Stress Management through Exercise
Hello, Scholars!
Congratulations on finishing Week 8 of the Spring 2023 semester! 2 more weeks and and we’ll be out for spring break. As we approach our second round of midterms, it’s important to prioritize your physical and mental health. Lucking, acute mental stress can be alleviated through physical exercise! As I have recently learned in my introductory neuroscience class, psychological factors that modulate the stress response are:
- Controllability over stressor (i.e. controlling your study habits before a midterm)
- Predictability (i.e. knowing when an exam is)
- Habituations which means no longer associating a stimulus with a stressor. (i.e. the more the exams you take, the more you get used to them!)
- And last but definitely not least: having outlets for dealing with frustration. This can be done by engaging in displacement behaviors – engaging in relaxing/fun activities or moderate exercise.
The focus of this post will be the third point: alleviating stress through exercise! There are many factors that could persuade an individual to not exercise. Some of mine are: “I don’t have a place to exercise”, “I have to allocate this time to study for my exam”, “I don’t want to workout by myself.” Whatever one’s provisionally legit persuasions may be, one must prioritize their health and wellbeing first. Think of it this way: as you get older, will your good grades compensate for your lack of health? The simple and direct answer is no.
However, to play devil’s advocate, allow me to show the flaws in my persuasions:
If you are a CU Boulder student, you are paying a mandatory recreation center fee for about $136 a semester! The Recreation Center is a hotspot for students and it includes almost everything you’d want to use for working out (top-notch machinery, a weightlifting room, 3 yoga studios, basketball courts, an ice rink, badminton courts, pools and much more!). You’re paying for it, might as well use it!
Working out alone is no fun and finding a gym buddy who’s on your schedule is hard! This is why group classes exist: a predetermined time and many people to sweat it out with. The Rec Center offers a variety of classes that can be attended with a BeFit Pass (which can be purchased for $70). The schedule for these events can be found here. You can also attend classes for $5 each! HOWEVER, each Friday the Rec hosts a FREE group fitness event. The schedule for those can be found here. The upcoming ones are a Lower Body Building class on March 10 from 5-6PM and a Stability and Conditioning class on March 17 from 5-6PM!
Stay fit, Honors friends!