How to have a

healthy
physical,
mental,
& emotional
lifestyle in college
By Rachel Belack

Scenario
I

work for the department of Public Health at a

major University within their Communications
department.
One of my main jobs is to seek out various
concerns and needs affecting college students.
I then provide resources to students concentrating
around the areas of personal health.
The three main aspects of ones personal well
being include physical, mental, and emotional
health. There has been much media attention
across the Nation about the increasing risk factors
among college students such as increasing rates of
obesity and mental illnesses developing during their
college career.

Topic
The Health Department supervisor has asked me
to research the best ways for students to
manage stress and attain a healthy and
balanced lifestyle while at college.
She has provided me with a $250,000 budget to
use on resources and an educational campaign
to promote these healthy lifestyle factors across
the campus.
Not only will I be assessing the various needs of
the students, but I will also be providing them
with information they can implement into their
lives which will make them aware of positive
changes they can that will help them overall.

Research Question

What

are the most common stressors students face

while at college?

How

do students take care of themselves

physically, mentally, and emotionally?

What

can students do to help them live a healthier

lifestyle and have a better college experience?

What

resources should Universities provide to

ensure students can maintain a balanced lifestyle?

What is the biggest factor that influences

college students overall health?
STRESS is by far the most influential internal and
external factor affecting college students and it
can manifest in many ways.

Stress
o

o
o

According to the book Mindful Eating 101: College and

Beyond, stress is a physical and psychological reaction to
demands placed upon us that we feel are greater than
we can handle.
Too much stress can take a huge toll on a persons
physical, mental, and emotional health.
About.com reports that roughly 50% of American students
who go to college dont end up graduating.
o Much of this has to do with stress!

Record Stress Levels

According

to psychologytoday.com, 2010
national findings from the UCLAs Higher
Education Research Institute showed record
levels of poor emotional health among
incoming first-year undergraduates.
College related stress can be caused by both
internal and external factors; things that can be
controlled and others that cant.
60 % of college students reported having high or
very high stress.

Common Stressors
Leaving Home
Self esteem/ Body image

Romantic/Social life
College costs

Having a Job
Grades/Exams

Career Aspirations

What are some ways to help regulate stress levels so

it doesnt negatively affect ones physical, mental,
and emotional health?
According

to uhs.ugs.edu in an article titled

Managing Stress: A Wellness Lifestyle
Approach for College Students suggests that
approaching stress management from a
wellness lifestyle perspective approach can
give you money in the bank when it comes
to preventing stress.

By taking an active approach to addressing

personal stress and getting help from family,
friends, and campus resources one can
keep stress levels under control and maintain
a healthy homeostasis.

What are some tips on managing stress that

will positively affect your overall wellbeing?
Positive

Attitude the way you think makes a

big difference
Healthy Eating maintain healthy weight,
boost immune system, feel better about
yourself
Physical Activity try to get at least 30mins of
exercise 3-4 week
Relaxing remember to schedule personal
downtime
Adequate Sleep know how much your
body needs to function properly

Cont.
Healthy

Relationships avoid toxic

partners/friends
Time Management learn to schedule and
manage your time on a short and long term
basis
Avoid excess alcohol/tobacco too much can
lead to high risk behaviors
Money Management budget and stick to it
Average

Spirituality

credit card debt of an undergrad is $2,748

finding personal meaning in your life

Breaking down overall health

into 3 main categories:
Physical

Mental

Emotional

Physical
According

to a Journal on Fitness; Emotional

Health, research shows that there is a substantial
decrease in physical activity during the transition
from adolescence into adulthood.
Evidence of this is the fact that 1 in 4 college
freshmen gain at least 5% of their body weight
during their first semester.
There is a positively correlated relationship
between increased level of physical activity and
increased mental health outcomes such as mood,
self-esteem, and anxiety.

Therefore, students who exercise or become physically

active throughout the week are less likely to experience
poor mental health and associated stress

What are some ways for college students to

improve their physical health?
Exercise

3-4 times per week: lift weights, go

running, swimming, biking
Make healthy eating choices: avoid late night
snacks high in carbs, choose fruits and
vegetables at every meal, track/journal your
caloric intake daily, use nutrition labels
Get quality amounts of sleep: The average
recommendation is 9 hours a day, but everyone is
different

Mental
According

to a Journal on Psychology on
Psychology & Health, mental, emotional, and
relational concepts are the most central factors
affecting concepts of health.
A study on college students found that 4.8%
reported symptoms of poor mental health and
depression.
National Comorbidity Survey found that 5.8% of
college students met Diagnostic and Statistical
criteria of Mental Disorders for major depression.
In general, adolescents between the ages of 18-24
have the highest rates of depressive symptoms

