Winter is coming… Oh Wait

Unless you haven’t looked out a window and/or been outside in the last 3 days, you may have noticed that winter is here. As exams descend upon us, and winter freezes everything in it’s path, including my morale, motivation and productivity, it’s easy to justify spending countless hours on the computer, doing assignments or completing tasks for student groups. For me, especially in the winter months, even leisure time starts being spent on the computer, watching movies, TV shows, or pinning DIYs on Pinterest (don't judge me).
PIcture of St George St. covered in snow
See that? That's misery summed up in a photo.
My responsibilities from school, work and clubs require me to stay fairly connected for most of the week. Staying connected is not a bad thing, but constantly spending time in front of a computer screen or on my phone screen can be exhausting. Studies have shown correlations between increased time in front of a screen (television, computer, and video games) and unhealthy outcomes. It could lead to trouble sleeping, attention problems, vision problems or even unhealthy eating habits. I could go on about the health effects of too much screen time, but alas friends, this is not Dr. Api, Web M.D.  The truth is, everyone’s different and it could affect them differently. The way I see it,  at a time in my life when I have to spend most of my day in front of a screen, I want to try to make use of my free time and find other things to do. I want to develop  healthy habits that I can use in the future because I’m inevitably going to be spending time on the computer for a lot of different things. This is why the U of T Healthy U Crew is having an UnPlug Fest on November 28th in the Bahen Center! They’re going to have different activities and strategies to do in place of being on the computer or on the phone. poster If you’re thinking that this is just another event that tries to get you physically active, then don’t worry. There are not just movement breaks, but also a chance to do other activities such as origami, board games, writing and more. And if that’s not enough to get you off the screen, there are also free snow cones! If none of that is enough to stop by the Bahen Center between 12-4 next week for a well-deserved study break, then let it be known that I’ll be there hanging out too! (I won’t be signing autographs though). Find a way to enjoy that winter "wonderland!" Photo of sun setting behind Robarts So tell me U of T, what do you do to stay off the screens?

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