About up2u

Up2u is an education-based campus prevention effort that focuses on the reduction of high-risk  alcohol use. The program utilizes empirically based theories and approaches specifically designed for college students. Our presenters are trained on the following approaches, utilizing them in a fun, interactive, positive, and intellectually stimulating manner.

B.A.S.I.C.S.

Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students is a nationally recognized and empirically validated program for helping students reduce high-risk alcohol behaviors. It focuses on helping students identify negative and harmful consequences of their use. It acknowledges that abstinence from alcohol is the safest option but not always the most acceptable choice for students. Thus, the program focuses on harm reduction as opposed to a “just say no” approach.

Motivational Interviewing

Motivational interviewing has gained widespread acceptance in chemical abuse treatment and college counseling. It is a focused and goal-directed approach to working with college students. It attempts to meet students where they are in terms of change. In this context, the ultimate goal is to help students explore and resolve their ambivalence to changing behaviors around alcohol use.

Social Norms

Social norms approaches assume that students may have inaccurate perceptions about the quantity and frequency of alcohol use of their fellow college students. Often students hear the most provocative and salacious stories about other students. They rarely hear what usually happens as it makes for less outrageous stories. Thus, social norms seek to gather accurate use data and then promote the accurate data in conjunction with healthy and protective behaviors.

Education and Skills Building

Many students lack a thorough understanding about many aspects of alcohol and its effects. Up2u helps students understand the neurological, psychological, and physiological effects of alcohol, blood alcohol levels, gender differences, tolerance, the size of a standard drink, and other relevant topics. Up2u participants receive a customized blood alcohol card to understand the effects of alcohol specific to their weight and gender. Presenters also link the negative academic effects of high risk alcohol use using current campus data.

Use Assessment

In order for students to make safer choices the student must have an understanding of their current use. This includes quantity of alcohol consumed, frequency of consumption, type of alcohol, peak use, and typical use. In order to meet the needs of our students the up2u program has enlisted e-CHUG. This online tool assesses alcohol use, incorporates social norms data and provides students with interesting feedback such as “How many cheeseburgers you drank last month” and “How long would you have to run to burn off what you drank last month.”

Programming Topics

• Why Do We Drink?
• What is a Standard Drink?
• High Risk Behaviors Identification
• Pouring Demonstration
• Alcohol 101
• Social Norms Clarification
• Blood Alcohol Content
• Biphasic Effects of Alcohol
• Drug Interactions with Alcohol
• Marijuana
• Sexual Consent
• Strategies for Lowering Risk
• Alcohol and Academics
• Bar Lab Experiment
• Alcohol and Performance
• Cost of High Risk Alcohol Use – Financially, Academically, Physically, and Personally
• Alcohol Induced Blackout
• Alcohol Myopia
• Addiction and Dependency
• Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms and Detox
• How to Help a Friend
• Alcohol and Performance

How to Get Help

Oregon State University provides services depending on your needs. The up2u program at Student Health Services can provide you with information and consultation regarding alcohol and drug use. Staff of up2u can talk with you if you are concerned about a friend and are unsure about how best to help them. You may also meet with the clinical staff at Student Health Services at no charge. Counseling and Psychological Services offers free counseling for mental health and chemical-related issues. 

Please note that these services are available for OSU students only.

If you are injured or struggling with medical issues, whether or not they are related to your use of alcohol or drugs, Student Health Services is available to address your needs.

up2u
541-737-7564
up2u@oregonstate.edu
Student Health Services
315 Plageman Building

Student Health Services
541-737-9355
Plageman Building

Counseling and Psychological Services
541-737-2131
http://oregonstate.edu/counsel/
caps@oregonstate.edu
500 Snell Hall

Responsible Alcohol Use

Responsible alcohol use can include choosing not to drink alcohol (especially if you are under the age of 21) and/or choosing to consume a moderate amount of alcohol based on your size and gender. Here are some other ways to use alcohol responsibly.

• Know your limit. If you do not already know how much alcohol you can handle without losing control, try it out one time at home with your parents or friend present. Explain to them what you are attempting to learn. Most people find that no more than a drink an hour will keep them in control of the situation and avoid drunkenness. Have your parents or fried videotape you while you are attempting to see what happens when you consume more than the recommended one drink per hour.
• Eat food while you drink. It is particularly good to eat high protein foods such as cheese and peanuts, which help to slow the absorption of alcohol into the circulatory system. Many cultures consume alcohol only with food to prevent various problems.
• Sip your drink. If you gulp a drink for the effect, you are losing a pleasure of drinking, namely tasting and smelling the various flavors. This is particularly true for wine. It takes approximately 20 minutes to feel one drink.
• Accept a drink only when you really want one. At a party if someone is trying to force another drink on you, ask for ice or drink a non-alcoholic beverage. Keep count of the amount of drinks you've drank.
• Cultivate taste. Choose quality rather than quantity. Learn the names of fine wines, whiskeys, and beers. Learn what beverage goes with what foods.
• Skip a drink now and then. When at a party, have a nonalcoholic drink between the alcoholic one to keep your blood alcohol concentration down. Space your alcoholic drinks out to keep the desired blood alcohol concentration. Have one “drink” per hour (two at the most). Know that all drinks are not created equal. For example, a Long Island Iced Tea may have as many as 3 to 7 shots of alcohol, which can take as long as 2 to 6 hours to metabolize!
• Alcohol and sex don't mix. The mixture can lead to humiliation, regret, embarrassment, STDs, ore even pregnancy and sexual assault.
• Don’t take a drink from someone you do not trust with your life, literally. You never know what they have put in your drink, whether it is an extra shot or two of alcohol or something worse, like GHB or “rohypnol.” Also, beware of unfamiliar drinks, such drinks as zombies and other fruit and rum drinks can be deceiving, as the alcohol is not always detectable, and it is difficult to space them out.
• Drink with people you know and trust. Make sure that drinking improves social relationships rather than impairing them. Alcohol can affect someone’s mood and personality. Serve alcohol as an adjunct to an activity rather than as the primary focus.
• Don't drink and drive. Plan ahead for transportation; Use a designated driver, the Beaver Bus, or call a taxi. Have someone available who will not be drinking and will drive all drinkers home. Law enforcement on and surrounding the OSU campus is very strict when it comes to drinking and driving.
• Don't mix alcohol with other drugs. Drug interactions can have fatal consequences. Use alcohol carefully in connection with other drugs. This includes over-the-counter drugs such as energy drinks, sleeping pills and cold or cough medicines. Alcohol should be avoided while taking certain antibiotics, arthritic, anti-depressant, and many other prescription medications. Check with your physician or pharmacy before you drink while on any prescription drug. Using alcohol in combination with legal and/or illegal drugs can have varied effects based on synergistic tendencies.
• Respect the rights of individuals who do not wish to drink. It is considered impolite to attempt to get people to drink who do not wish to. They may abstain for religious or medical reasons, because they are recovering alcoholics, or they just may not like the taste and effect it has on them.
• Avoid drinking mixed drinks on an empty stomach on a hot day. This might produce hypoglycemia, which can cause dizziness, weakness, and mood change.
• Pair drinking with dining. If you know that you will have to drive after consuming alcohol, limit your consumption to no more than one drink an hour with your meal. This allows time for the alcohol to be burned up and for it to be absorbed slowly into the circulatory system. Consuming no more than one glass of wine, beer or mixed drink with a meal in a hour is generally safe for driving.
• Pregnant or think you might be? Alcohol goes straight from a mother's bloodstream to the unborn baby causing birth defects and other abnormalities.

Blood Alcohol Level (BAL)

A person's blood alcohol level (BAL) - also referred to as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) - indicates the amount of alcohol in their system. There are four factors that are the most important in determining how alcohol affects you or your friends. Understanding these factors can help you stay safe as well as help you understand how intoxicated a friend may be.

1. Gender

Women are affected by alcohol more so than men. Generally, women are smaller, have a higher percentage of body fat, and have less of the enzyme in their body that breaks down alcohol.

2. Weight

Given similar amounts of alcohol consumed, smaller people get more intoxicated than bigger people. However, your body fat percentage plays a role. The higher your body fat percentage, the more you will be affected by alcohol.

3. Drinking Rate

How fast you drink can greatly influence the effect of alcohol on your system. Think of your body like a funnel, no matter how fast you pour liquid into the funnel, it will only come out the bottom at a certain rate. If you pour too much, the funnel (your body) can overflow (alcohol poisoning). On average, it takes roughly 20 minutes for alcohol to get into your system once you drink it. It takes roughly 45-60 minutes for each standard drink to be removed from your body.

4. Quantity

The following all contain the same amount (0.5 ounce) of pure ethyl alcohol and are considered a standard drink:

• 12 oz. standard beer
• 10 oz. of most microbrews
• 8 oz. malt liquor
• 4-5 oz. table wine
• 2.5 oz. of fortified wine (i.e. Mad Dog)
• 1.25 oz. of 80 proof hard liquor
• 1.0 oz. of 100 proof hard liquor
• .75 oz. of 151 proof hard liquor (i.e. Bacardi 151)
• .50 oz. of 180 proof hard liquor (i.e. Everclear)

If you drink, keep to the ORANGE level

.02 - .03 BAL: Slight euphoria and loss of shyness, minimal loss of coordination, decreased reaction time.
.04 - .06 BAL: Relaxation, lower inhibitions, some impairment of reasoning and memory, lowering of awareness.

Be careful of the BLUE level

.07 - .09 BAL: Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, judgment and self-control.
.10 - .12 BAL: Significant impairment of motor coordination, judgment, balance, vision, hearing and
slurred speech.
.13 - .15 BAL: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control, blurred vision, loss of balance, anxiety,
perception is severely impaired.
.16 - .19 BAL: Nausea and more anxiety, appears as a “sloppy drunk.”

Keep out of the RED level

.20 BAL: Disoriented, needs help to stand or walk, nausea and vomiting, black out is possible.
.21 - .29 BAL: Mental, physical and sensory functions are severely impaired, risk serious injury.
.30 - .34 BAL: Stupor, may pass out, hard to awaken.
.35+ BAL: Coma and/ or death is possible.

The Drink Wheel

On-Line BAC Calculator
About Disclaimer
 

About the Drink Wheel 

 The Intoximeters Inc. "Drink Wheel"¹ is a form that you can fill out. Upon completion we will instantly compute your estimated blood/breath alcohol concentration ("BAC") based on the information that you have provided and return that estimate to you. It is presented as a public service to Intoximeters web site visitors. Its primary purpose is to provide useful information about the responsible use of alcohol. 

 Why is it called a "Drink Wheel"? 

