Welcome to Health Enhancement’s Web Page!
The "Good News" is that college students are pretty healthy overall and N I U students are no exception. In fact, in a recent survey of college students nationally, nearly 60% of those surveyed rated their health status as excellent or very good.¹ Many health promoting behaviors are practiced regularly by N I U students who rate their health higher than the national average with nearly 64% reporting health as excellent or very good.²
Of course, there are things all of us can do to improve our health. The staff at Health Enhancement invites you to use this resource for your personal and academic benefit. Here you will find an ever-growing collection of health and wellness information and some tips to help make sense of all of the “health stuff” that can be found on the web these days. Please explore and let us know if there is anything we can add to the site to make your Northern Illinois University experience more successful.
¹ National College Health Assessment Executive Summary, 2002, n=27,969
² N I U National College Health Assessment, 2002, n=631
Health Enhancement provides several options where students can get information and resources without having to stop in at our offices in Evans Field House. We regularly set up resource tables in all of the residence halls on a rotating basis and we are in Holmes Student Center four days each week. In addition, we will be experimenting with having a table on the south side of Lucinda, just ouside of Evans Field House on nice days and just inside the Field House when the weather gets tough for outside tables. Tables will include printed information, condoms, giveaways, and other health promotion resources. Stop by and check us out!
Here is our schedule for Health Enhancement resource outreach sites.
Health Enhancement is the health promotion department within the Division of Student Affairs at Northern Illinois University. In support of the mission of Northern Illinois University, Health Enhancement strives to provide student-centered, relevant health promotion information, materials and interventions to assist students as they pursue their academic goals.
Health Enhancement is funded by a portion of the student health fee with additional funding from NIU Student Association. The staff consists of four health educators, a medical consultant, a full-time secretary, and a small group of graduate and undergraduate students.
We are located in several areas within Evans Field House on the Southeast corner of Lucinda and Annie Glidden.
The entrance is located at the Southeast corner of the building, across from Graham Hall.
Health Enhancement provides opportunities for Northern Illinois University students to enhance their learning experiences by offering paid, part-time student worker positions, internships, and graduate assistantships. Each semester, Health Enhancement employs approximately 10-15 students to work in a variety of positions on campus including office and outreach workers, graphic and web designers, researchers, and data analysts.
Visit Privacy Policy
Back to top / Navigation linksHealth Enhancement maintains regular university office hours (M-F; 8am-4:30pm). Hours during the semester break may be different.
Health Enhancement maintains several regular staffed resource outreach sites.
Health Enhancement can provide a speaker for your residence hall, organization, or class. Please provide as much detail as possible. Contact Sherry, Health Enhancement Secretary to schedule by phone (815)-753-9755 or to speak to a health educator about planning a successful event.
Back to top / Navigation linksServices provided by Health Enhancement include the provision of health information, educational sessions and materials. Formats for these health promotion interventions include presentations and trainings in academic classes and for student organizations, outreach events, mobile and stationary resource sites, individual and professional consultations, and electronic (web and email) and print media.
Informational presentations on a variety of health topics are provided for classes and to student groups. Call (815) 753-9755 or go to www.health.niu.edu to schedule a presentation.
LEEEP - Life Enhancing Eating and Exercise Program is designed to increase healthy eating behaviors and activity levels for NIU students. Information, classes and incentives for healthy behavior are available.
Health information is published in the display and classified sections of the Northern Star, and is posted on bulletin boards and buses throughout campus.
Training is provided for: students and staff of residence halls, student groups, campus departments, and programs.
Our Wellness Resource table in the Holmes Student Center, provides health information and materials.
Wellness Resources available in our office include educational materials for use in speeches, presentations, class projects, and residence hall/student group events.
The Recreation Center houses a Wellness Resource Center, which provides health information and materials.
The Mobile Awareness Resource Center (MARC) is a portable health information display on rotation in residence halls, academic buildings, and other locations on campus.
Health Enhancement staff members participate in university and community efforts as advocates for policies and procedures which promote health and prevent disability.
