By: Liv MIller

We all know that water is one of the most beneficial contributions to all living things. Plants need water to grow, animals need water to survive, and as humans, so do we.

Not only does water help grow plants that provide food for us to eat, and in turn help us survive, but the human body also needs water to survive as well. I’m sure everyone knows the importance of water and how it keeps us alive, so I don’t need to go into great detail about that. But the amount of water a person drinks significantly affects that person’s health.

Growing up, everyone’s parents told us that we need to drink lots and lots of water if we wanted to be healthy. And even now, doctors and health professionals are constantly advising us to drink more water daily. But why does this help us? If I’m drinking enough water to keep me alive I shouldn’t need more right? Well, this is what most people struggle to understand.

There are many health benefits that occur by drinking as much water as one can during the day. Even drinking just a little bit more water than usual can benefit you, because according to Healthline.com, “Dehydration can have a noticeable effect if you lose as little as 2% of your body’s water content”. Why is this so important? Well, the effects that dehydration has on your body are not fun. As Healthline.com also states, “Your brain is strongly influenced by your hydration status. Studies show that even mild dehydration, such as the loss of 1–3% of body weight, can impair many aspects of brain function”. What can happen is that it can impair your mood and concentration; it can also cause you to be more prone to headaches.

Maybe the risks of not drinking enough water won’t convince you to stay hydrated, so let’s talk about how it can improve your way of life. Again, according to Healthline.com, drinking water can help with weight loss. This happens because drinking water improves your metabolism, which increases the number of calories you burn in a day.

Drinking water can also improve your physical performance. If you are an athlete, staying hydrated is very important if you want to stay at the top of your game. When you sweat you lose 6-10% of your water weight which causes serious dehydration, which as we talked about before, isn’t good.

Some other benefits drinking water can have on your body is that it can prevent constipation and even treat kidney stones.

The benefits that drinking water has on your body is endless. So, why not take the extra effort to make sure your getting the proper hydration you need?

By: Ella Sutherland

Let’s be honest, everyone loves plants. Plants just bring a good feel to your surroundings. I think they give your house an even more homey feeling.

There are so many benefits of having plants in your house. First, they improve your mood. Something about them creates a soothing environment and makes you feel more relaxed and safe. Some plants, like ornamental plants, raise levels of positive energy around your home. Also, if you are constantly looking at, and being around, plants, it actually helps people feel more calm and relaxed, which then decreases levels of anxiety.

Second, plants reduce your stress levels by a lot. During photosynthesis, one of the products is oxygen; having more clean oxygen promotes healthier air quality. If you are working in an indoor environment, which lots of people are working from home because of the pandemic, then you will see that breathing in indoor fumes and toxins will make your mental health go down and you can get anxiety or depression, but plants will make sure that you’re not breathing in unhealthy air. Also, having something to care for, like plants, can reduce physiological and psychological stress.

Third, plants increase alertness and your memory. If you are around plants, either at home or at work, plants can help improve your memory and your attention and concentration span by 20 percent. It also increases concentration by making it easier for you to focus for longer periods of time. It makes your productivity level higher. There are studies that show that employees are much more productive when some common house plants were added to the place they worked at.

Overall, I think after reading this article you can really think about, and put in perspective, how good plants really are for you and your mental health. It doesn’t cost a lot to just put a couple plants in your home, and I guarantee you will end up feeling so much better.

By: Sumaya Noor

What is personality typology?

Personality typology refers to distinguishing or categorizing people and animals due to their behavioral traits. It is an umbrella term that includes Myers-Briggs, Carl Jung, Enneagrams, and more.

Typology is claimed to be very accurate to the majority, and can either be studied for fun or to deeply understand one’s self or others. People’s behavior, beliefs and attitudes towards both their inner and outer world are analyzed and placed into many categories of personality types. For example, Myers-Briggs is one of the most famous personality type systems. Created by American author Isabel Briggs Myers, this type indicator is based on theories of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.

How do you determine your personality type?

There are many ways to find out your personality type. For people who want to do it for fun, there are plenty of assessments to take online or physically. After answering a series of questions based on your individual preferences, beliefs and morals, you would be given one of the 16 4 letter types. “I” standing for “Introvert”, “E” for “Extrovert”, “N” for “Intuitive”, “S” for “Sensing”, “T” for “Thinking”, “P” for “Perceiving”, and finally “J” for “Judging”. Each of these traits will be determined by your results.

For those who are serious about studying typology, there is a very extensive research on cognitive functions, which is a mental process that one uses throughout their life. Created by Carl Jung, these functions can be used to analyze a person’s thinking, choices, and feelings when faced with different situations.

They can also be used to better understand one’s self, as the system has been deemed very accurate. In an article by Christian Roseler, “These significant changes are reached by Jungian therapy with an average of 90 sessions, which makes Jungian psychotherapy an effective and cost-effective method. Process studies support Jungian theories on psychodynamics and elements of change in the therapeutic process. So finally, Jungian psychotherapy has reached the point where it can be called an empirically proven, effective method.”

Where can I test my personality type?

There are a variety of tests, but popular ones are:

• Keys2Cognition http://www.keys2cognition.com/
• 16 Personalities https://www.16personalities.com/

Please do note that these tests are not 100% accurate and are for fun.