 We call it the "Drink Wheel" because it is based on various paper and cardboard BAC calculators that are given out in alcohol awareness programs, some of which are in the form of a wheel that you can spin around to calculate your estimated BAC based on what and how much you have had to drink. 

 Disclaimer 

 It would be extremely foolish for us to pretend that our "Drink Wheel" can tell you what your BAC actually is, first because it would open us up to an incredible amount of potential liability and second if it really did work accurately there would be no need for anyone to buy the instruments that we make and sell. 

 A person's actual BAC is dependent on many complex factors, including their physical condition (body composition, health etc...) and what they have recently ingested (including food, water, medications and other drugs). This site includes a more detailed discussion of the Pharmacology and Disposition of alcohol in humans. 

 The results that are generated are rough estimates of an average healthy person's BAC assuming typical beverage sizes, recipes and alcohol content. The BAC estimates generated by the Drink Wheel should not be used to infer anyone's fitness to work, drive or perform any other task or duty. 

Alcohol Poisoning

Alcohol poisoning occurs when a person drinks enough alcohol to cause the central nervous system to dramatically slow down. Breathing and heart rate become slower and slower, the person loses consciousness and may slip into a coma and die. Alcohol poisoning is most likely to happen when someone drinks a large amount of alcohol very quickly. Because the liver can only process one drink per hour, a person's BAC can continue to rise for several hours reaching a potentially deadly level.

Remember CUSP

IF YOU SEE THESE SIGNS:

C - Cold, clammy, pale, or bluish skin
U - Unconscious (the person is semi-conscious or unconscious)
S - Slowed breathing (eight or fewer breaths per minute; eight or more seconds between breaths)
P - Pale

DO THIS:

• Call Emergency Medical Services (911 or 9-911 on campus) immediately
• Clear the person's airway
• Put the person on his/her side (prop up with pillows)
• Stay with the person until EMS takes over

Acute alcohol poisoning is an emergency. Make the call! Too much alcohol will kill a person. Never leave an intoxicated person alone.

What is the difference between a blackout and passing out?

"Blackouts" (alcohol-related memory loss) have occurred when a person has no memory of what happened while intoxicated. These periods may last from a few minutes to several hours. During a blackout, someone may appear fine to others; however, the next day s/he cannot remember parts of the night and what s/he did. The person having a blackout does not know it. The cause of blackouts is not well understood but may involve interference in short-term memory storage. Blackouts shouldn't be confused with "passing out," which happens when people lose consciousness from drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Losing consciousness means that a person has reached a very dangerous level of intoxication, could slip into a coma and could die. If someone has passed out and is nonresponsive, call EMS immediately (911). S/he needs immediate medical attention.

Alcohol Myths

There are many little known facts and many known myths about alcohol and its consumption.
Some of the myths include:

The worst thing that can happen is that I’ll pass out and have a hangover tomorrow.

The fact is that death can and does occur from drinking too much alcohol. This is known as alcohol poisoning or acute alcohol intoxication and occurs when the level of alcohol in the body acts as a poison, causing death from the drug overdose. Another way that alcohol can cause death is due to alcohol-related accidents, such as drunken driving, falls, and suicide.

People pass out from drinking all the time. It’s nothing to worry about.

The fact is that you pass out due to the body’s inability to tolerate the amount of alcohol that you have put into it. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that works to slow down the heart rate, lower your blood pressure, and slow your breathing rate. Once your brain has been depressed enough by the alcohol, you pass out. The amount of alcohol it takes to make you pass out is dangerously close to the amount of alcohol it takes to make you dead!

The best thing to do for someone who is drunk is to put them to bed and let them sleep it off.

Although this is partly true, the fact is that an intoxicated person is helpless and must be cared for. DO NOT LEAVE A DRUNK (INTOXICATED) PERSON ALONE! Stay with the person, check their breathing, check their skin temperature, and frequently try to wake them.

If my friend passed out, I wouldn’t call for help. I couldn’t live with myself if I got them in trouble.

The fact is that if you don’t call for help, your friend may not live to be mad at you. When someone passes out from drinking too much, they are unconscious and have consumed too much alcohol. This person is suffering from alcohol poisoning and needs medical attention.

The best cure for a hangover is …

Everybody has a favorite, but they all have one thing in common – they don’t work! Alleged methods for sobering up range from hot coffee to cold showers, from fresh air to food. The only effect these treatments can have is to produce a wide-awake drunk. An awakened drunk, feeling sobered up, may attempt to perform tasks such as driving, of which he/she is no more capable than the sleepy drunk is. Time is the only method of sobering up. There is no way to increase the oxidation rate – the rate at which the body naturally eliminates alcohol. What else works? Preventive medicine. If you don’t drink too much, you won’t get a hangover

People who drink too much only hurt themselves.

Drinkers hurt and endanger themselves, but they also endanger family, friends, employers, and strangers in the community.

“What a man! He’s still on his feet after a whole fifth.”

When we stop thinking of “it’s manly to drink too much,” we have begun to grow up. It’s no more impressive to over-drink than it is to over-eat. People who are able to out-drink others are often developing a tolerance for alcohol and become dependent on it.

Getting drunk is funny.

Maybe it’s funny in the movies or in jokes, but not in real life. Drunkenness is no funnier than any other illness.

If the parents don’t drink, the children won’t drink.

But the highest incident of alcoholism occurs among offspring of parents who are either non-drinkers or alcoholics. Perhaps the “extremism” of the parents’ attitudes is an important factor.

Alcohol warms the body.

Alcohol makes the drinker feel warmer because it causes blood to rise to the skin’s surface. However, when this happens, the body temperature is actually lowered because the surface heat is lost.

Mixing drinks causes greater intoxication.

Only the consumption of ethyl alcohol, the ingredient common to all alcoholic beverages, causes intoxication, not the mixing of drinks. A person may tend to consume more when there is a variety of drinks, but it is still only the total amount of ethyl alcohol that counts.

Alcohol is a stimulant.

Alcohol is not a stimulant. While in small quantities it may be initially stimulating or cause uninhibited behavior, it is actually a depressant. The first area of the brain alcohol affects is the area which regulates inhibitions, judgment, and self-control. It is the lack of such restraints that causes the apparently “stimulated” or uninhibited behavior and people may do things they might not otherwise do.

Party Hosting

Most people love to go to parties, and most find that parties are fun to give. The following tips for being a responsible host will give more pleasure to you and your guests.

• Plan people movement. Make sure that people can move around and meet each other. If it means putting the sofa in a corner, do so.
• The bartender. If you plan to have a friend act as "bartender," make sure that he or she is not an eager pusher who uses the role to put an extra shot in everyone's glass or keep filling up half empty cups with more beer.
• Pace the drinks. Serve drinks at regular, reasonable intervals. A drink-an-hour schedule usually means that good company prevails and you can avoid intoxication. Use small cups for beer drawn out of kegs rather than large ones.
• Don't double up. Many mature and wise people count and pace their drinks. If you serve doubles, they will be drinking twice as much as they planned. Doubling up is considered rude.
• Push the quality snacks. Make sure that people are eating along with drinking. Have plenty of high quality snacks such as cheese, meats, nuts, etc.
• Don't push the drinks. Let the glass be empty before you offer a refill.
• Include non-alcoholic beverages. Remember that many people do not drink and may be on medications or recovering alcoholics. Make sure that you have non-alcoholic drinks such as good quality soft drinks, pop, water and juice. Non-alcoholic wine is great for a formal dinner.
• Closing the party. Decide, in advance, when you want your party to end. At this time, stop serving alcohol and serve coffee and a substantial snack. This provides some non-drinking time before your guests drive home. Coffee does not “sober up” intoxicated people and neither do cold showers. All you get is a “wide awake and freezing drunk.”
• Don't allow intoxicated guests to drive home. If you find that one of your friends has consumed too much alcohol, let them sleep at your house, have someone else drive them home, or call a taxi.

If you do chose to drink, please do so in a responsible, safe, sensible, and healthy way. If the police come to your door because of a noise or other complaint, they will ask for you (the party host/resident of the home.) Think about how you want to represent yourself.

Adapted from Engs, R.C. Alcohol and Other Drugs: Self Responsibility. Tichenor Publishing Company, Bloomington, IN, 1987

Are You Concerned...

...About Your Own Use or That of a Family Member?

Employees are encouraged to seek assistance for controlled substance dependency problems through the University Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Evaluation, counseling and referral services are available to employees through this program, and assistance is provided on a confidential basis. The health benefits packages available to all university employees provide at least partial reimbursement for treatment and rehabilitation associated with substance abuse. Each new employee is invited to an orientation in which the EAP and health benefits provisions are discussed.

...About a Student?

• Is a student in your class or department?
• Missing classes
• Not turning in assignments
• Late for work
• “Checked out” or preoccupied
• Having mood swings
• Displaying erratic or different behavior than usual

They may have a substance abuse or mental health issue that is impairing their ability to learn.
As a caring adult you have the power to help a student who is struggling in the academic and personal realms. Students look to you for advice and information. You can be a resource for them. Feel free to call us to consult:

Student Health Services – Health Promotion Department
Robert Reff
Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator
OSU Student Health Services
Email: robert.reff@oregonstate.edu
Phone: 541-737-7564

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Snell Hall Fifth Floor
Phone: 541-737-2131
http://oregonstate.edu/counsel

The Benefits of Regular Striding

The following is a list of the "ABC’s of Regular Striding" or the "Top 26 Reasons to Get Your Move On!"

1. Appetite reduction
2. Burns calories
3. Cancer risk reduction - especially colon, breast, and several others
4. Decreases anxiety and tension
5. Enhances stamina and energy
6. Free and fun! All you need is a pair of shoes and a place to walk
7. Good cholesterol (HDLs) goes up and bad cholesterol (LDLs) goes down
8. Heart attack risk goes down
9. Improves muscle tone
10. Joints get more flexible and walking is easier on joints than running
11. Keeps your waistline slim and trim
12. Lowers blood pressure
13. Maintains cognitive function and helps mental awareness
14. New places - You can explore new places and paths on foot and vary your routes each day
15. Osteoporosis (bone density loss) is decreased
16. Pace - You can walk as fast or slow as you are able and you can increase your pace as you get healthier
17. Quick - You can go for many walks throughout the day in 10 minute stints
18. Reduces blood pressure
19. Slims your waist
20. Treats depression and helps with symptoms
21. Umbrellas make walking a year-round activity in our often wet-winter climate
22. Variety - In addition to walking, adding other fitness activities to your routine helps spice things up
23. Weight gain is controlled and often decreased
24. Xtra energy throughout the day
25. You’ll feel better about yourself and look better too
26. ZZZZZs - Helps improve sleep quality

Weekly Guidelines

Follow these suggested guidelines for a successful 6-week individual program.

