For high school students, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is very important. Everything from one’s diet to physical and mental health is vital to growing up and keeping oneself in line. Trinity’s Anatomy and Physiology teacher Mr. Seth Blakeslee helped share some of his knowledge and information on what we can do as teenagers to stay healthy day-by-day.
Plenty of students in the Trinity community have extracurricular activities such as sports, clubs, and jobs. Getting home late at night with homework left means it can be hard to make your health a priority. “You can be pretty successful just by a healthy diet,” said Blakeslee. Time can be an enemy for busy students, therefore having a better diet can be key to making sure your body is healthy and energized for each day of the week. We can also do small things throughout the day to help the heart stay healthy. “Whenever we get the opportunity, things like taking the stairs, when you’re here at school, I notice a lot of people will get to class as soon as the passing period is done and then just hang out,” said Blakeslee. Things such as taking the stairs or taking a short lap around campus and getting some fresh air can be extremely beneficial to both mental and physical health.
This winter, schools have struggled with influenza outbreaks causing a handful of elementary, middle and high schools to close down to sanitize and clean. The spread of sickness this year was unheard of. “And because it’s a virus, your body’s response is to build up antibodies, to eventually break it off and that takes time to fight it,” said Blakeslee when asked how our body fights the virus. The best way to prevent getting sick is to get the vaccine prior to flu season. “It’s not 100%, but that’s something we can do,” said Blakeslee. Some other tips to avoid harsh sickness: don’t push it when you start to come down with something and stay home to avoid spreading the sickness.
High school is when a lot of young men find passion in their muscular health and physique. Trinity is a great starting point to learn with our coaches and our top-notch weight room. But can lifting weights and constant exercise be risky? “Weightlifting is generally healthy… but I would say the risk is hyper focusing on one particular aspect,” said Blakeslee. Recovery is also key after getting a good workout in. One way we can deal with recovery quickly to get back into action is sleep. “For adolescence, it’s eight to ten hours…if you’re able to get seven that’s still better than what most people get,” said Blakeslee when asked about recommended sleep. Sleep is the baseline to our health as humans. It prepares us for the next day and keeps our hormone levels in check.
With the help from Blakeslee hopefully it can open some eyes and give some examples of how easy it can be to maintain our health. Any questions will happily be answered by Blakeslee and or other qualified Trinity personnel.
