin with Sleep,” which assures the importance of good sleep health for individuals to best achieve their life goals.

    “Begin with Sleep” has the meaning of each day starts out by having a great sleep when others mostly think sleeping as the last routine of the day.

    For teenagers, the recommended sleep hour by The National Sleep Foundation is eight to ten hours, and they strongly suggest to sleep no less than seven hours.

    Adults need at least seven hours or more to promote optimal health and well-being; however, many adults are not sleeping the recommended time.

     According to news.gallup.com, 59% of the adult get seven or more hours of sleep at night but 40% get less than seven hours of sleep.

    The National Sleep Foundation suggests four ways such as to set up a sleeping schedule: no tech in the bedroom, relax before bedtime and control the room temperature.

    In 2016’s National Sleep Awareness Week, the foundation gave each daily instructions for a better sleep.

    On the first day, the foundation asks to start the week by making time for the sleep the mind and body needs.

   On the day second, leaving a couple hours between eating and going to bed is suggested because it will help the body to reap the maximum benefits of a good night’s sleep.

    On the third day, any electronic devices should be turned off and away to bed because blue light from screen can disrupt circadian rhythm and affect the ability of sleep.

    The foundation also says keeping the bedroom dark and painting cool toned colors on the walls will help for better sleep on the fourth day.

     Moreover, creating a bedtime ritual such as taking deep breaths, as well as stretching and other relaxing exercises can help to wind down and set the mind ready for sleep.

    On the sixth day, the foundation hints that keeping a piece of paper next to the bed and writing down any concerns of the day before going into sleep can also be beneficial for mind control and a stress-free sleep.

    Lastly, the week wraps up by focusing on how much sleep is important for everything. The foundation also uses the last day as a reminder to account for daylight savings time, which occurs this Saturday evening.

     Providing valuable information about the benefits of optimal sleep and how sleep affects health, well being and safety is the foundation’s ultimate goal during this week.

     

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Advice, Front/Home, Lifestyle

Smartphones bring a new way of living

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By: Ryleigh Schelin / Staff Writer

 

    A couple of years ago, the invention that would change people’s lives was born. When Apple came out with their first IPhone model people were shocked at all the capabilities of the phone.

    This marked the start of the race involving  many companies to always have the newest and most stylish phone.

    The design and features of the smartphone has pulled people in, making them want to buy it. These features include camera quality and how big and thin the phone is. The most recent smartphones have the ability to connect to your car.  They also can connect to your home to enable alarm systems and lighting.

   The features on the Smartphones also create many sources of communication on platforms like Messaging, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and  many more.

   Cell phones are becoming a necessity for everyday life, cutting off real communication face to face.

    Apple is always working to add more features and come out with their latest models.

   Samsung and Google are also always competing with Apple to create more features to get more buyers.

    A phone is a phone. The features are a bonus but it’s scary to think about what some companies are creating to get more buyers.

   Ten years ago people gathered around the television to watch the news and figure out what’s going on in the world. Now an alert is sent to your phone seconds after something happens.

   Most people always know what’s going on in people’s lives. The latest gossip and what people are doing daily is all shared through these tiny devices in which our life revolves around.

   With smartphones people can share pictures and communicate with people from around the world.

   Different cultures can be discovered and relationships can be built through the Smartphone.

    Many people have many views on what smartphones are doing to our world. Some argue they are a positive impact but others would disagree.

    The way phones are today and how they are used can be very addicting. The urge not to be on a smartphone every five minutes is hard for some people.

    The smartphone is the new way of life for the good and the bad. Upgrades will continue to happen and companies will always compete to have the most elaborate phone out there.

Advice, Editorials

High ACT scores can be achieved with patience and preparation

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     One’s entire future based off of one test may seem like a ridiculous statement at first glance, but throughout the world peoples’ college selections and career choices are affected tremendously by their ACT score.

    Another round of the ACT was completed at Stow high school on October 22, 2016 from 8am-12pm. Students from many different schools came to take the test at Stow because they are only able to be taken at certain places on certain days.

According to http://www.insidehighered.com, ACT scores have dropped in 2016. The composite score of 21 in 2015 has now dropped to a 20.8. The major difference is in the subject of english with an average score of 20.1 so far in 2016, as the average score in 2015 was 20.4.

    According to http://www.blog.prepscholar.com, in 1959 the ACT was created by Everett Franklin Lindquist. His primary goal in making it was to have it be a competitor with the SAT standardized test; however, he wanted his test to be more focused on material actually learned in schools.

    The stress of taking a test that can decide a person’s future can be quite overwhelming. There are a few tips that a person can use to help improve their score.

    The first tip is to make sure to fill in all answers. According to http://www.alisteducation.com, answers are not graded for correctness only, so it is important to answer all questions, even if it means guessing. Making an educated guess is better than automatically getting a question wrong for leaving it blank.

    It is also important to take the ACT more than once. Some people who are very smart are able to get perfect scores on their first try, but this is a very rare occasion. Taking the ACT multiple times may help a person become more familiar with the format of the test and the timing allowed for each section.

    Sleep and well balanced meals are two categories often overlooked in regular life and also in preparing the night before and morning of the ACT. Sleep is necessary so that a person’s body can be energized and alert during the entire test. A well balanced breakfast can help give the brain energy so it can be at its full potential throughout the test.

    The next ACT test date is scheduled for December 10, 2016, and the last registration deadline is November 4, 2016. The ACT can be very stressful to take, but with practice and focus it can become just another test to try and ace.

Editorials, Lifestyle

Fast food is not beneficial to teenagers

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Many students find themselves at a struggle to figure out what they want to eat. Most of the time, they turn toward food they can receive extremely fast and buy at a low cost. Known as fast food, this industry makes a fortune off of high school students.

A leading cause in fast food consumption comes from the availability of the amount of restaurants. From one’s house to the school in which he attends, there are numerous fast food restaurants which have  a variety of different types of food.

Restaurants located in high traffic areas tend to receive more business. The reason behind this may seem obvious, but what people do not know is that teenagers accumulate a lot of profit for the restaurants.

Students can get fast food on their way home from school. This makes franchises eager to be able to place their restaurant near a high school because they know that teens will somehow be persuaded to eat frequently at that location.

Friends can suggest to meet up at places and hang out while grabbing a quick bite to eat. This makes the burden of spending money repeatedly on food less harsh than it normally is. Students often find themselves meeting fellow classmates up at a restaurant and studying for an upcoming test or just to talk about school.

“Since Moe’s is right around the corner, my friends and I go there after school sometimes and hang out and eat,” sophomore Thomas McLaughlin said.

Another reason why teenagers find themselves out to eat is because of the fact that many do not know how to cook a proper meal. Other than using the microwave, toaster, and oven, most teens are too lazy to make a home cooked meal.

Students’ lack of knowledge in the kitchen can lead to many more problems than spending money. Over consumption of fast food will eventually lead to obesity, which then leads into many more health problems, and eventually death. Not to say fast food is not good for a change, but students should try and become more educated in the kitchen so they will not be dependent on fast food later in life.

In high school, a health class could be implemented to discuss the effects of overconsumption of fast food because when the problem arises that one eats too much junk food, he might not be able to see that in himself, and would need someone or something else to help identify the problem.  

Fast food may be fast, but down the road, the one eating too much fast food may not be fast anymore.