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6

Week 1

GOAL: To measure the number of steps you currently take in a typical week.

WHAT TO DO: Put the pedometer on your waistband and reset it to “0” (refer to the handout “All About Pedometers” for more information).

• Go about your daily routines as you would normally.
• If possible, try to forget that you are wearing the pedometer.
• Don’t try to walk (or swim, bike, etc.) more than you do already.
• Record your daily steps in your tracking booklet.

Week 2

GOAL: To make an effort throughout each day to increase your steps; increase your daily steps by 1,000 steps from Week 1.

WHAT TO DO: Think about how you can incorporate more steps into your daily activities (refer to “Steppin’ It Up Throughout the Day”).

• In your typical daily routines, try to be aware of activities that can increase your steps.
• Record your daily steps in your tracking booklet.

Week 3

GOAL: To increase your daily steps by 1,000 from Week 2.

WHAT TO DO: Make time in your schedule to walk during breaks, lunch hours, or in the evenings, one to two times a week.

• Record your daily steps in your tracking booklet.

Week 4

GOAL: To increase your daily steps by 1,000 from Week 3.

WHAT TO DO: Think about trying to track your miles from one destination to another.

• Continue to record your daily steps in your tracking booklet.
• Look at the Activity Conversion Chart for new forms of physical activity and exercise that you might want to try.
• Here’s your chance to consider making goals to reach a destination.

Week 5

GOAL: Stay motivated and interested in your program.

WHAT TO DO: As workloads increase and midterms arrive, plan time for physical activity in your daily schedule.

• Increase daily steps by 1,000 from Week 4.
• Dedicate time to staying active and stress-free.

Week 6

GOAL: To add one new activity to your current exercise program (i.e. swim, bike). Your options for physical activity are limitless, so have fun.

WHAT TO DO: Begin to slowly orient yourself to new activities – starting slowly helps prevent injury and increases sustainability of chosen activity.

• Remember to record all of your physical activity in the tracking booklet.
• Keep the water coming and stretch.

Congratulations! You’ve made it to Week 6 of your program and chances are you are feeling pretty good about yourself and accomplishing some of your fitness goals. What’s even better news is that you are healthier, too! Walking is such a great way to reduce stress, increase fitness, and get your move on! We hope you continue to do so throughout the rest of the term and the rest of your life. Be sure to check back in with the Beaver Strides Coordinator to cash in on your prizes and talk about your success.

Walking Routes

All About Pedometers

What is a pedometer?

A pedometer is a small device that clips onto your waistband and counts the number of steps you take based on the number of hip swings and foot strikes. The pedometer was originally conceptualized by Leonardo DaVinci in the 15th Century!

Why use a pedometer?

Pedometers give you immediate feedback on your physical activity levels throughout the day. You can compare your levels from one day to the next and try to increase your step count for better physical fitness. One recommendation is that Americans walk 10,000 steps per day. Using a pedometer will show you if you’re on the mark or need to "step it up"!

When should I wear my pedometer?

All the time! Try to put it on as soon as you are dressed in the morning and wear it throughout the day for all your routine activities as well as during exercise. The pedometers we use are not waterproof, however, so be sure to take it off in the pool or shower.

How do I use my pedometer?

Clip the pedometer to your waistband or belt directly over your knee. Reset the counter by pushing the button. Test the pedometer by taking 10 steps and seeing if the pedometer records approximately 10 steps (9-11 steps is probably a normal reading but try moving the pedometer to increase its accuracy). At the end of the day record your steps on your tracking sheet.

What does my pedometer tell me?

After a week of wearing your pedometer you can average your daily step counts and see how many steps you take on the average day. If this number is below 10,000 you should try to increase your daily step counts so that you get closer and closer to 10,000 per day. This may take some time, especially if your initial average is below 2,500 steps per day. Remember to use gradual increases and build your stamina up over the course of several weeks.

Your pedometer will also point out which days of the week are most active for you and which are the least. If you join us for Move It Mondays you might notice your step count for Mondays is substantially higher than other days. If you spend the whole day Sunday sitting in the library doing homework your step count may be much lower for that day. Once you figure out which days are low step days you can try to add a few ten-minute walks to your routine or walk instead of drive to where you need to go.

Refer to "Step It Up Throughout the Day" for more tips on increasing your daily step count.

How do I properly care for my pedometer?

Be careful to not get the pedometer wet, or it will not function properly. The clips are not flexible, so do not force the pedometer onto your belt or waistband. Clipping your pedometer on a pocket is a good alternative.

Steps-to-Miles Estimates

So how many miles is that? The average person walks 2,000 steps to make a mile. Using that as a baseline you can figure out how many miles you’ve walked by looking at the steps on your pedometer.

• 500 steps = approximately ¼ mile
• 1,000 steps = approximately ½ mile
• 2,000 steps = approximately 1 mile
• 4,000 steps = approximately 2 miles
• 5,000 steps = approximately 2 ½ miles
• 10,000 steps = approximately 5 miles (This is the recommended amount of daily steps for Americans.)
• 20,000 steps = approximately 10 miles

To determine if these numbers are accurate for you, wear your pedometer while you walk one mile and see how close you are to 2,000 steps. This will help you achieve even greater accuracy.

Converting YOUR Steps to Miles

Because everyone varies in pace and stride length, here is a way to calculate your own personal steps to miles!

1. Wear the pedometer and walk one lap around a 400-meter track

2. 400-meter track locations:

• Corvallis High School: 836 NW 11th / Behind Fred Meyer)
• Crescent Valley High School: 4444 NW Highland

3. Multiply the number of steps you take in one lap (400 meters) by 4 to see how many steps you take in one mile.

4. Use this number to figure out total distance per day by dividing your total daily steps by the number of steps you take in one mile.

Example

Jan wears her pedometer for a walk around the quarter-mile school track and it counts 473 steps.

She multiplies 473 by four, to estimate that she takes about 1,892 steps a mile. (For easier math, she calls it 1900 steps)

On Monday evening, her pedometer reads 6,685 steps.

Jan divides 6,685 by 1900, and gets 3.5, or about three and a half miles walked.

How to Convert Your Average Steps to Miles

473 = Average steps for 1 lap around the track
X 4 = laps for one mile
1892 = 1900 for easier math

6685 = Number of steps on Monday
1900 = Number of steps taken in a mile

3.5 = 3½ miles walked on Monday

Step It Up Throughout the Day

Office Time

• Walk to deliver messages instead of e-mailing coworkers.
• Use a timer at your desk and set it for 45 minutes. When the buzzer goes off, take a brief walking break around the building or up and down the stairs a few times.
• Have walking meetings with coworkers.
• Use some of your lunch break time to take a walk.

Television Time

• Try to move during the commercial breaks (do sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, or jumping jacks). During a half-hour TV show there are about 10 minutes of commercials. An hour-long show has 20 minutes of commercials.
• Replace a half-hour of watching TV with a half-hour of walking instead!
• Change the channel manually rather than using the remote.

Car Time

• Replace one car trip with walking or biking each day. Most car trips are less than one mile anyway so you can walk about 2,000 steps instead of driving.
• Park your car farther away from where you are going. Don’t drive around looking for the closest parking spot to the entrance; park in the farthest spot and walk.
• Don’t use drive-through windows. Park your car and walk into the restaurant, bank, post office, pharmacy, etc. This usually saves you time anyway!

Social Time

• Walking and talking is a great way to catch up with friends while getting some exercise. Most people can easily carry on a conversation while walking and get some physical activity at the same time.
• Instead of going to dinner and a movie, go window shopping or walk around a museum instead.

School Time

• Take the long way to and from your classes.
• If you have a break between classes, skip the coffee break and go for a walk instead. You’ll feel better and have more energy and mental awareness for your next class.
• Ask your professor if you can have a walking meeting with them.
• If you’ve got a long day of studying ahead, set a timer for 45 minutes. Once the buzzer goes off get up and go for a 5- to 10-minute walk and then get back to work.

Home Time

• Clean the house; sweep, mop, vacuum etc.
• Rake leaves
• Take the dog for a walk, offer to take a friend’s dog for a walk, or accompany a dog-walker on their walk.

Exercise Time

• Try to increase your exercise time by 10 minutes.
• Add a 5-minute warm up walk and a 5-minute cool down walk to your exercise routine. This will help your muscles relax after an intense work out.
• If you can’t add time to your work out, try to increase your intensity. Run a little harder or walk a little faster than usual. Get your heart rate up a bit higher than normal.

Beaver Strides Steps Conversion Chart

For each activity, keep track of how many minutes you are exercising and multiply by the number of steps per minute to get a step total:

Step counts taken from America on the Move. More step conversions available from Take Steps.

Aerobic Exercise

Ever wonder what your target heart rate is or what intensity you should aim for while exercising? Thinking about the intensity and duration of physical activity can help you to achieve your fitness goals.

What is Aerobic Exercise?

The word aerobic literally means "with oxygen" or "in the presence of oxygen." Aerobic exercise is any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously for a long period of time and is rhythmic in nature. Aerobic activity trains the heart, lungs, and cardiovascular system to process and deliver oxygen more quickly and efficiently to every part of the body. As the heart muscle becomes stronger and more efficient, a larger amount of blood can be pumped with each stroke. Fewer strokes are then required to rapidly transport oxygen to all parts of the body. An aerobically fit individual can work longer, more vigorously and achieve a quicker recovery at the end of the aerobic session.

• Aerobic means "with oxygen" or "in the presence of oxygen"
• Aerobic activity or exercise is any activity that uses a large percentage of muscle mass, can be maintained for a prolonged period, is rhythmical and stimulates the heart, lungs, and muscles.
• Aerobic activity trains the heart lungs and cardiovascular system to process and deliver oxygen more quickly and efficiently to every part of the body.

Heart Rates

Resting Heart Rate (RHR) - The lowest rate your heart can attain, usually while asleep, a few hours before waking.

Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) - The fastest rate at which your heart can pump blood to the rest of the body. The maximum number of beats per minute that the heart can achieve during exercise, or its maximum work output. The "rule of thumb" method of determining MHR is 220 minus age (for males) and 226 minus age (for females). This is only an estimate; your true max may be as many as 15 beats higher or lower. This formula is used for activities during which your feet hit the ground (when cycling, subtract 5 beats; when swimming subtract 10 beats)

Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) - Your maximal heart rate minus your resting heart rate. It's the total "range of motion" for which you heart is currently capable.

