Is Exercise Important to College Students?

Dr. Daniel Drane
Chair of Dept. of Physical Education, Sport
& Human Performance
Winthrop University

Zac Goodno
Junior, Healthcare Management Major
Winthrop University

Larry Wilson
Sophomore, History Major
Winthrop University 

   "If you can get to the point where you're consistently saying to yourself exercise is something that you want to do, then you're charting a course to a different future - one that is less about surviving and more about thriving." (Dr. John Ratey/jmu.edu)

       Getting enough exercise can be very beneficial to college students, both physically and mentally.
 Physically, exercise can help the body to function better and helps to decrease the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases.

   Studies have shown that people who spend more time watching television, sitting, or riding in cars have a bigger chance of dying earlier than people who get regular exercise. For more information on how exercise can be beneficial to college students physically, please visit www.hsph.harvard.edu.

    Mentally, exercise helps students to focus and concentrate better, it helps to boost their mood, and it also relieves stress.

 Exercising also helps to increase memory retention. The hippocampus is a structure in the brain that controls the formation and retention of memories. The hippocampus starts to shrink in most adults in their late 20s and causes memory loss over time. With regular exercise, the shrinkage can be prevented and can even promote regrowth.     For more information on how exercise can be beneficial to college students mentally, please visit www.aiuniv.edu.

    During my research on how exercise helps to improve college students, I interviewed three college students with three different majors and two professionals from the Department of Physical Education, Sport & Human Performance from Winthrop University.

    "I think it (exercise) is extremely important. It develops life long healthy skills and habits and it also helps to keep them in shape when they might not be eating all the proper foods that they need," said Dr. Daniel Drane when asked his opinion on the importance of exercise to college students.

    When asked how he feels after exercising, Larry Wilson said, "Sore. A lot sore, but I feel good, though. I feel more motivated."

Zac Goodno also said that he felt sore after exercising, but he liked doing it because it made him feel as if he accomplished something that day. 

    For the rest of these interviews and more, please visit my YouTube video The Importance of Exercise to College Students. You can also visit my poll and vote on whether or not you feel exercise can be beneficial to college students.