What are some ways for college students to

improve their mental health?
Learn

how to manage your stress effectively

Practice time management and prioritizing
See a psychologist/psychiatrist/counselor
Sometimes

talking to someone with an unbiased opinion

can help find solutions you didnt initially see yourself
Recognizing signs and symptoms of mental health
concerns is the first step to seeking help
Keep

problems in perspective

For example, although failing a test may be a big let

down, it doesn'tt mean youll have to drop out of college

Emotional
According

to a Kent State University Heath

Services pamphlet called, Mental &
Emotional Well-being, there is a whole
spectrum of mental and emotional health.
These

include both external and internal factors

Examples

of factors that can affect emotional

health of students in college:

Family issues
Academic pressures
Relationships
Body image concerns/self esteem
Trying to fit in
Dealing with peer pressure
Disordered eating

What are some ways for college students to

improve their emotional health?
Try

to maintain healthy relationships and avoid

toxic ones
Report and seek help from any type of abuse
(domestic, sexual, verbal)
Navigate peer pressure tactfully dont do
anything youre not comfortable in doing
Recognize the fact that the college culture may
be different from the culture you were raised in
Seek help from professionals to sort out problems

What are some University resources that

can help students balance their health?
Physical:

recreational centers, physical trainers,

boot camps, workshops, classes for elective
credit, healthy food options such as salad bars
Creating

environments where students can easily

engage in physical activity may help prevent activity
decreases from high school.

Mental

& Emotional: Counseling center, free

psychologists, crisis hotline, academic advisors,
health center professionals, spiritual leaders

Research Question & Conclusion

Question

What resources should be bought with a $250,000 budget that include an

educational campaign to promote these healthy lifestyle factors across
the campus?

Conclusion

After analyzing the aspects that cause stress in college students that affect
physical, mental, and emotional health, I believe that the University should
implement various tools free and accessible to all registered students. For
physical health, recreational center access should be free and there will
be free workout classes/workshops to stimulate physical activity for both
beginners and advanced people. With food options, there needs to be a
salad bar in every dining hall as well as access to nutritional facts to all precooked campus meals. Regarding mental and emotional health, the
health center departments will off free counseling to any student in need.
Lastly, for the educational component, for a week of each semester will
be dedicated to student wellness where students can participate in
activities and obtain valuable resources on physical, mental, and
emotional health such as t-shirts with inspiring quotes, brochures, free
classes, and prizes as an incentive to promote participation.

Students are more likely to participate in activities if

there are incentives involved
For example, free workout classes
Wellness Week prizes

Research shows that if a social environment is provided

where students can interact with their peers, it will
promote a higher participation in University held
activities
A lot of times, students understand concepts but dont
know how to put them into action
For example, they realize that to lose weight you need to
burn off more calories than you take in over an extended
period of time. However, they dont know how to begin
doing that.
By providing visual aids such as pamphlets, information
can be clear and detailed outlining how to improve ones
health and overall lifestyle

Research Process
1. I had to obtain a more concrete form of working
knowledge. However, the topic directly relates to me as a
female junior undergraduate who is very health conscious, so I
was already aware of general background information on the
topics.

I found brochures from the Kent State University Student

Center, Wellness Center, and Health center which discussed
these aspects of health and also provided resources that
were available on campus. I also visited various health
related websites and blogs by using Google searches to get
a couple different perspectives on what the top stressors
were and what college students on average did to manage
their stress. I also used EBSCOs Academic Search Complete
to find some articles that would cross-reference with the
websites to verify the information and strengthen my
general knowledge.

2. This is a very relevant topic to the context of my current

college campus environment, so it was extremely to obtain the
information I needed.

I was able to use OhioLINK to get books sent to me about

physical health and mindful eating in college from Ohio State
University.
There are thousands of journal articles on EBSCO centralizing
about college students health and how to manage stress.

Research Process
3. Some of the information I found differed depending
on the source such as from journal article to website to
book.

4.

When searching for top college stressors and how to

manage ones stress in particular, it seemed like every
source had its own opinion to offer. However, by
selecting refereed journal articles to compare the results
found from the websites, I was able to cross analyze the
information and narrow down what was presented by
what was stated in both sources.

I was surprised to find so much useful information I

could utilize just by accessing the free resources
available to students across Kent States campus.

Much of the information I found on emotional health

came from the pamphlets provided by the health center

Resources Used

I used OhioLink to find the book sources that I used for

my project. Both were very helpful in obtaining
relevant quotes.
I used EBSCO Academic Search Complete to find
the journal articles. This is by far my favorite online
resource to use, because you know all the sources will
be credible and the advanced search options allow
you to find exactly what you need. I find this
database very user friendly.
When searching for websites, I used Google Search
and utilized the AND Boolean word.
For specialized sources, I used About.com to find an
article on mental health since I initially was having a
hard time finding formation differentiating between
mental and emotional health.

ANNOTATED BIB
Included

separately