Target Heart Rate (THR) - This is the sub-maximal heart rate zone within which you should train during aerobic activity, usually between 55 and 85 percent of Heart Rate Reserve (HRR). Refer to "Determining Your Target Heart Rate" to calculate to yours.

Are You Working Within Your Target Heart Rate?

Take pulse about every 15 minutes (you may need to slow down or even stop). You can also purchase a heart rate monitor. You can get a good monitor for around $60.00. (Cardio equipment in gyms now have HR monitors built in.)

Rating of Perceived Exertion - Created by Dr. Gunner Borg, it allows you to evaluate how you feel at various stages of exercise; helps you become attuned to your body.

The Talk Test - If you can talk comfortably while you are exercising, you are working with in your target zone. However, if you can sing the Phantom of the Opera, you need to step it up a bit!

Also take a look at Determining Target Heart Rate, Determining Exercise Intensity and Deciding Today's Intensity (all PDF files) for more information.

Warm Up and Cool Down

Are you turned off by exercise because of body aches and pains? Being sore from physical activity is a common reason why many people stop being active. "Warming up" your muscles before you get your move on and "cooling down" afterwards can minimize the discomfort of worked muscles. These are essential to any physical activity program and feel great too. Here are a few...

Benefits of Warming Up

• A warm-up consists of a slow-to-moderate intensity activity that is performed in order to gradually prepare the body to perform sustained activity.
• Gradually warms muscle temperature, decreasing the likelihood of injury and amount of work for active muscles.
• Gradually increases blood flow to the heart and other active muscles.
• Increases elasticity of connective tissue and other muscle components, and lubricates the joints.
• Reduces the chance of tightness and soreness post-exercise activity, and fatigue during higher level activity.
• Offers psychological preparation for chosen activity.
• Your response during warm-up determines the likelihood of your ability to complete the chosen activity.

Walking Warm-up

Begin by making sure you have the appropriate shoes and clothing on for walking, and if possible, have a watch on hand for timing the duration of your walk.

Warm-up for at least 5-10 minutes (taking into consideration the chosen activity, duration of activity, and personal warm-up needs)

Start out walking with hands at your sides, moving them as naturally as possible (2 or 4 minutes approx.)

• Pace will be slower-to-moderate and the focus is to acclimate yourself to being physical.
• Think about rhythmic or controlled breathing (i.e. in through the nose and out through the mouth).
• Slightly tighten your abdominal muscles to support good postural alignment.

Next, begin to pump arms* at your side increasing the pace to a more moderate intensity (about 3 to 6 minutes).

• Keep breathing and allow your upper body and arms to respond to the movement of your lower body.

Once the warm-up is complete, you are ready to enter the main part of the walking program.

• Try to remember breathing and postural cues while walking.

* Pumping arms requires the following:

• Bend at the elbows to create a 90-degree angle.
• Initiate a front-to-back movement of the arms from the shoulder joint.

Walking Cool-down

Begin by gradually decreasing the intensity and pace of your walk. At this point, you will be finished with the main part of your walking workout.

You will typically cool-down for at least 5-10 minutes, or for how ever long is necessary for you to decrease your heart rate and come to a more relaxed physical state

Begin by bringing your arms to your sides again (discontinue arm-pumping), swinging your arms from front to back as naturally as possible (2 or 4 minutes approx.)

• Pace will become slower and the focus is to achieve a more relaxed physical state.
• Think about rhythmic or controlled breathing (i.e. in through the nose and out through the mouth).
• Postural alignment is still important during cool-down.

Continue to slow the pace and recognize any areas that may be tight and whether or not your heart rate has sufficiently decreased (3 or 6 minutes approx.)

• Keep breathing and allow your upper body and arms to respond to the movement of your lower body.
• If your heart rate is still elevated or you do not feel more physically relaxed, continue to reduce the pace or stop and rest.

Once the cool-down is complete, you are ready to begin stretching and continue with other scheduled activities

• Remember to drink plenty of water to re-hydrate and keep yourself hydrated this also keeps you more flexible.
• Take breaks during the day to stretch and remain limber.

Shoe Tips

Do you get shin splints or shooting pains in your legs when you exercise? Choosing the right shoe is extremely important to successful walking. Wearing proper shoes can prevent injury and ensures a more comfortable physical activity experience. How you lace your shoes is another thing to consider when preparing to be active.

Picking Shoes and Laces: Things to Look For

• Comfort is of utmost importance
• Good toe room is highly important
• Sturdiness and support for your foot
• Durability of the shoe
• Price
• Availability of wide or narrow sizes
• Versatility: use your shoes for walking and for working/shopping

Shoe Trying Tips

• Bring the socks you generally wear walking to use while trying on the shoes.
• The right size for walking shoes will be a size to a size and a half larger than your dress shoes because your feet swell while walking.
• Try on shoes later in the day or right after walking so your feet will have swelled.
• Shoes should feel great when you put them on, don't buy them thinking you will "wear them in."
• If you have wide or narrow feet, look for a brand that has widths.
• If any part of your foot feels it is rubbing against a rough spot in the shoe or boot, try another pair or style. You are sure to get blisters otherwise.
• Get the right laces.
• If your laces are too long, replace them with shorter laces.
• Round laces seem to be more slippery than flat ones.
• Plastic or velcro lace lock can be used with your existing laces.

Know Your Knots

• Double-knot the bow. This is not a cure-all. Some walkers may need to triple- or quadruple-tie their shoes to keep them tied.
• Double-knot the bow and then tuck the laces (all four ends) under the crisscrossed laces toward the front of the shoe.
• First, tie your shoes as you normally do. Then, cross the laces. Then form a loop with each side like rabbits ears. Take one loop and wrap it twice around the other and pull tight. Tuck the laces in under one of the crossed laces. They will never come untied and as a bonus they also never knot and come undone when you pull either lace.
• Another knot: After forming the first loop go around it twice instead of only once before pulling the second loop through. The two times around the center of the knot keeps it from working untied.

Other Tricks

• Two words: duct tape. Run a piece of tape around the instep so it covers the laces. They don't become loose and the ends stay tucked under the tape.
• Squirt a little water on your shoelaces after they are tied; they should stay tied for the whole day.
• Sew them up with a needle and thread. Before you head out, tie your shoes and put the stitch through the lace knot, just 3 or 4 times. When finished with your outing, a strong tug will free them up.

Healthy Eating, Part 1

Want to eat healthy but afraid you'll be stuck eating celery stalks, lettuce sandwiches and cabbage soup? It doesn't have to be that hard.

Here are a few quick and easy suggestions to nudge you down the path towards healthier eating habits.

Remember: When you modify your eating behaviors, quick changes usually dont last. It should be a gradual, ongoing process. Try a few things for a while and then look for more ways to adjust.

• Drink more water and unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices rather than soda and sugary juice drinks
• Buy fresh fruits and veggies instead of canned
• Eat poultry, fresh fish and lean red meat (remove skin and excess fat)
• Try low-fat/non-fat dairy products such as yogurt, cottage cheese and milk (Hint: gradually reduce the % of fat rather than switching straight to non-fat. For example, drink 1% milk for a while, then move to ½% etc; it'll be less noticeable and more manageable)
• Try light ice-cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet or ice milk instead of ice cream
• Cook with canola or olive oil and light margarine rather than butter or animal fat oils
• Use condiments sparingly (most just add fat, sugar or sodium)
• Take your lunch
• Avoid vending machines, convenience stores and fast food
• Dont use vitamin and mineral supplements as a substitute for balanced meals
• Remember moderation (Avoid super size or value meals)
• Choose BBQ, sweet and sour, tomato, pesto or honey sauces instead of ranch, tarter or other cream sauces
• Broil or grill rather than fry
• Steam rather than boil vegetables
• Find low-fat/no-fat options that you can substitute without too much of a sacrifice (fat-free sour cream, cool-whip, croutons, refried beans, and low-fat cream soup for recipes)

Here are some more suggestions to improve your diet:

• Eat lots and lots of fruits and vegetables
  • Fruits and vegetables contain more nutrients and fewer calories than any other food groups.
  • In the Nurses Health Study of 74,000 women, it was found that those who gained the least weight as they grew older were those who consumed the most fruits and vegetables.
  • These are also the foods which protect against cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
  • Strive for 5 servings a day of fruits and vegetables as a bare minimum. Take carrots, apples, tangerines, and other easy packers with you in the morning. Keep kiwis, bananas, and green bell peppers on the counter. Have a salad AND a side of vegetables with your meals. It takes practice.
• Eat breakfast
  • Small frequent meals are linked to lower body weights than the same number of calories consumed in fewer, larger meals.
  • Alertness and test scores are higher when people have eaten breakfast than when they haven't.
  • Breakfast is an opportunity to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Recipe Ideas

Breakfasts

• Cold cereal, low fat milk, a banana, and ½ cup orange juice. (Look 2 fruits!)
• Old-fashioned oatmeal make with low fat milk & raisins, ½ cup OJ (2 fruits again!)
• Whole wheat toast with an egg and grilled tomato, ½ cup apple juice (Do egg & tomato in the same pan. 1 fruit & 1 vegetable!)

Lunch - Garden Deli Sandwich

• 4 Tbl. Light cream cheese
• 1 whole wheat Pita bread
• 8 cucumber slices
• 4 tomato slices
• 1 cup Romaine lettuce

Cut Pita bread in half. Spread cream cheese inside Pita bread. Add sliced vegetables and spouts. Serve with apple quarters or other fruit.

Dinner - Black Bean Quesadillas

• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbl. Salsa, thick and chunky
• ½ tsp. Onion powder
• ¼ tsp. Dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp. Garlic powder
• 2 tbl. Chopped green onion
• 4 flour tortillas (7 ½ diameter)
• 2 oz. Grated reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Mash beans. Add salsa, seasonings and onion. Mix well.

Microwave Oven: Spoon filling onto half of each tortilla. Top with cheese and fold each tortilla in half. Microwave on high for 60 seconds, rotating ¼ turn halfway trough cooking time.

Skillet or Griddle: divide filling onto 2 tortillas. Top with cheese and the remaining two tortillas. Spray griddle or skillet with non-stick cooking spray and brown quesadillas on both sides. Cut in half or quarters before serving.

Serve with sliced tomatoes and quartered kiwi fruit, or other fruit and vegetable.

Recipes adapted from Quick & Healthy by Brenda J. Ponichtera, MS RD.

Smoothie Recipes

Banana Strawberry Delight

• 1 banana
• ½ cup frozen strawnerries
• 3/4 cup soy milk

Creamy Pineapple Surprise

• 1/3 cup mango
• 2/3 cup canned pineapple
• ¼ cup frozen raspberries
• 1 ¼ cup soy milk

Peachy Keen

• 1 cup peaches
• ¼ cup raspberries
• 1 cup chilled peach juice
• ½ cup vanilla yogurt
• 3 ice cubes

Directions:

Put all ingredients into your blender. Blend on high power until smooth.

