The Church says: the body is a sin.
Science says: the body is a machine.
Advertising says: the body is a business.
The Body says: I am a fiesta.
—Eduardo Galeano
Like a magician sawing a person in half, for thousands of years philosophy and religion have attempted to separate the mind from the body. Plato and the Bible both conclude that our body is a distraction (if not something worse) and suggest that if our minds and souls didn’t have to deal with our five senses, we could find both peace and purity (although it would make it awfully tough to enjoy a pizza).
Everything in this book thus far has been entirely neck-up, but that is not because we discount the importance of physical health. To thrive in college, you will need your body and your mind, and in this section, we are going to perform a magic trick of our own: we are going to put the body and mind back together.
This reconnection is no simple trick: today’s undergrads sleep less, eat worse, and spend more time sitting than any previous generation of students in America. To be fair, college students are just one part of the dismal picture of public health in this country: the United States is a world leader in obesity and also has more than a third of the people with eating disorders, two categories that nobody wants to win. The media portrays very few body types, and most come with chiseled abs, toned legs, and no wrinkles, so it’s only natural that when students do worry about their bodies, their concerns are rarely much more than skin deep. The problem with trying to look perfect is that it doesn’t mean you’re healthy. In fact, the opposite is often true.
We’re not trying to lay blame on students for making poor health decisions. Studies have confirmed that our body image and health habits are drastically shaped by what is portrayed in media. In 1995, the ideal female form on the tropical paradise of Fiji was healthily full-figured—but television hadn’t yet made its way to the entire island. As TV rapidly entered the local culture, researchers monitored the effects of Western shows on adolescent girls in the Nadroga province. From 1995 to 1999, as the girls discovered Baywatch, they also discovered dieting and bulimia. By the end of the study, a whopping 83 percent of those surveyed identified television as having specifically made them want to change their body shape or weight. So, it was no surprise that 62 percent had been trying to diet in the last four weeks and 74 percent felt they were “too big or fat.” Over the course of just three years, vomiting to control weight was found in 11.3 percent of the subjects—pre-TV, there had not been a single case reported. We’ve been watching the tube for decades: it’s a wonder we are even alive.
The body of these chapters aims to undo some of the dark magic and illuminate how our bodies and minds codetermine our capacity to thrive. Another hour in the sack (sleeping, thank you very much), a few more minutes of elevated heart rate (however you choose to make that happen), and grabbing some grub in the a.m. (or whatever time you wake up) can result in higher GPAs, better concentration, improved learning ability, and an increase in your well-being. And yes, it can even make you more attractive to others.
Hey, we’re not trying to preach; it’s college, and we are definitely not going to tell you how much to sleep, how or what to eat, or how many steps you should take each day. What we will try to do is show you the advantages of taking care of your body, and the pitfalls that appear when you don’t. We’ll show you how your body can help your mind get you into tip-top shape and how just a few small habits can go a long way toward ensuring that you thrive.