10.

I learned that the combination of caffeine and sugar is worse than either alone for

causing depression. This item attracted my attention and made it to my list because

only from this course, I have known that the combination of caffeine and sugar can

cause depression. I picked this item over others and this item is meaningful for me,

because it relates to my everyday life. I only drink coffee occasionally, only when I need

to stay up to study for midterms and exams. I knew before the drinking coffee will

disrupt the sleep cycle, but I never knew that drinking coffee and adding sugar to the

coffee will cause depression and lower grades. Based on this information, now, if I need

to stay up at night and drink coffee, I will not add sugar to the coffee. At least this way,

the risk of me getting depression is reduced. I ordered this item the tenth, because I am

not a frequent coffee drinker. The negative effects of drinking coffee and adding sugar

to the coffee may not affect me as much as for the people who drink coffee daily.

9. I have learned that static stretches longer than six seconds will shut down the alpha

motor units, and can decrease performance. This item really attracted my attention and

has made it to my list, because in high school, prior to a sprint, we were always asked

to stretch. I picked this item over others and this item is meaningful to me, because it

changed my ideas about static stretching and the whole warm-up process. I was barely

taught any dynamic stretches, and I always did static stretches prior to exercise, no

matter what kind it is. This item allowed me to learn the importance of choosing the right

type of warm-up stretches before an exercise. Now, prior to a high-intensity exercise,

such as sprinting, or basketball, etc, I will only do one static stretch for less than 6

seconds, before I switch to another move. This way, I can avoid shutting down my alpha
motor units, and I would not need to wait for 20 minutes for the alpha motor units to

recover. This item made it ninth to my list, because it taught me how to warm-up.

8. I have learned that prolonged sitting is an independent risk factor for poor health and

premature death even if the person is very fit. And chronic sitting has a mortality rate

similar to smoking. This item attracted my attention and made it to my list, because I

have never known this fact before. I picked this item over others and this item is

meaningful to me, because it strongly pertains to my everyday life. As a student, I sit for

the majority of the time. This really warned me to watch how long I sit. In the notes, it

suggested that we stand up every 10 minutes, however, in real life, this is not a feasible

option. I think what I will do in the future is to stand up every 1 hour after sitting, to

alleviate the negative effects associated with prolonged sitting. I ordered this item eighth,

because even though it relates to my everyday life, it is difficult to find a practical

problem for this solution, in today's world.

7. I learned that exercise has a profound effect on DNA methylation within muscle and

fat cells after just a single workout. This item really attracted my attention and has made

it to my list, because I never knew that exercise would have an impact this big on the

human body. I know that epigenetics is an important component of DNA studies, and

that our DNA gets methylated or unmethylated throughout our lives, based on what we

do and experience. This item is meaningful to me and I have picked this item over the

others, because I always thought that it takes multiple exercises in order to have a

miniature effect on the DNA methylation. I found it surprising when I found that I have
underestimated the effects of exercise. From now on, I will focus more on exercise, and

make sure that I exercise for at least 10 minutes a day. I ordered this item the seventh,

because it taught me something new and it made me realize that I have underestimated

the effects of exercise.

6. I learned that when doing exercises, we should avoid doing the same exercise three

times a week. This item attracted my attention and has made it to my list, because when

I exercise before, I tend to always choose the same type of exercise, I would swim for 4

days in a row, etc. I picked this item over the others and this item is meaningful to me,

because it really warned me to change the way I exercise. I now understand the

importance of cross-training. In the future, I will alternate my exercises on different days.

I will swim one day, jog the next day, and do skipping ropes the day after. I ordered this

item sixth, because it helped me gain knowledge about how to create an exercise

routine.

5. I learned that when trying to lose weight, we should only exercise up to five times per

week. This item attracted my attention and has made it on my list, because I always

thought that in order to lose weight, I have to exercise every day of the week. I picked

this item over the others and this item is meaningful to me, because it taught me how to

exercise properly without burning myself out. It shows me the proper way of exercising

and losing weight. In the future, I will only exercise up to five times a week, and control

the rest of my calorie intake through eating less. I ordered this item fifth, because it
really pertains to me, as I am trying to lose weight now. However, it is less important to

me than the top four items.