Additives:

Pump up the nutritional value of your smoothie with any of the following additives! (Please note: we do not personally guarantee the health benefits or the taste of any of the following; this list was made from visitor input.)

• 1 T. Wheat Germ
• ¼ c. uncooked oatmeal
• ¼ c. Post 100% bran cereal
• 1 T. Protein powder (try each variety: soy, rice, or dairy)
• Tofu
• Milk substituted for part of juice/lemonade
• Blackstrap molasses (extra iron)
• Brewer's yeast (protein)
• Spirulina or chlorella (vitamins)
• Flaxseed oil (omega-3 fatty acids)
• Bee pollen (amino acids)
• Psyllium husk powder (fiber)

Smoothie Website: www.smoothiecentral.com

Healthy Eating, Part 2

The DASH Diet

The DASH diet was devised to bring down high blood pressure, but it may improve health in many ways. Fruits and vegetables reduce the risk for some cancers. The calcium in dairy products can lower risk for osteoporosis and PMS. And a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol can reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

The DASH diet can't do it alone, though. It's important that you take other steps to preserve health, including exercising, not smoking and limiting alcohol.

The DASH Diet Guide:

Here are the number of servings you should consume daily from each food group. Serving amounts are based on a diet of 2,000 calories per day.

• Grains and grain products: 7 to 8 daily (1 slice bread, 1/2 cup cooked rice, 1/2 cup pasta)
• Fruits: 4 to 5 servings daily (1 medium fruit, 1/2 cup canned fruit, 6 oz fruit juice, apricots, bananas, grapes, oranges, grapefruit, melons, strawberries, kiwi, apples)
• Vegetables: 4 to 5 servings daily (6 oz. vegetable juice, 1 cup raw, leafy or 1/2 cup cooked vegetables; tomatoes, broccoli, peas, carrots, potatoes, squash, leafy greens)
• Dairy: 2 to 3 daily (8 oz. skim milk or yogurt, 1 cup soy milk, 1.5 oz low-fat cheese)
• Meats, poultry and fish: 2 or fewer daily (3 oz. fish, poultry or lean meat is a serving). Note: "2 or fewer" means that meat is not considered necessary.
• Seeds, legumes and nuts: 1-2 daily (2 tablespoons seeds [flaxseed, sesame, sunflower], 1/2 cup cooked legumes [kidney beans, lentils, soup beans], or 1/3 cup nuts or soy nuts.

If Cholesterol is a Concern

• Flax seeds, 2 teaspoons (ground up), added to meals
• When using fat, choose olive or canola oil, rather than butter or margarine
• When eating flesh, choose fish and poultry more than red meats
• Add soy protein to diet (25 grams/day) from soy nuts, soy milk, soy foods
• Drink green tea, grape juice or red wine (1/day only), onions and garlic in cooking

Weight Control Tips:

• Be active: walk, ride a bike, take the stairs, rake and mow, wash windows...
• Eat breakfast
• Flax seeds, 2 teaspoons (ground up), added to meals
• Seek out fruits and vegetables
• Don't drink your calories

Overcoming Barriers

Do you struggle to fit physical activity into your busy day? All of us have days when we just don't feel like exercising or lack the time in our schedules. It is easy to forget how great you feel after moving your body; especially when the rain starts or the couch seems to suck you in. Here you will find information to help you overcome your own personal barriers and to develop an action plan. Learn valuable "cues to action" to remind yourself that physical activity is for every body.

Lack of Time

• Monitor your daily activities for one week
• Identify 30-minute time slots that you could spend being active

OR

• Identify 3 times during the day where you spend 10 minutes being active
• Walk to work or school
• Organize social activities around physical activities
• Exercise during your lunch hour
• Walk the dog
• Park farther away from your destination

Bad Weather

Make a list of activities that are available regardless of the weather that could include:

• Mall walking
• Stair climbing
• Indoor cycling
• Indoor Swimming
• Raquetball
• Rollerblading/rollerskating
• Put on your rain jacket and layer your clothes for an outdoor adventure!

Motivation

• Plan ahead and make activity a top priority in your day
• Schedule physical activity into your daily schedule
• Join a class with others
• Call a friend and go walking together

Lack of Energy

• Schedule physical activity for times in the day or week when you feel energetic.
• Convince yourself that if you give it a chance, exercise will increase your energy level, and then try it.

Family Responsibilities

• Incorporate children into your exercise program
• Run around the playground with kids
• Play tag with children
• Make exercise a family affair
• Trade babysitting time with a friend who also has children

Lack of Skills

"Most everyone developed a physical activity skill around the age of 1 year. It's called walking." - Active Living Alliance

Select other activities that require no special skills such as:

• Jogging
• Climbing stairs
• Hiking
• Start out slowly
• Choose a physical activity that is realistic and doable
• Take a class to develop new skills

Access and Resources

• Select activities that require minimal facilities or equipment
• Identify convenient resources available in your community such as:
  • Parks and Recreation programs
  • Worksite programs
  • Check out workout videos from the library
  • Tune into early morning exercise programs on television

Fear of Injury or Pain

• Start slowly!
• Gradually strengthen your muscles and build endurance
• Learn to properly warm up and cool down in order to prevent injury
• Learn to exercise appropriately considering your age, fitness level, and health status
• Choose activities involving minimal risk
• Check with your doctor about your level of physical activity

Fear of Embarrassment

• You don't look strange when you exercise, you look like a person who is taking positive steps toward better health
• You don't have to wear shorts or other revealing types of workout clothes; wear long sweats and a T-shirt or sweatshirt
• Find a friend to go with you, you will be less embarrassed if you have a partner
• Walk on a track instead of on the sidewalk

Social Influences

• Explain your interest in physical activity to friends and family, ask them to support your efforts
• Invite friends or family to exercise with you
• Develop new friendships with physically active people
• Join a group such as the YMCA or a walking club

Beaver Strides is a great first step to overcoming your barriers!

Stress Reduction

Do you get stressed out from the pressures of work or school? As a society, we are constantly on-the-go and busy with the daily events in our lives. Sometimes we forget to take time out of our day to de-stress, relax and breathe. Learn some easy and simple exercises to reduce the stress in your life.

Meditation

Meditation is an English approximation for the Sanskrit word dhyana, which means an unbroken flow of thought toward and object of concentration. The object of meditation might be a word, a picture, an image, a concept, or the breath. If the object of meditation is a word, you start by concentration on that word. As your concentration deepens, your mind flows continually toward this word. As you move deeper into meditation, your mind becomes totally absorbed in that word.

During meditation, the thinking process is stilled. The mind becomes quiet, providing profound rest for the mind, with the result that it returns to thought refreshed and revitalized. Meditation is the finest method for creating mental relaxation.

There are misunderstandings about meditation. Often when we hear the word, we think of the dictionary definition to think deeply or ponder some subject. But here we are referring to a distinct process for working with the mind, not a type of thinking. Meditation is conscious effort to focus the mind in a nonanalytic manner and to move away from thinking about things.

Another misunderstanding arises from the association between meditation and mystical practices of an ascetic lifestyle. But meditation can be effectively practiced by people richly involved with life who want to experience optimal health and well-being.

Research studies have consistently shown that people who practice meditation, their psychological well-being improves. Meditations experience improved self-esteem, decreased anxiety and depression, higher levels of self-actualization, and better overall health.

Total Relaxation: Healing Practices for Body, Mind and Spirit by John R. Harvey, Ph.D.

Deep Breathing Exercises

Background

Breathing exercises have been an integral part of mental, spiritual and physical development in the orient and India for centuries. Westerners have only recently become aware of the importance of correct breathing habits.

Effectiveness

Breathing exercises have been found to be effective in reducing anxiety, depression, irritability, muscular tension and fatigue. They are used in the treatment and prevention of breath-holding, hyperventilation, shallow breathing, and cold hands and feet.

Time for Mastery

Breathing exercises can be learned in a matter of minutes. Full appreciation of the effects of deep breathing may take a matter of months.

Deep Breathing

1. Lie down on a soft blanket or rug on the floor. Bend your knees and move your feet about eight inches apart, with your toes turned outward slightly. Make sure that your spine is straight.
2. Scan your body for tension.
3. Place one hand on your abdomen and one hand on your chest.
4. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose into your abdomen to push up your hand as much as feels comfortable. Your chest should move only a little and only with your abdomen.
5. When you are at ease with your breathing, smile slightly and inhale through your nose and exhale through you mouth, making a quiet, relaxing, whooshing sound like the wind as you blow gently out.
6. Your mouth, tongue and jaw should be relaxed.
7. Take long, slow, deep breaths which raise and lower your abdomen.
8. Focus on the sound and feeling of breathing as you become more and more relaxed.
9. At the end of each breathing session, take a little time to once more scan you body for tension.
10. Compare the tension you feel at the conclusion of the exercise with how you felt when you began the exercise.
11. As you become more comfortable with deep breathing, you can practice it whenever you feel like it during the day whether you are sitting or standing.
12. Practice your deep breathing anytime you start to feel tense.

Progression

• Start out your exercises by deep breathing for 5 to 10 minutes once or twice a day, for a couple of times a day.
• As you become more comfortable in your breathing you can extend this period as you see fit.

Progressive Relaxation

What is Progressive Relaxation?

Background

• Developed by Edmund Jacobson, a Chicago physician
• Is a deep muscle technique that requires no imagination, willpower, or suggestion
• Based on the premise that the body responds to anxiety-provoking thoughts and events with muscle tension
• By relaxing the deep muscles, one reduces physiological tension
• Regular practice blocks the habit of responding to stressful situations with anxiety and tension

Practical Use

• Reduces pulse rate and blood pressure
• Decreases perspiration and respiration rates
• Can be used as an anti-anxiety pill

Time For Mastery

• One to Two Weeks
• Two 15 minute sessions per day

Focus Areas:

During the progressive muscle relaxation exercise, we will be focusing on four major muscle groups:

1. Hands, forearms, and biceps
2. Head, face, throat and shoulders, including concentration on forehead, cheeks, nose, eyes, jaws, lips, tongue, and neck. Considerable attention is devoted to your head, because from the emotional point of view, the most important muscles in your body are situated in and around this region.
3. Chest, stomach, and lower back
4. Thighs, buttocks, calves, and feet.

