Don't let it happen

We’ve all been there. You’ve been drinking, quite a few alcoholic beverages, and you just want to get some sleep. But because of the late hour, it being three or four in the morning, and you spending the last 8 days never once putting something of substance in your stomach, you are starving. So it’s only natural to try to get one last late night burrito, or some tacos from the local eatery, or a pizza, or even just some stuff that’s hanging around your fridge.

As anyone who’s done this enough knows, this is a terrible idea. Your stomach is not built for that kind of late night meal, especially after so much booze, and you will pay the price shortly. Which is why today, as a warning to all college students, we check out the fine folks over at AskMen.com as they go through a list of 10 foods to avoid before heading off into slumber, lest your sleep is full of terrible dreams, horrible gas and stomach pain, and you start packing on the pounds in no time. One of the ten to look out for:

No.5 Cereal
Mitt Romney loves a good bowl of cold cereal right before bed, but he might want to be careful which one he chooses or he won’t get the rest he needs.

Cereals often contain high amounts of refined sugar and are chock-full of carbohydrates. That might set you off on a bit of a spike and crash in your blood sugar levels, which is not the ideal way to put your body at peace before bedtime.

Instead of reaching for Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops, go for these best breakfast cereals. Those that are whole-grain and have low sugar will quench the craving but won’t keep you up.

Who knew? Head over to the above link for even more foods to get out of your system before hitting the hay.

Fall is here. That means one thing: College football. And that means one thing: Insane tailgate parties. There’s nothing quite like stumbling out of bed at 6am from your night of drinking, shaking off the hangover with some Advil, orange juice and more alcohol, loading up the truck and then heading to the stadium parking lot to start the process all over again. But you have to make sure you have the right necessary equipment to make the tailgate a bit more active and fun and not just two dudes roasting weinees on sticks. Which is why today we’re pointing you towards this article over at Men’s Health about what kinds of tailgating gear you need to get.

This one’s our favorite:

Washer Toss Beanbags

Washers Toss Beanbags grow groady if you’re playing in the parking lot. Try a game of washers instead. Like horseshoes, two teams of two take turns tossing large washer-shaped disc as a box with a circle inside. The point system is up to you, but our house rules are 3 points in the circle, 1 point outside the circle, and 5 points if, somehow, you can rest a washer on the lip of the box. First to 21— must win by two, and the loser chugs the rest of his beer. $30; sportcraft.com

Sack Eli!

For me, college and Madden are completely intertwined. I must have gone from 30-40 seasons worth of gameplay in franchise mode, staying up into the wee hours of the morning playing with whoever happened to pass by my door at 2am. (I scheduled it out so my classes didn’t start until 11am at the earliest. How people did anything else was a shock to me.) Sometimes it was stone cold sober, but other times there were drinking games involved. One terrible night (and an even more horrendous morning) was the result of a drinking game where the player would drink a shot if the other person scored on them. Which is all fine and good, until you remember that game scores regularly went into the 50s.

This is all a big lead-up to this preview of Madden NFL 12 over at Wired. Seeing as there still might not be an NFL season, looks like this might be all the football action you’re going to get this fall. Sounds awesome, still. For example:

Lack of Suction: “Suction” is the term that EA Sports uses to refer to defensive players’ tendency to draw in the player they’re tackling, sometimes making contact from much further away than they should. For example, running backs might have gotten stuck between linemen during in past Madden games and defensive linemen might have been inadvertently “sucked in” by their offensive counterparts.

Madden NFL 12 changes that, using its new engine to create more accurate points of contact for defensive players. Your backs will be able to juke and swerve between defenders on the line just like Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson might in real life. And your defensive linemen will do their jobs much better — unless they’re the Bills.

Count us in.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: comedy is for suckers. But you know what is decidedly not for suckers: SCIENCE! So we weren’t going to post this video that is described as “The Funniest Joke Ever Told in the History of the Universe” until we saw that it was a literal fact proven by scientific methods!

In fact, there’s really little left to say other than to show said joke. To science!

Best part? Easily the “Irrational Fear of Benevolent and Innocent Animals.”

Don't let this be you!

College is not the place to sleep. Between having to wake up early for exams or classes and the nightly schedule or parties, playing video games, or just bullshitting in the dorm lobby with friends, it is truly the case of burning candles at both ends … and with about forty other wicks along the sides. (Does that metaphor even make sense? You’re not sleeping a lot, is the thing.) Unfortunately, that could be added a little additional baggage to your standard Freshman 15.

From Men’s Health:

New research from the annual SLEEP conference suggests that people who are even slightly sleep deprived could be more likely to binge on high-calorie foods during the day.

The researchers took brain scans of 12 men and women as they looked at pictures of junk food (ice cream cones, cheeseburgers, and French fries) and images of healthy foods (salads, fruits, and vegetables).

The finding: When viewing pictures of high-calorie foods, people who were the sleepiest had the least activity in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex.

The prefrontal cortex is the body’s “braking system,” explains study author William Killgore, Ph.D. It slows down the response times so people don’t make snap decisions.

So there you have it. Go to sleep. Don’t get fat.

Making Your Study Sessions a Little More Fun

Studying can be one of the most boring and time-consuming things you ever do, which is why it is important to have as many different ways as possible to make sure that it goes by a little bit faster. The first thing you can do is to get a Kindle. Purchasing one of these can make all the difference when it comes to reading long and boring chapters for college exams and homework assignments.

With a Kindle you will be able to take your textbooks anywhere without actually lugging them around with you. Chances are you will be able to find at least some of your books available for purchase online. All you will have to do is download them and they will be automatically digitized for you. This can make reading a little bit more bearable and a little less boring.

