Procrastination – What’s The Excuse?

By: Vivian Pham, Staff Writer

The deadline is 11:59 PM, and here you are staring at the computer and typing as fast as you could at 11:57 PM? Welcome to the procrastinators club! 

Sometimes, we choose to procrastinate because we have certain strategies to deal with it. Sadly, sometimes we are simply in a psychological trap, causing the situation above. So what is the psychological trap that makes us procrastinate?

Adrenaline is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands located at the top of each kidney. Everytime our body is in a stressful condition, adrenaline will be produced. When you are extremely stressed, you will have an adrenaline rush. Adrenaline breaks down glycogen into glucose. Enough glucose will provide energy for the brain to think, learn, and memorize quicker. That’s why whenever the deadlines are coming, you are more focused and able to think better, thanks to the adrenaline rush. However, if you experience a constant adrenaline rush, it will have a negative long-term effect on your body. In “The End of Stress as We Know It”, Dr. Bruce McEwen – a neuroendocrinologist at Rockefeller University – stated that if our body experiences constant long-term stress, then the brain, the immune system, and the circulatory system will be weakened. Significant symptoms include insomnia, feeble resistance, or even anxiety disorder. Additionally, too much adrenaline will cause hyperglycemia, also known as high blood sugar, a major cause for diabetes. 

A reason for being procrastinated might come from the fact that you are afraid of changes and the desire to remain in the comfort zone. That was the conclusion drawn from a study of two psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908, called the Yerkes-Dodson law. Basically, humans prefer being in the comfort zone, such as doing tasks that are familiar, don’t require too much effort, and aren’t challenging. Because of that, we don’t get a lot of pressure and face any assessment of our qualifications. Deadline, on the other hand, is considered out of the comfort zone with many risks and challenges. So when it comes to deadlines, we tend to procrastinate as a way to protect ourselves from the risks and challanges, for when we confront failure, we are likely to blame our failure on other things and not our own self.

When you are given more time to finish a task, we tend to spend all that extra time on that task, even though it’s not necessary and less efficient than finishing the task by the original deadline. This is called the Parkinson’s law, a study of Cyril Northcote Parkinson – a British naval historian. He gave an example of a task in which one has to write a letter and send it to someone else. He claimed that a normal person would take several hours to finish, while a busy businessman only takes three minutes to accomplish the task. 

When you are given a task, the first thing you wonder is usually: “how much time do I have to finish this task?” instead of “how much time do we need to finish this task?”. This kind of thinking will cause you to unconsciously schedule and complete the task by the deadlines, which leads to delays in other tasks that would have been completed earlier. Moreover, the longer the deadlines, the harder you would think of it. 

Waterless Beauty

By: Vivian Pham, Staff Writer

Water undeniably plays an important role in every producing stage of a product: from collecting and processing raw material to packaging, shipping and even customers’ consumption. If a makeup product contains little or no water at all, what is it like? The answer is waterless beauty/cosmetics. It’s beyond a beauty trend, it’s the key to environmental issues and global concerns.

What are waterless cosmetics?

Linda Treska, the founder of Pinch of Colour, stated that water serves as a popular filler ingredient, and it makes up 70% – 80% of the total component. Water also serves as a solvent which dissolves raw and active ingredients and blends them together. Besides, water-based products create a soothing texture which makes it easier for customers to apply on their skin.

However, is water a necessity in beauty products? According to Susanne Langmuir – CEO of AN/HYDRA – water is an ideal environment for bacteria growth, and manufacturers have to include a preservative to suppress the growth of bacteria in the product. 

Duy Khanh – co-founder of Skinlosophy – shared that contrary to the common perception that the more water a product contains, the more hydrated the skin. In fact, water evaporates, leaving the active ingredients and the remaining elements which are the main ingredients that keeps the skin hydrated. Additionally, consumers use a greater quantity of water-based cosmetics, leading to an increase in packaging and containers. Duy Khanh claimed that the efficiency and sustainability of water is not as much as it seems to be, and so the beauty industry is gradually shifting to waterless products. This leads to two types of formula:

1.     Formula for cake or bar form: soap bars, salt baths, bar-form cleansers, etc. These products need to be used with water.

2.     Formula for extractions, natural extracts replacing water. These products are denser than water-based products like cream or toner, more expensive, but more efficient using a smaller quantity.