Instructions

• Begin by practicing deep breathing exercises, to relax your mind and body
• Turn off or dim the lights
• Play some soothing music
• Keep your eyes closed

Relaxing expressions to ponder when de-stressing:

• Let go of tension
• Throw away the tension I am feeling calm and rested
• Relax and smooth out the muscles
• Let the tension dissolve away

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercises

Hands, Fists, Forearms

• Get into a comfortable position in your chair and relax
• Clench your right fist, tighter and tighter
• Notice the tension in your fist, hand, and forearm
• Now relax...
• Repeat the entire procedure with your left fist
• Repeat the entire procedure with both fists

Biceps

• Bend your elbows
• Tense your biceps as hard as you can
• Observe the feeling of tautness
• Relax and straighten out your arms
• Let the relaxation develop and feel the difference
• Repeat this and all succeeding procedures at least once

Forehead

• Turn attention to your head
• Wrinkle your forehead as tight as you can
• Now relax and smooth it out
• Let yourself imagine your entire forehead and scalp becoming smooth and at rest
• Now frown and notice the strain spreading throughout your forehead
• Let go; Allow your brow to become smooth again

Eyes

• Close your eyes now and squeeze them tightly
• Relax your eyes
• Let them remain closed gently and comfortably

Jaw

• Now clench your jaw, bite hard; notice the tension throughout your jaw
• Relax the jaw
• When the jaw is relaxed, your lips will be slightly apart
• Let yourself appreciate the contrast between tension and relaxation
• Now press your tongue to the roof of your mouth
• Feel the ache in the back of your mouth
• Relax
• Press your lips now, purse then into an O
• Relax your lips
• Notice that your forehead, scalp, eyes, jaw, tongue, and lips are all relaxed

Neck and Shoulders

• Press your head as far back as it can comfortably go and observe the tension in your neck
• Roll your head slowly to the right and feel the changing locus of stress
• Roll your head slowly to the left
• Straighten your head and bring it forward
• Press your chin against your chest
• Feel the tension in your throat and in the back of your neck
• Relax, allowing your head to return to a comfortable position
• Let the relaxation deepen
• Now, shrug your shoulders
• Keep the tension as you hunch your head down between your shoulders
• Relax your shoulders
• Drop them back and feel the relaxation spreading through your neck, throat and shoulders
• Pure relaxation, deeper and deeper

Breathing

• Give your entire body a chance to relax
• Feel the comfort and the heaviness
• Now breathe in and fill your lungs completely
• Now exhale; let your chest become loose and let the air out with a hiss
• Continue relaxing; letting your breath come freely and gently
• Repeat this several times, noticing the tension draining from your body
• As you exhale, tighten your stomach, pushing your hands up
• Hold this and then relax
• Arch your back without straining
• Keep the rest of your body as relaxed as possible
• Focus on the tension in your lower back
• Now relax deeper and deeper

Buttocks and Thighs

• Tighten your buttocks and thighs
• Flex your thighs by pressing down your heels as hard as you can
• Relax and feel the difference
• Now curl your toes downward; making your calves tense
• Study the tension
• Relax
• Now bend your toes towards your face, creating tension in your shins
• Relax again

Notice, how your whole body feels relaxed and heavy at the end of the entire exercise; the more you let go of stress, the more relaxed and loose each muscle group becomes.

Stress Reduction Tips

Stress is a huge topic - after all, you can have stress from virtually every area of your life. So boiling a list of tips down to two pages is quite a challenge! To meet this challenge, three tips will be placed into each of several wellness categories. You are probably doing really well in some of these areas, already, but not all of them. The areas in which you are not doing so well can serve as a starting point for your own stress reduction program.

Physical

• Take care of yourself! This is the stuff youve always heard about but a reminder never hurts: Eat a diet that is high in fiber (fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes); relatively low in fat (15 to 30 percent of daily calories); and moderate in sugar and salt.
• Exercise - move as much as you can. Your body needs three kinds of exercise for optimal health: strength, flexibility and aerobic. If you need help in any of these areas, please ask!
• Medical Self-Care: See a medical practitioner for any medical need you may have.

Emotional

• Reduce stress. Not only do you need to address all areas to reduce the amount of stress you experience, but you also need some specific activities that reduce the effects of stress. Thats called: Sress Reduction. Learn some stress reduction skills: deep breathing, progressive relaxation, cognitive restructuring.
• Take care of your internal environment by listening to your feelings, validating them and working to change the ones that are painful.
• Get help if you need it!

Social

• Listen! Theres nothing better for relationships - any relationships - than listening!
• Work on your communication. The better you communicate, the better are your relationships.
• Be willing to admit your mistakes - people will respect you even more for it.

Life in General

• Learn how to balance all areas of your life. When you spend too much of your time in one area (e.g., work), another area inevitably suffers (e.g., relationships).
• Time is one of your most precious resources; learn how to budget it so that your priorities are apparent.
• Deep breathe...when you find yourself getting anxious or depressed. Do this before you decide on any course of action.

Sexy Communication Tips

Communication is vital in a healthy sexual relationship, but how do we communicate? What is good communication?

Good communication helps you know what your partner likes and dislikes: Ask what turns your partner on. Likewise, your partner won’t know what you like unless you voice your needs and desires.

Safer sex: Talk with your partner about your preferred method of protection from STIs and pregnancy prevention.

It is important to talk about your sexual history: This can be a good way to figure out if you are at a higher risk for STIs/STDs. You can also talk about whether or not you or your partner have been tested recently.

Consent is sexy: Be sure that you and your partner are on the same page about what activities you are going to enjoy together, and tell your partner if you don’t feel ready to do something. You always have the right to say no. 

Speak for yourself rather than the other person: Approach it this way: "I want to be sure to protect myself AND you." Very few people are going to think it’s a bad thing.

Plan when to have the conversation: NOT IN BED! Not during the act. Here are some example conversations to get you started.

Think before you talk: What do you want, what are your limits, how you are going to protect yourself?

Think talking about sex beforehand will ruin the mood? Think again. It can be a turn on for many people!

Talking about the basics can lead to other topics: It can open the discussion to experimentation and fantasies.

Once you’ve talked about your limits and protection, the real fun begins!

Communication is the best sexual technique – the best way for both parties to get what they want from the sexual relationship.

Be prepared for denial or rejection: You haven’t "lost" anything, just count it as practice.

Practice beforehand what to say to a partner about safer sex: Some people practice on friends or in front of a mirror.

Negotiating with a partner can be awkward at first, but it gets easier.

Consent is Sexy

Consent is a crucial part of every sexual relationship. Even in a long-term, committed, and monogamous relationship, consent must be acquired from both partners before every sexual act. Below is a list of some important aspects of consent. Consent is fun, and can be a sexy part of your bedroom (or other location) adventures!

Consent is “Free,” “Knowing,” and “Enthusiastic”

What is “free” consent?

In a healthy sexual relationship, free consent is given without coercion or threat. Neither partner feels endangered, bullied, or pressured to engage in sexual activity.

What is “knowing” consent?

Knowing consent is given when both parties are aware of the sexual act at hand. Each person is aware of what the other desires in that situation. When someone is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, (s)he is not able to give consent.

What is “enthusiastic” consent?

Enthusiastic consent is expressed through a sincere and excited “yes.” The person genuinely wants to engage in the sexual activity being suggested. Silence or passivity does not imply consent.

Consent is an Ongoing Process

This point is critical to remember. If at any point during the sexual activity one partner feels uncomfortable or does not wish to continue, (s)he has every right to stop the activity. Consent needs to be given before each act and any participant can say “stop,” no matter how excited they seemed about it in the beginning, or how long the two people have been together. No matter how strong the man or woman’s sexual desire, they are responsible for respecting boundaries and maintaining clear communication with their partner. If one partner says “stop” or “no”, their partner must respect their wishes, regardless of how much (s)he wishes to continue. Sexual encounters fundamentally rely on this communication.

Consent Must Be Obtained for Every Sexual Act

Moving from one sexual act to another still requires consent. For example, if two people are engaging in oral sex and one partner wishes to switch to vaginal sex, that partner must obtain consent from their partner to switch to that new activity. Just because (s)he had received consent for oral sex does not mean (s)he obtained consent for vaginal sex. Consent is never implied.

Furthermore, consent needs to be renewed. Simply because two people have had sex before or are in a long-term, committed relationship does not mean that each person has obtained consent for the rest of the relationship. It must be given before every sexual act.

Consent Can Be Fun!

In fact, many people find it sexy. This is the fun part of sex; you get to talk about what you want to do and how you want to do it. You can be creative! Some examples of what your partner might like to hear are:

• “Wanna have sex?”
• “I’d really like to _____. Would you be into that?”
• “Would _____ feel good to you right now?”

These phrases are only examples. To find the best option, ask your partner what phrase(s) they find attractive when being asked for consent. It can become part of foreplay! Remember, communication is the best sexual technique and is the easiest way for both people to get what they want from the sexual experience.

Initiating Consent and Understanding the Response

Once a person has asked for consent from their partner, the next step is receiving it. It is important to watch and listen carefully to your partner’s response after asking if they would like to engage in a certain sexual activity. Silence or passivity does not imply consent.

Below are responses that indicate a clear “no”:

• Clear “no” non-verbal cues: pulls away, unresponsive, tense
• Clear “no” verbal cues: silence, “No,” “Um,” “Nah, I’d rather ____,” “I’m not comfortable with that,” “Let’s go to sleep.”

These responses are more ambiguous, or may be difficult to understand:

• Ambiguous non-verbal responses: distracted, uncomfortable, spacing out, mixed signals, passive, hesitant
• Ambiguous verbal responses: “Maybe,” “I don’t know,” “I’m tired,” “I’m on my period,” “I guess,” “Sure,” “Okay,” “Yup.”

A clear “yes” response might include one of these:

• Clear “yes” non-verbal cues: enthusiastic, actively interested and attentive
• Clear “yes” verbal cues: “Yes!” “I want you now!” “I’m so into that!”

If at any point you are unsure what your partner’s response means, simply ask.

Alcohol and Consent

Alcohol and consent falls under Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 163.315*. Intoxication prohibits consent.  If your partner has consumed alcohol and/or drugs, their “yes” for consent may not be reliable permission. If they seem too impaired to understand what is going on, do not engage in any sexual activity. If you, or your partner, are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs you are still required to obtain consent before engaging in any sexual activity.

Age of Consent

The age of consent falls under ORS 163.345*. The legal age to give consent in the United States is 18 years old. In Oregon, it is legal for two people to engage in sexual activity under the age of eighteen if the two people are less than three (3) years apart.