Xtreme Air is a smoking cessation program for NIU students. We offer Quit-Smoking Kits, coaching, and a limited supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Call the office for a kit or to schedule an appointment.
21st Birthday Card program sends NIU students information about safer partying along with wishes for a happy 21st birthday.
Information on current college health issues is published periodically in the online version of the Northern Star.
Back to top / Navigation linksWhich statement is true?
Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs
If you answered “D,” you are in touch with the world around you. Congratulations!
This site will provide information regarding all drugs (substances) in a fair and even-handed manner. Prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs, herbal preparations and extracts, legal and illegal chemicals, coffee, tobacco, caffeine, alcohol, even the substances contained in chocolate, all share risks and benefits associated with their use. All substances that people can put into their bodies have the potential for positive and/or negative outcomes. In a world filled with thousands of mind/body altering substances that can be put into the body, human beings are faced with many decisions related to what substances to use and in which ways to use them. Everyone develops relationships with substances over their lifetime. Hopefully, the information that is found here will make some of those decisions a little clearer.
Here, you will find resources on alcohol (our societies most used and abused drug), tobacco (nicotine is the most addictive drug known to humans) and many other drugs (substances) that are important for students to have information about. It will be a constant work in progress. Please let us know what information and resources will be beneficial to you while you are at Northern Illinois University.
Back to top / Navigation linksMost N I U Students Drink Moderately
On average, Northern Illinois University students drink 0-4 drinks when they “party,” and on average, “party” one time per week, or not at all. In addition to drinking moderately, most students also drink safely. The vast majority of students did not hurt themselves or anyone else as a consequence of their drinking in the last school year. In fact, 67% of Northern Illinois University students reported practicing at least one of the following safer drinking tips the last time they “partied:”
Please check back often for an ever-increasing collection of tips and information designed to help keep you safe and healthy when dealing with the drug, alcohol.
Back to top / Navigation links7 out of 10 N I U students choose not to smoke. Of those students who do smoke, 9 out of 10 want to quit.
Health Enhancement offers several ways to help N I U students successfully quit smoking.
If you or someone you know is interested in quitting smoking, here are few tips to help get you started.
Other drugs run the gamut from prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, herbal preparations and extracts, to legal and illegal chemicals and common beverages or foods containing some of the aforementioned substances. Society tends to categorize drugs as either “good” or “bad” depending on what the current culture believes about them. For example, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries many medicines (prescriptive and OTC) contained cannabis (marijuana), cocaine, or heroin. When society decided that the negative consequences outweighed the positive outcomes, they were banned. Recently, there have been several prescriptions drugs that have been withdrawn from the market for similar reasons. The process and history of how and what substances are allowed, encouraged or banned is fascinating and ever-changing.
The topic of drugs and drug use and abuse continues to draw substantial debate and discussion in the U.S. as we struggle as a culture to gain maximum benefit from drugs while minimizing harmful effects. Please check back often to find an ever-growing collection of information to help students sort out issues and questions about the substances around us.
Back to top / Navigation linksSafer Sex at N I U
Most N I U students protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases (STD) or unintended pregnancies by either practicing safer sex behaviors or by not engaging in sexual contact that places them at risk. Health Enhancement’s aim is to promote healthy relationships for those students who choose to be in a sexual relationship; to reduce negative health consequences that may occur from sexual relationships; and to encourage behaviors that will reduce the likelihood of sexual consequences inhibiting a student’ s ability to fulfill their academic objectives.
What is Safer Sex?
Safer sex means practicing one or more behaviors that will reduce your risk of experiencing a negative consequence from sexual activities. The term “Safer Sex” is used instead of “Safe Sex” since every sexual contact involves some form of risk – there is a continuum of risk from extremely safe to extremely risky.
Condoms (and Other Safer Sex items) at N I U
The correct and consistent use of condoms and other safer sex items is a key component for sexual health safety. Any sexual contact between two people carries some degree of risk. The only way to completely eliminate your risk is to refrain from any sexual contact. While condoms and other safer sex items are not perfect and cannot guarantee that you will be free from disease or unintended pregnancy, diligent use of available protective measures can reduce your risk significantly.