Hold study sessions with friends and bring plenty of brain food and energy drinks to keep you going. Put on a movie or some music and have some fun with it. Friends always make doing boring things better, and that includes studying. Just make sure that you are able to concentrate on what you are doing, because sometimes when friends get together work doesn’t really get done.

Each time you finish a chapter out of your text book you can reward yourself with a certain kind of food or something else that will keep you going towards the next chapter. Also remember to take breaks and get some fresh air, because being trapped inside a dorm room reading all day can really start to affect you after a while. Just make sure you are giving yourself breaks every hour or two so you will be able to focus clearly on what you are doing. Also make sure to eat foods that will help you concentrate, so you’ll be able to make the most out of your study sessions.

End of the Year College Pranks

Although these types of pranks are what you typically think of as happening exclusively in high school, you will find that they still happen in college. When you are trying to think of the absolute best most memorable way to end your senior year, you will want to try and pull off a truly epic prank that will have students from all different classes talking for a long time. It is important to think about what all of your options are in order to pull off the best one possible.

A lot of the pranks in college consist of animals, whether they are chickens or birds, you will definitely want to consider utilizing this option. There is nothing better than seeing a dozen chickens running through your dorms or the library at your school. Sometimes it isn’t possible to do these pranks because you just cannot find the animals needed, but if you do have access to them you should consider it.

Sometimes college students play pranks on each other during the end of the year just for fun. This can be a great way to release the tension that builds up when studying for finals, so consider what all of your options are before choosing one particular prank to go with. You could always give your friend the number of a girl that you know and tell him that she said to call him. When he gives her a ring she won’t have any idea what he is talking about and he’ll be furious.

Another thing to think about it using furniture in your pranks. Putting an entire living room set on the front lawn of your school or inside one of the departmental buildings can be a funny end of the year prank. You can buy the furniture from a thrift store for a couple hundred. Pool your money together with the other students you are doing the prank with and there shouldn’t be any problems at all.

Keeping it Together for your College Exams

One problem that a lot of students have is that they get really bad test anxiety. This is more common than you might think. There are certain things that you will be able to do in order to avoid freaking out on the day of the test so you can pass with flying colors. Keep in mind that a lot of people have this problem and that you aren’t alone. As long as you have a good solution to it you should be okay.

Eating a healthy breakfast is more important than you might think. There is a lot of evidence to indicate that what you eat really does have a profound effect on the body, especially when you have to do challenging things like taking an exam. Remember to eat a balanced nutritious meal instead of just munching on whatever happens to be in your kitchen. This is especially important on the day of the exam.

Make sure to just slow down sometimes and realize why you are doing all of this. It can get all too easy to become overwhelmed and give in to the stress and anxiety. When you just take a step back every once in a while and look at things from a distance, they usually don’t seem that bad. It’s a good tip that will really help you to get through your entire college experience.

Take notes in class and write down as much as you can so you don’t have to struggle to find it in a book somewhere. Also making sure that you study a good amount before the test is important, but not too much. Going overboard and studying your brains out isn’t a good idea because you will most likely end up overwhelming yourself which is the absolute last thing you want to do before an important exam.

Choosing the Perfect Spring Break Spot

Choosing the ultimate Spring Break party destination can be tough because there are so many different places. A lot of college students choose to go abroad, partying in places like Cabo San Lucas, Mexico or Cancun. There are also plenty of places to go to in the U.S, such as Florida. Fort Lauderdale is one of the Spring Break hot spots that can be a great time for everyone. There are a few things that you will want to take into consideration when you are looking for a place to visit for your time off from school, such as the weather.

You obviously don’t want to go somewhere that is going to be boiling hot all the time. Even though it is spring, it’s still important to consider the weather of wherever you are planning on going. The last thing you want is to get to your party destination and have it rain the entire time because you didn’t look at a simple weather forecast before going. Another thing you will want to take into consideration is what there is to do. You’ll definitely want to choose a place that has plenty of cool clubs, bars, and places to hang out during your break.

A lot of college students choose a place with a beach, because there is nothing better than having a bonfire, doing some drinking, and chilling out on the sand with friends. You will also want to find a place that everyone who is going will enjoy. There are some places that are more popular than others for Spring Break, but that doesn’t mean you have to go there. You will have the best time when you pick a spot that will be fun for everyone who is involved. If you are on a budget this year, then you may want to think about staying inside the U.S, because going abroad can get expensive.

How to Deal with Hangovers from College Parties

When you go to a party you are most likely going to drink, especially if it is the weekend and you don’t have classes the next day. If that is the case, then you will definitely want to have a sure fire way to deal with the hangover that will doubt ensue. There are a lot ways to deal with hangovers, and most of them are just myths. You will want to learn what the real ways of getting rid of one are, so you will be able to function the next day.

Try taking a few aspirin before going to bed the night of the part. You might just be surprised at what happens the next day. It’s a good preemptive strike that will leave you feeling okay the next day. You can also look up different recipes for shakes and other non-alcoholic drinks that are good for hangovers.

If nothing else coffee is a good classic solution that usually works, although it takes a while. A good cold shower is something that will wake you up and throw you into the day; however it definitely doesn’t feel very good for the first few minutes. Once you get used to it you’ll be fine and you won’t have to deal with the hangover.

Keep a lot of medication on hand for headaches and stomach aches, depending on which you get the next day. Everyone’s bodies respond to mass amounts of alcohol differently, which is why you might want to consider having a little bit of everything on hand, including aspirin and Peptobismol.

These medications will help you to get over your hangover so you aren’t laying in bed the whole day useless. You should also try running or exercising if you have a hangover. Although it might sound crazy, you’d be surprised what exercise can do for you even if this type of situation.