*Oregon Revised Statues can be found at http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors

Support Resources

If you have had an unwanted sexual experience, these organizations can help:

• OSU Sexual Assault Support Services: 541-737-7604
• Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence: 541-754-0110

Works Cited:

• http://healthcenter.ucdavis.edu/pdf/communication-web.pdf
• http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/aclimit.pdf
• http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors
• http://www.womens.cusu.cam.ac.uk/consent

Healthy Relationships

Here are important things to keep in mind for your relationship health:

Take the time to be there: It is important to make quality time for the other person. Try turning off the TV and going for a walk with your partner, or relax on the couch and just talk.

Actively listen to your partner: Show interest by asking questions, or just being a sympathetic listener.

Balance your relationship with your other obligations: Be honest about your priorities, and follow through with your commitments.

Let your partner know about the good things, too: Point out positives as well as negatives; it helps to show that you see the things they do right, not just what they do wrong.

No two people are the same: Be willing to make compromises with your partner, but remember that you have a right to stick to your values and beliefs.

Make sure your needs are met, too: You deserve to get what you want from the relationship, and from the other person.

Your partner is human: They can’t always meet all of your needs. Sometimes you have to look outside the relationship for more emotional support, or just someone to vent to about homework. Maintaining other friendships is still important while in a relationship.

Keep your expectations of the other person realistic: Don’t expect the other person to change who they are. Also don’t expect them to know what you are feeling or what you need before you tell them (they aren’t a mind reader). But don’t let your expectations be too low, you deserve someone who respects you and your values.

No one is born an expert: Relationships take practice, and each one is different.

Be yourself: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss

Talk with each other: Good communication is essential for a healthy relationship.

Sexy Role Play

Here are some tips to boost your confidence in negotiating safer sex.

• Talk to your partner about using protection before getting intimate: This will help you both be more comfortable and prepared to use a condom or dental dam when the time comes.
• Practice makes perfect: The best way to learn how to use condoms correctly and guarantee their effectiveness is to practice putting them on yourself or your partner.
• If you are concerned about the interruptions of using either condoms or dental dams, try to incorporate them into your foreplay. By helping your partner put on protection together, you both will stay aroused without spoiling the moment.
• Remember that you can get FREE condoms, dental dams, female condoms, finger cots, lubrication, sexual health information and resources at Student Health Services, Room 310, as well as Condom Hot Spot locations on campus.
• It might be helpful to have condoms/dental dams around, so when thing start to really heat up, you will be ready.

Source: modified from www.everything-condoms.com

Some Sexy Role Play Examples

There are several strategies you can employ when trying to get your partner to use a barrier method:

Strategy #1: Respect – Acknowledge your partner’s concerns.

If your partner says... “Condoms ruin sex for me; I just can’t feel anything with those things.”

Possible response... “I understand what you’re saying, and I want you to enjoy our time together. Could we try using lubricant to see if that helps?”

Strategy #2: Education – Be knowledgeable about sexual risks.

If your partner says... “I wouldn’t care even if you did have the virus, we’ve had sex before and I’ve never got it; it’s my decision.”

Possible response... “I’ve been trying to educate myself about this virus, and I now regret that we ever had unprotected sex. Using latex is for the protection of both of us, so it’s not just your decision. Actually, it’s possible that either, or both of us, already have the virus because it might take up to six months for the test to say we’re HIV-positive. It’s also possible for us to give each other different kinds of infections that we may not even know we have.”

Strategy #3: Perseverance – Offer an alternative point of view when faced with resistance.

If your partner says... “Oral sex is safe. I don’t think either of us wants to be covered in latex for oral sex.”

Possible response... “On the other hand, why take chances with our health. Actually research has shown that oral sex isn’t as safe as it was once believed to be. We’ve never used flavored condoms for oral sex. It could be fun. Maybe we should give it a try.”

Strategy #4: Eroticizing latex – Incorporate latex into loving making.

If your partner says... “Stopping to put on a condom ruins the mood; it really turns me off.”

Possible response... “I know ways to use condoms that will actually get you more turned on. Let me show you.”

Strategy #5: Bargain – Reach a mutually satisfying outcome.

If your partner says... “I want to have sex with you, but I don’t want to use a condom.”

Possible response... “I want to have sex with you, too. So we definitely want the same thing. So why don’t we try using the lubricant with the condom to see if we can make it feel good for you? That way we’ll both get what we want and in the process we’ll be showing that we care about each other’s health.”

Sources: Casey, M.K., Timmermann, L., Allen, M., Krahn, S., Turkiewicz, K.L. (2009). Response and Self-Efficacy in Condom Use: A Meta-Analysis of this Important Element of AIDS Education and Prevention. Southern Communication Journal, 74(1), pp. 57-78. Lam, A.G., Mak, A., Lindsay, P.D., Russell, S.T. (2004). What Really Works? An Exploratory Study of Condom Negotiation Strategies. AIDS Education and Prevention, 16(2), pp 160-171.

Sexual Health Bill of Rights

It’s up to you to get what you want from sex and to avoid what you don’t want. Get to know yourself, and know your body. Know what you want out of the sexual relationship. What do you find sexually appealing? What feels good to you? What are your limits? Know what kinds of things you are willing to participate in and what things you won’t within a sexual relationship.

Create your own Sexual Health Bill of Rights. Here are some examples:

• I have the right to own my own body.
• I have a right to my own feelings, beliefs, opinions and perceptions.
• I have a right to trust my own values about sexual conduct.
• I have a right to set my own sexual limits
• I have a right to say no.
• I have a right to say yes.
• I have a right to experience sexual pleasure.
• I have a right to remain celibate.
• I have a right to be sexually assertive.
• I have a right to be the initiator in a sexual relationship.
• I have a right to be in control of my sexual experiences.
• I have a right to have a loving partner.
• I have a right to my sexual orientation and preferences.
• I have a right to have a partner who respects me, understands me, and is willing to communicate with me.
• I have a right to talk to my partner about incest/child sexual abuse/rape.
• I have a right to ask questions and receive accurate sexual information.

Safer Sex Learning Module

Barrier Methods

Barrier methods of contraception offer different levels of protection. Some protect only against unwanted pregnancy; others protect only against sexually transmitted infections (STIs); and some protect against both STIs and pregnancy.

How to Use a Male Condom

The male condom is rolled over the erect or hardened penis. 

1. Condoms should not be used with oil-based lubricants such as petroleum jelly, Vaseline, or mineral and vegetable oil. Such lubricants damage the condom.
2. Check the expiration date and make sure the package is still airtight. Open carefully.
3. Make sure the rim of the rolled up condom is facing outward and place it on the head of the penis/object.
4. Pinch the tip to leave room for ejaculate.
5. Roll condom to base of penis/object.
6. Enjoy the action. When finished, hold base of condom while pulling out.
7. Remove condom and throw in trash (do not flush).

Remember, practice is important to ensure proper use!

How to Use a Female Condom

Remove the condom from its package and rub the outside of the pouch together to be sure the lubrication is evenly spread within it. Be sure that the inner (smaller) ring is at the bottom (closed) end of the pouch, and then hold the pouch with the open (larger) end hanging down.

Squeeze the inner ring with the thumb and middle finger, and then insert it and the pouch into the vaginal opening. With the index finger, push the inner ring and pouch all the way up into the vagina against the cervix

The penis should be guided into the condom in order to ensure that it does not slip into the vagina outside of the condom. After intercourse squeeze and twist the outer ring gently and then pull the condom out keeping the semen inside. Then simply discard as you would a male condom.

Remember, practice is important to ensure proper use!

Other Barrier Methods

• Dental dam
• Surgical gloves
• Finger cots

Hormonal Methods

Hormonal methods of contraception protect against unwanted pregnancy, but not sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Here is information on each form of hormonal contraception.

The Pill (Oral Contraceptives; Birth Control Pills)

• Combined effects of synthetic hormones called estrogen and progestin.
• Estrogen decreases production of the hormone that helps develop the ova within the ovaries.
• Progestin prevents the proper growth of the uterine lining and thickens the cervical mucus forming a barrier against sperm.
• Pills can be progestin only or a combination of estrogen and progestin.

The Shot (Depo-Provera)

• Injectable progesterone that lasts for three months and prevents ovulation.

The Patch (Ortho Evera)

• Worn for a week at a time for three weeks, then no patch for three weeks.
• Can be worn on the buttocks, abdomen, upper torso or upper arm.

The Ring (NuvaRing)

• Inserted into the vagina and left in place for three weeks.

Emergency Contraception

• Combination progestin and estrogen or just progestin; but it’s concentrated enough to interrupt a women’s normal hormonal patterns and prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse has already occurred.
• Works better if taken right away, but can be taken for up to five days after unprotected sex.
• Progestin only pill (Plan B) reduces risk of pregnancy by 89 percent.
• Combined pills reduce the chances by 75 percent.
• Is available over the counter at the SHS Pharmacy.

Why MARS?

Reproductive health funding and services have historically targeted females. This focus has been successful in reducing teen pregnancy and some sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates significantly. However, the United States continues to have epidemic proportions of unintended pregnancies and STIs, including HIV/AIDS. While studies have shown that men have different attitudes and expectations than women about healthcare, they still have reproductive health concerns and needs.

Statistics confirm these needs:

• Less than 25 percent of American males are sexually experienced by age 15, but by age 20, 9 out of 10 males have had intercourse. (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2002)
• By their late teenage years, just over 2 in 10 sexually experienced men have had only one partner, and almost 3 in 10 have had six or more. (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2002)
  Forty-three percent of a sample of college males reported using condoms incorrectly. (Crosby et al, 2002)
• Over the past 36 years, on average only 2-4 percent of Title X family planning clinic patients have been males. (Department of Health and Human Services, 2003)

Information and Appointments

To setup an individual appointment with a MARS outreach worker, call the Health Promotion Department at 541-737-2775 and let them know you would like to make an appointment with MARS. If you have any other questions, MARS outreach workers can also be contacted directly by e-mail at mars@oregonstate.edu.

To request a presentation for your class or organization by a MARS outreach worker, use the online Program Request Form.

Health Promotion Department
OSU Student Health Services
310 Plageman Building
Corvallis, OR 97331
Phone: 541-737-2775
Email: mars@oregonstate.edu

MARS Outreach Workers

The MARS outreach workers are male college students. They have been carefully selected to work for the MARS program based on their leadership skills and strong belief in the MARS mission and goals. The MARS outreach workers receive a comprehensive four-day training on the field of sexuality and the MARS curriculum. In addition, they receive regular updates on current sexuality information.

Information and Appointments

To setup an individual appointment with a MARS outreach worker, call the Health Promotion Department at 541-737-2775 and let them know you would like to make an appointment with MARS. If you have any other questions, MARS outreach workers can also be contacted directly by e-mail at mars@oregonstate.edu.