The benefit of waterless cosmetics

According to the Autoimmune Association, preservatives in water-based products such as parabens are likely causing the immune system to weaken and reproductive disorders. Furthermore, Dr. Heather L. Brannon believes that water evaporation will take away your natural oil layer on your skin, hence making your skin drier.

Dr. Dennis Gross stated that over the past decades, manufacturers use saturated water with more calcium, metals, and minerals. This blocks collagen production and causes skin irritations. Hard water – water that has high mineral content – also causes clogged pores which makes your skin more susceptible to acne. Therefore, alternative ingredients such as coconut oil, argan oil, etc. will be excellent remedies. A study from Dr. Susan Hewlings showed that pure coconut oil is antibacterial and antifungal. Dermatologist Corey L. Hartma claimed that argan oil is rich in omega-3 and omega-9, thus providing moisture for the skin and the hair. Dr. Stacy Chimento also added that argan oil can prevent wrinkles on the skin, promote collagen-production as well as preserving melanin pigment to prevent hair damage.

How to recognize waterless products

To recognize waterless products, the simplest way is to look at the ingredients. Water-based products have words like “water” or “aqua”. It could also be “agua” in Spanish, or “l’eau” in French.

Waterless products will replace water with natural extractions or vegetable oil (argan, aloe vera, jojoba, etc.). Because water is removed, the product will be denser, so that every time you use it, a small quantity would be enough.

The Grass is Greener (and the Seat is Shabbier)

By: Sandra Vo, Staff Writer

A luscious expanse of fresh turf spans the area behind Clarke Hall, its greenery a welcome hue after Colorado’s bleak winter. I stare in awe at my phone screen from my position in the music practice room as the Regis University Instagram showcases the newly finished turf fields with a high quality drone video. It’s furnished with more than brightly painted lines, but also with the vigor of youth, the promise of thrilling sporting events, and the passion of college athletes sweeping the fields.  

The new turf is the result of a generous amount of funding and donations, a move on Regis’s behalf to demonstrate their love for their student athletes. I witness this stunning display of love from where I am sitting on the ratty piano bench, whose legs have been stripped of their wood varnish and whose seat is draped in a cloth so tattered that it literally hangs onto the bench by mere threads. 

It is good to know that Regis invests so much money into student activities. I furiously wave my music folder back and forth to fan myself, since the practice room is so sweltering that there are remnants of sweat on the piano from whoever had played it last. But surely, this is not because of a problem with the ventilation or air conditioning in the music wing, but because of how fiery hot our enthusiasm for the new turf fields is. Just imagining the future glory that will be made by the Regis lacrosse teams on those fields increases the practice room temperature by fifteen degrees. 

Many people in the music program have asked what is the difference between the new fields and the old ones. We have all reached the mind-blowing conclusion that the grass is greener. This is, understandably, a must for athletes, since no sporting event is a real sporting event if the grass is an unsatisfactory shade of green. 

I decide that such a breathtaking turf field deserves a beautiful serenade. My fingers align themselves on the sticky, ramen-stained piano keys, and although my fingers are in the correct position, the chord I play is discordant and cacophonous.

The practice room’s piano is out of tune. But I accept that as a necessary sacrifice, so that the turf field’s grass is greener (even if the piano seat is shabbier).

Why can we recall specific memories through music?

By: Vivian Pham, Staff Writer

Have you ever wondered why music can help you recall specific memories from the past? Human memory is an incredibly complex mechanism. It could be precisely explicit and detailed, but it could sometimes be distorted and unreliable. We usually remember the negative memory, and yet we can easily forget even the simplest things like other people’s names or a phone number. 

Illustration by Janne Kokkonen

The way that we recall memories is just as complex as its mechanism. Occasionally, we would unconsciously dream about a memory or even associate it with smells or music. For example, lots of people can recall being excited and rushing out of the house for ice cream when they hear the music from the ice cream truck. 

Our brain can easily retrieve memories based on rhythms

The hippocampus, embedded deep into the temporal lobe, plays a major role in forming new memories, storing, and retrieving. That’s why for Alzheimer’s patients, because the hippocampus is damaged, they cannot store and retrieve the new memories causing them to instantly forget things that just happened and still be able to recall old memories. 

