Dear Vic

Letters from the Science Section

RE: Exercise  

Michal Leckie | Science Editor  

Whether you are a future Olympian or a movement-averse turnip, exercise is a powerful tool not only to tone your body, but also your brain. Exercise has been shown to immediately increase cognitive performance by affecting the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in tasks such as concentration, critical thinking, memory, and planning. With longer-term training, exercise seems to affect the hippocampus, resulting in increased neurogenesis (the process by which new brain cells are produced) and improved spatial memory, and is also correlated with a lower risk for anxiety. Exercise is additionally shown to improve sleep quality, and when the quality of your sleep is increased, the time you need to spend in bed decreases. So exercising, contrary to common presumptions, can save you time. Getting in those workouts also doesn’t have to be solitary – find a friend to run laps around Queens Park with you, or join some intramural teams. If all else fails, the distances between classes at UofT can be a great opportunity for a quick sprint.  

RE: Sleep  

Jasmine Ng | Podcast Editor  

One of the biggest misconceptions regarding university life revolves around sleep, and it largely stems from our misunderstanding of our circadian rhythms. When starting university, it can be tempting to sign up for 9 am classes. However, most people entering university are still adolescents, and delayed-phase sleep is a well-studied phenomenon which makes one later to sleep and later to rise. Therefore, waking up for those courses—especially after long nights of homework or social events—can feel nearly impossible. Unless you are a natural morning person or have many required courses at 9 am, be cautious about signing up for too many morning classes and take a look at your sleeping habits. Everyone’s cycle is different. Though 9 hours of sleep seems to be a goal for many, sometimes sleeping too much can have the same effect as sleeping too little. Some people’s sleep cycles are not perfectly an hour and a half. Try documenting the days when you woke up feeling rested and the number of hours you slept. By finding a general trend to your sleeping patterns, you can set yourself up for a healthy sleep schedule.  

RE: Seeking help in the sciences  

Ioana Clotea | Contributor  

The jump from high-school level to university-level science is no doubt a challenge for incoming students. But a large university does promise some great resources to help you succeed academically! Here are some pro tips: 1) Attend office hours if you need clarification from your professors. They don’t bite, I promise! 2) Make the most out of tutorials. Large class sizes and limited professor-student interaction can be intimidating, but TAs should be able to clarify course material. 3) If you find yourself struggling with concepts, homework, labs, or test material, then drop into Victoria College’s free tutoring services. Upper-year undergraduate students are available to assist with first-year Chemistry, Math, and Physics courses. They know exactly what it’s like to take these courses as first-years and can often give advice about what upper-year courses are like. Tutors are found across campus – either at MacLennan Physical Laboratories, Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories, or at Victoria College. More information on where and when to find a tutor can be found on Victoria College’s website (http://www.vic.utoronto.ca/students/tutorialservices.htm). Regardless of whose help you prefer to seek, don’t forget to come prepared with questions and to get help early. Hopefully these resources will make first-year sciences feel like a breeze! 

RE: People 

Michal Leckie  

University is where you find your people. Orientation Week is designed for you to make friends. The closest friendships of your life will be made in university. You may have heard some of these claims before beginning Orientation Week and picking up this newspaper. Lots of people do make great friends in Orientation Week, friends that end up moving in together off-campus in second year. But lots of people don’t. In fear of sounding super clichéd, don’t worry if you don’t make friends instantly! Do, however, seek friendships. Especially in big Con Hall science lectures, as you’ve probably heard before, it can be hard to get to know people. It can take time to find that strong bond (like the bond between hydrogen and fluoride). But go to class, ask your neighbor for a pencil, and hang out on campus. You are not at school just for the school part. University, in addition to being an academic education of course, is a social education. Make meeting people a top priority, but don’t worry if friends don’t immediately land beside you.  

RE: Mentorship programs on campus  

Tianren Chu | Contributor  

A great way to ease concerns about university life is finding a mentor! Navigating UofT’s huge campus, numerous academic programs, large classes, and many extracurricular opportunities is undoubtedly challenging at first. Especially in the sciences, coordinating lectures and labs, figuring out problem sets and multiple-choice tests, and trying to meet with professors or TAs, having a mentor to reach out to for guidance and support can be invaluable. Mentors are typically upper-year students in your faculty motivated to share their experience and insights with younger mentees, because hey, they’ve been there before. Many departments, programs, and student unions (including the Human Biology Students’ Union, Physics Department, and the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, among others) offer mentorship programs that pair up mentors and mentees based on similar personal experiences or academic background. Most of these programs are listed in the following database: http://mentorship.studentlife.utoronto.ca/studenthome/login. Make sure to apply early in the semester!  

RE: Food  

Michal Leckie | Science Editor 

In the coming weeks, you might settle into a diet consisting of mostly ramen and Kraft dinner. Or you might eat those delicious Burwash Hall home fries for three meals a day. But as writer Cal Newport says, “If you eat only junk food you will eventually get scurvy and die.” I’m not going to tell you why you should make an effort to eat healthily or intersperse your ramen with some celery and quinoa. Instead, I’m going to tell you about a few specific foods that are special when it comes to powering your brain through organic chemistry lectures and intellectually-stimulating dinner conversations. 

Turmeric: Curcumin, the most active component in turmeric, can cross the blood brain barrier (which usually stops things in your blood from reaching your brain in order to protect it from hazardous stuff) to have direct effects on cognitive function. It is known to have anti-inflammatory properties, to protect neurons from damage, and anti-oxidative properties to reduce levels of reactive oxygen species which can be harmful to the brain. Curcumin also increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a key growth factor that supports neuronal survival. There is also some evidence for an anti-depressive quality of turmeric, through its ability to increase serotonin and dopamine levels.  

Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds, all too often confined to Halloween festivities, contain lots of key nutrients. Zinc is an important player in neuronal plasticity, copper is involved in neurotransmission, and iron keeps you feeling awake and alert.   

Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate contains potent flavonoids, which are known to promote neurogenesis, the growth and development of neurons, and angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels (increasing the amount of blood, and thus nutrients, delivered to brain cells). Chocolate has also been shown to improve mood (and who can argue with that?). 

RE: Spontaneity 

Michal Leckie | Science Editor 

This might all feel overwhelming. Make friends, find a mentor, make use of tutoring services, eat well, exercise often… and you just arrived! Beyond these small pieces of advice, it is also important to just be spontaneous. Be open to new things, from tofu burgers to a class in medieval history. Decide to go to a guest lecture when you see a sign for it. Skate at Nathan Phillips Square instead of working on that problem set. Sit with new people at lunch. Attend an info session on study abroad. There are so many different things you can try during university; don’t hesitate to step out of your habits or routines, ignore all advice, and seek adventure.