To request a presentation for your class or organization by a MARS outreach worker, use the online Program Request Form.

Health Promotion Department
OSU Student Health Services
310 Plageman Building
Corvallis, OR 97331
Phone: 541-737-2775
Email: mars@oregonstate.edu

Pregnancy

Symptoms of Pregnancy

The most commonly observed symptom is a missed menstrual period. Other early symptoms of pregnancy may include:

• Light period or intermenstrual spotting
• Frequent urination
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Breast tenderness or enlargement
• Increased or decreased appetite

Remember, you can become pregnant at almost any time: even during your menstrual period. No birth control method is 100 percent effective, especially if used incorrectly or inconsistently. The only way to be certain whether or not you a pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. If you think you might be pregnant, arrange for a test with a SHS gynecologist.

The Student Health Center uses tests that detect pregnancy by measuring Human Chorionic dotropin (HCG) in the urine or the blood as early as 10-12 days after conception. If you are using a hormone birth control method (pills, deprovera, Norplant) and you miss a period, see a practitioner before doing a pregnancy test.

“So, am I pregnant?”

Most of the time we can answer either “Yes” or “No.” Occasionally, the test may have to be repeated to provide a conclusive answer because initial tests, if done too soon, may fail to detect pregnancy.

If you are pregnant, we will discuss your choices with you (or with you and your partner). Counseling is provided for prenatal, adoption, or abortion referral.

Feel free to contact us with your questions, concerns or to arrange for a test. All information is confidential.

Cigarettes

Health Risks

Smoking is the single greatest avoidable cause of disease and death. Every year about 438,000 Americans die as a result of smoking or inhaling second hand smoke. About 40 percent of these deaths are from cancer, 35 percent from heart disease and stroke, and 25 percent from lung disease. New studies have shown that about half of all regular cigarette smokers die of a smoking-related illness. Smoking not only harms your lungs, it negatively affects nearly every organ in the body.

Smoking is the leading cause of cancer, and leads to the most deaths from cancer. These cancers include lung, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix. Smoking has been shown to cause heart disease, stroke, lung disease, hip fractures and cataracts.

At least 250 of the 4,000 chemicals found in cigarette smoke are known to be harmful. Some of the most toxic chemicals include hydrogen cyanide (used in chemical weapons), carbon monoxide (found in car exhaust), formaldehyde (used in embalming fluid), ammonia (found in household cleaners), and toluene (found in paint thinners).

Regardless of age and duration of smoking, quitting can significantly reduce risk of cancer and greatly improve overall health.

Although smoking rates have declined over the years, more than one in five Americans smoke. In 2004, this included about 21 percent of adults and more than 22 percent of high school students. Among young people ages 18-24 almost 28 percent are smokers. Approximately 26 percent of white, 22 percent of Hispanic and 13 percent of African American high school students currently smoke cigarettes. Of America’s middle school students, about 8 percent are current cigarette smokers.

Benefits of Quitting

• You will feel better: Your heart rate and blood pressure will drop, you will produce less phlegm, circulation will improve and you will breathe easier.
• Your energy will improve: More oxygen will reach your heart, lungs and muscles. This will make you feel stronger and more energetic.
• You will reduce the risk of illness: Your body will be able to fight illnesses such as colds much better.
• Food will taste better: Your sense of smell and taste will return and your appetite will improve.
• You will save money: Figure out how much you spend each week on tobacco products, and then multiply that by 52 weeks to find out how much you spend per year. Many people find they are spending about $1,000 per year on tobacco products! Think of something nice to buy with the extra cash you will save.
• You’ll look better: Your teeth will be whiter and your clothes and breath will smell better.
• Your self esteem will improve: Quitting will help you feel more control over your life. Depression that is caused by nicotine will lessen. Also, you will feel good because you are doing something to help yourself!
• You will protect those around you: Quitting will help protect your friends and family from the dangers of second hand smoke.

Better Physical Health: Within…

• 20 Minutes: Blood pressure decreases, and pulse slows to its normal rate. Temperature in hands and feet increase to normal.
• 8 Hours: Carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal, and oxygen level increases.
• 24 Hours: Breath, hair, and body stop smelling like smoke. The chance of having a heart attack begins to decrease.
• 48 Hours: Damaged nerve endings begin to recover. As a result, senses of taste and smell begin to improve.
• 72 Hours: The body is virtually free of nicotine. The bronchial tubes relax, making it easier to breathe.
• 2 Weeks to 3 Months: The lungs can hold more air. Exercise becomes easier and circulation improves.
• 1 Month to 9 Months: Coughing, congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia are more effective in cleaning the lungs to prevent infection. Overall energy increases.
• 1 Year: The risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half.
• 5 years: The risk of having a stroke is reduced to that of a non-smoker.
• 10 years: The risk of developing lung cancer is cut in half.
• 15 years: The risk of coronary heart disease drops, usually to the level of non-smoker.

Students can receive free one-on-one tobacco cessation counseling through Student Health Services. Call 541-737-WELL or stop by the SHS to sign up for an appointment.

Smokeless Tobacco

Chewing Tobacco and Snuff

The two main types of smokeless tobacco in the United States are chewing tobacco and snuff. Chewing tobacco comes in three forms; loose leaf, plug and twist. Snuff is finely ground tobacco that can be dry, moist, or in sachets (tea bag-like pouches). Smokeless tobacco is placed in the cheek or between the gum and cheek. Users then suck on the tobacco and spit out the tobacco juices, which is why smokeless tobacco is often referred to as "spit tobacco" or "spitting tobacco."

Smokeless tobacco is a significant health risk and is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco contains 28 known carcinogens. Users increase their risk of heart disease and stroke. The damage to the delicate lining of the mouth and throat can lead to cancer and/or other health problems. For example, oral health problems strongly associated with smokeless tobacco use are leukoplakia (a lesion of the soft tissue that consists of a white patch or plaque that cannot be scraped off) and recession of the gums.

Smokeless tobacco products contain nicotine and are addictive. Quitting smokeless tobacco products is much like quitting smoking. People trying to quit using smokeless tobacco products often have a stronger need for oral substitutes (having something in their mouth) instead of chew or snuff. Quitting will make mouth sores disappear, improve breath and revive taste and smell. Quitting will also drastically decrease your risk of heart disease and cancer.

In the United States, approximately 9 percent of American Indian/Alaska Natives, 4 percent of whites, 2 percent of African Americans, 1 percent of Hispanics and 0.6 percent of Asian-American adults are current users of smokeless tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco use is higher among young white males, American Indians/Alaska Natives and people living in southern and north central states. Usage is also higher in people who are employed in blue collar occupations, service/laborer jobs, or are unemployed. An estimated 10 percent of male high school students and 4 percent of male middle school students are current smokeless tobacco users.

Student Health Services offers free tobacco cessation services for OSU students. All you have to do is call 541-737-WELL or stop by SHS to make an appointment.

Cigars

Cigars differ from cigarettes in both their size and the type of tobacco used. Cigars vary in size and shape and can be up to 7 inches long. Large cigars contain 5-17 grams of tobacco and can take 1-2 hours to smoke, while the average cigarette contains about 1 gram and take about 10 minutes to smoke. Cigars contain about 100-200 milligrams of nicotine, while cigarettes average about 8.4 milligrams. Premium cigars can each contain the tobacco equivalent of an entire pack of cigarettes. Because of their size, smoking a cigar is like smoking 3-8 cigarettes.

Cigar smoke contains many toxic and carcinogenic compounds that are harmful. Cigars do not have filters to reduce tar and nicotine. Many people smoke cigars only occasionally and most do not inhale the smoke. Smoke enters the mouth, throat and lungs even if you don’t mean to inhale. Smoking a cigar directly exposes the lips, mouth, throat and larynx to harmful compounds. Even holding an unlit cigar between your lips exposes them to carcinogens. When you swallow saliva that contains smoke constituents the esophagus in exposed to carcinogens.

Because of the composition of cigar smoke and the tendency of cigar smokers not to inhale, the nicotine is absorbed predominantly through the lining of the mouth rather than through the lungs. It is important to note that nicotine absorbed through the lining of the mouth is capable of forming a powerful addiction, as demonstrated by the large number of people addicted to smokeless tobacco. Both inhaled and non-inhaled nicotine can be addictive.

An estimated 6.9 percent of African American, 6 percent of white, 4.6 percent of Hispanic, 10.9 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native and 1.8 percent of Asian American adults are current cigar smokers. Fourteen percent of high school students and 5 percent of middle school students are current cigar smokers. In both age groups males report smoking cigars more than females. Cigar smoking occurs primarily among males between ages 35-64 who have higher educational backgrounds and incomes. Today most new cigar users are young adult males ages 18-24. In 2005, cigar sales in the United States rose 15.3 percent and generated more than $2.9 billion in retail sales.

Students can get free one-on-one tobacco cessation help through Student Health Services by calling 541-737-WELL or making an appointment at SHS.

Hookah

Hookah or water pipe smoking has been practiced for over 400 years, and is often a social activity. There are a variety of names for hookahs, including narghile, argileh, shisha, hubble-bubble, and goza. Hookah tobacco is available is many flavors such as apple, grape, mint and cappuccino.

Using a hookah to smoke tobacco poses a serious potential health hazard to smokers and others exposed to the smoke emitted. Hookah tobacco and smoke contain many toxicants that are known to cause lung cancer, heart disease and other health complications. Even after it has passed through water, the smoke contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals, and cancer-causing chemicals, that are masked by the sweet flavors of hookah tobacco. Although many hookah smokers believe that this habit is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, hookah smoke still contains nicotine and has at least as many toxins as cigarette smoke.

Hookah smokers face the same health risks as cigarette smokers, including decreased lung functioning, heart disease and lung cancer. In addition to these health risks, irritation from exposure to tobacco juices increases the risk of developing oral cancers. The charcoal used to heat the tobacco also increases risks by producing high levels of carbon monoxide, metals and cancer-causing chemicals. Because hookah smoking is often a social activity, sharing a hookah can increase the risk of transmission of tuberculosis, viruses such as herpes or hepatitis and many other illnesses.

Due to the frequency of puffing, depth of inhalation and length of smoking session, hookah smokers may absorb a higher concentration of toxins. The typical hookah smoking session lasts about one hour and therefore involves inhaling as much as 100-200 times the volume of smoke than you would if you smoked one cigarette.

Students can receive free one-on-one tobacco cessation counseling through Student Health Services. Call 541-737-WELL or stop by the SHS to sign up for an appointment.