However, we experienced countless experiences and events in our lifetime, and the amount of memories formed is massive. Therefore, retrieving them is not always an easy job for the hippocampus, that’s when music steps in and does its magic. Music will then become one of the tools that help you “unlock” memories through encoded “signals”. These “signals” include melody, rhythms, and images that relate to the lyrics. Research also showed that music enhances neuronal connection at the hippocampus, increasing musicians’ ability to recall memories related to familiar melodies. Basically, it’s like how you recall the alphabet by humming the “ABC song” or a name of a singer through a catchy chorus they sang. 

Music activates emotions enclosed with the memory

When you listen to a song with an explicit emotion, such as the song you listened to after a breakup, you will recall that sad feeling every time you listen to it as a classical conditioning. This can be explained through the impact of music on the amygdala, which is primarily responsible for processing emotions. The more emotions attached with your memory, the easỉer you can recall it. Many research studies demonstrated the vital role of emotions in different stages of memorization from encoding, consolidating, to recalling. 

Music activates the motion enclosed with the memory

Besides from the hippocampus and the amygdala, music also activates the cerebellum, which is responsible for motor control and movement direction. For instance, when you play an instrument or dance, the cerebellum helps with motion control, balancing, and combination of different movements, as well as remembering and perfecting them. Therefore, memories regarding the motion associated with music are easier to recall. In several studies regarding dementia, there are cases where patients, despite being unable to recall any past memories, were still able to play the piano skillfully. 

 Due to the complex relationship with the brain, music (beside its entertaining features) can be applied to different fields such as education, medical, or just simply help with relaxation and enhancing the ability to focus. 

Empanada Express Grill Review

By Madelynn Loring, Staff Writer

Ground beef and potato empanada with Tequenos (Venezuelan cheese sticks).

Photo by Madelynn Loring

I discovered Empanada Express Grill in the same way I have discovered a number of restaurants: I was planning on going somewhere else (Himalayan Spice to be exact), but something came up. In this case, the Himalayan Spice kitchen was closed for maintenance. So, I turned to my best in a decision-making crisis, Google Maps, and just five minutes north was a quaint-looking Venezuelan restaurant. We decided to give it a shot, and, as is often the case on Tennyson Street, Empanada Express Grill did not disappoint.

In my experience, you can tell how good the food at any restaurant will be by the decor, and the traditional clothing and artwork lining the walls prepares you for exactly how delicious the food will be. The plates are huge, and loaded with beans, rice, and a Venezuelan entree of your choice. Regardless of whether you go for an arepa or an empanada, you will not be disappointed. The filling is beautifully seasoned, and the dish is cooked to perfection. 

Shredded beef arepa with beans and rice

Photo by Madelynn Loring

Additionally, they have a large vegetarian selection, so most anyone will be able to find an absolutely remarkable meal that fits their dietary needs. The only exception to this is if you are a lactose intolerant person who actually respects their lactose intolerance. Each dish is filled or topped with cheese, which is delightful if you are a dairy lover like myself. However, if a spoonful of ice cream sends your stomach into fits, you might want to skip out on this grill in favor of something less dairy heavy. But who am I to tell you what to avoid? For a more relevant opinion, I consulted my lactose intolerant friend who says that Empanada Express Grill is worth the stomachache. 

Chicken empanada with beans and rice

Photo by Madelynn Loring

Should you choose to embark on an empanada expedition, here are some tips to make your Express Grill experience go smoothly. As it is “where the locals eat'', the staff primarily speaks Spanish. Thus, it is a good idea to brush up on your restaurant vocab before you go, or go with a Spanish-speaking friend, as I did (though neither of us knew she was going to be translating for us). Secondly, the cost of a good empanada is often oil stains, something I learned the hard way through the marring of my favorite cream-colored sweatshirt. Dark clothes are likely the better choice for your meal. Finally, the restaurant prefers you pay in cash, so it is worth stopping by an ATM on your way to avoid the hassle, especially if you do not have a card that you can tap to pay. 

Overall, my experience at Empanada Express Grill left nothing to be desired, except for perhaps that Regis’s global section could compare to this absolutely delightful restaurant. Though it may be unassuming at first glance, Empanada Express Grill is sure to impress regardless of whether you planned to end up there or not.