As part of an overall safer sex initiative, Health Enhancement provides these items at no additional cost to Northern Illinois University students. Our objective is to reduce barriers so that every student who would like to access these protective items can obtain them as easily as possible.
Health Enhancement’s Condom Availability Program
N I U students are fortunate to have one of the best condom availability programs in the country.
We make nearly twenty different types of condoms and other safer sex items available to students at no additional cost pursuant to our objective of reducing risk of sexually transmitted disease and unintended pregnancy.
We also have developed a number of ways that students who want to use these items can obtain them easily.
Personal Use
In order to facilitate access and minimize the time and expense of re-supply, we ask students to limit themselves to no more than 10 condoms at any one visit, but feel free to visit as often as you need to.
Availability Program for Community Advisors and Student Organizations
CAs in the Residence Halls and student organizations are eligible to receive condoms in bulk to make them available for their residents or members.
This program requires a short, one-time visit to Health Enhancement (Rm. 123) to register for the program. Representatives will then be eligible to receive bulk condoms throughout the school year as often as necessary to meet the needs of their residents/members.
Condoms and Other Safer Sex Items for Student Projects
Condoms and other safer sex items are available for student class projects and student organization educational projects.
Contact Health Enhancement at 753-9755 or email healthenhancement@niu.edu to obtain approval for your project.
Condom Vending
Health Enhancement also contracts with National Safety Limited to provide vending options for condoms in various campus buildings.
While these condoms cost $.50 each, if you were not able to get condoms in advance, this allows you to make sure that protection is available.
Types of Condoms and Other Safer Sex Items at NIU
Health Enhancement carries a wide variety of condoms and safer sex items to try and meet the needs and preferences of the student population. We strive to carry the highest quality products that we can get. This is not an area where getting the cheapest products has any advantage. Please contact us if there is any product that we could add to our inventory that would help you in having a safer sexual experience. Also, feedback regarding the products we do carry is always appreciated. Obviously, there are many individual preferences in this area. We will try to honor as many requests as possible.
Condom Feedback
Condom Links
Most N I U students (68%) exercise 2 or more hours per week. They exercise in many ways and at many places. Through Recreation Services, students have access to open recreation, fitness classes and personal training; intramurals and sport clubs; and, outdoor rentals and trips.
College is a time when many students are away from home for the first time. This means that they now have the responsibility for selecting their dietary choices more than ever before. Fortunately, there are a variety of resources available to help with these decisions.
Do you feed a cold and starve a fever or the other way around? When should I see a doctor? How can I avoid catching what my roommate has? What kind of medicine should I take for a dry cough and a runny nose? These are common questions when someone starts sneezing, feeling congested or feverish. So, how do you keep from getting sick in the first place and what should you do if you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms?
This page will provide you with information to answer these and other questions. Please check back, especially as the cold and flu season gets underway, to find newly placed information.
In the meantime, here are some things you can do to reduce the duration and intensity of your cold or flu:
Stress
The adjustment to academic life at college is stressful for almost every new student. In addition, each student has specific situations and events that cause him or her stress
(public speaking, test taking, being able to say no when you really don’t have the time, and issues around money, relationships, parents, partying, roommates, careers, tests, and papers).
Sleep In college it is easy to short-change our sleep when we are trying to do more and more in the same amount of time. There is no sleep police forcing us to get enough. When there are more demands on us than we have time for, sleep tends to make up the difference. Fortunately, we are designed to function with varying levels of sleep, but most people feel that they need 6-8 hours to feel truly rested. According to the National College Health Assessment, over 60% of students nationally reported getting enough sleep to feel rested in the morning at least 3 days a week.¹
Sleep Tips: Promoting a Healthy Sleep Style – Here are a few…more to come!
¹National College Health Assessment, 2002. n=28,258
Back to top / Navigation links“Smoking cessation represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives.”
--Report of the U.S. Surgeon General (1990)
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