4. I learned that there is no such thing as a fat-burning exercise and we start losing both

fat and carbohydrates as soon as we start exercising. This item attracted my attention

and made it to my list, because it overturned what I have learned before about fat-

burning exercises. Previously, on weight loss magazines, I have read that we need to

exercise 15-20 minutes before fat can be burnt, before the first 20 minutes are up, we

are only using up our carbohydrate reserves. I picked this item over others and this item

is meaningful to me, because I really helped me to understand how exercise helps with

losing weight. I usually don't have the time to exercise over 20 minutes a day, so before

I know about this, I barely exercised, unless I know that I don't have any other

commitments that day, and I can dedicate at least 30 minutes for exercise. Now

knowing this, I will exercise for 15 minutes every day. This will allow me to burn fat and

carbohydrate reserves, and to lose weight, without consuming too much of my time

throughout the day. I ordered this item fourth, because it has a significant effect on how

I understand the process of weight loss.

3. I learned that when setting goals, we should set ones that are self-controllable. This

item attracted my attention and has made it to my list, because in so many cases, when

I set goals, I aim to score a certain grade in a certain class, or aim to reach a certain

weight. Although my weight and my grades are affected by what I do, they may not be

completely within my control. The instructor can choose to not give me an A, and my
genetics may not necessarily allow me to reach ninety pounds. I picked this item over

others and this item is meaningful to me, because it really stood out to me, especially

when it tells me that I must set goals that are completely under my control. If I set goals

that are partially not under my control, then it is easy to get discouraged, because I may

have worked very hard for it, and I still didn't get what I wanted. This can be very

discouraging and it is not something I would want. In the future, when I set goals, I will

only set ones that are completely under my control. I can make it my goal to study for

four hours a day, and to not go on Facebook and Youtube when I study. I won't set

goals such as "Get an A in which class", because it is not completely in my hands. I

ordered this item third, because it really affects how I set goals in the future. It is less

relevant to me, I think, than the first two items on my list.

2. I learned that multitasking decreases productivity and decreases happiness. This

item attracted my attention and has made it to my list, because in our society today,

multi-tasking is almost always encouraged. For years, we are told by media that in order

to be an efficient worker, we need to learn how to multi-task. I picked this item over

others and this item is meaningful to me, because it really overturned any ideas I have

had before about multi-tasking. Since I was a child, people around me have been telling

me that I need to multi-task. People who always multi-task are seen to be smarter than

those who don't multi-task, even though the quality of their works (and the time they

took to complete the works) are the same. Even though I personally do not enjoy multi-

tasking and I like focusing on one task at a time, I am always forced by those around

me to multi-task: It is interesting to learn how multi-tasking actually leads to a decreased

efficiency and how it leads to an increased stress level. From now on, I will stick to my

own beliefs and only focus on one task at a time, I will avoid multi-tasking, because it is

beneficial to my health. I ordered this item the second, because it is really important to

my everyday life, and it really overturned my previous belief about multi-tasking.

1. I learned that our self-talk impresses upon the sub-conscious mind and affects mood.

This item attracted my attention and made it to my list because I really feel that this

relates to my personal experiences. When I feel stressed, I always use positive self-talk,

things like, "You can do it!", "Believe in yourself!" etc, and now it is interesting to see

what I do on an everyday basis to encourage myself has a scientific reasoning behind it.

I know from Sigmund Freud's theories that our subconscious mind affects our

behaviours and thoughts. It is interesting to see how what I do daily can affect my

subconscious mind and therefore my actions, beliefs and attitudes. I picked this item

over others and this item is meaningful to me, because I feel that it relates to all aspect

of my life. I strongly believe that "attitude determines altitude". My everyday attitude, my

attitude when I feel stressed, will determine how far I go in life. In my future pursuit of

health, I plan to continue using positive self-talk everyday to encourage myself, to pump

myself up. I order this item as number one on my list, because I know that happiness is

the best medicine and that using positive self-talk can make me feel happy and

energized. It will allow me to work efficiently in a stress-free manner.