Ellie Saladin, Brian Goldsmith, Chanel Williams

Professor John Dowell

WRA101-035

10 April 2019

Word Count: 1400

Do Yoga and Aerobics Reduce Anxiety in College Students?

According to the ​Anxiety and Depression Association of America​ (ADAA), anxiety

disorders are one of the most common mental health problems on college campuses (“Teens and

College Students”). Anxiety is defined as, "an emotion characterized by feelings of tension,

worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure" (“Anxiety”). For example,

college students may have the anxiety of making new friends, being away from home, failing,

taking a test, or just feeling overwhelmed. The American College Health Association (ACHA)

released results of their 2015 National College Health Assessment survey, which reported that

nearly one in six college students (15.8 percent) had been diagnosed with, or treated for, anxiety.

The same survey proved that 21.9 percent of students said that within the last year, anxiety had

negatively affected their academic performance (Brown, 2016). Of course, school can be

stressful and you may feel anxious about things once in a while, but that’s a normal and healthy

emotion. When it affects your everyday life or well being and the anxiety is excessive, it’s time

to get help (Felman, 2018). It’s also not only one type of anxiety. If you have social anxiety

(making new friends/ joining social groups), general anxiety or OCD, college can be more

difficult for you than someone who doesn’t have these difficulties. As the popularity of social

media life has increased, so has the pressure to be perfect which can cause anxiety (Barrett,
2018). Anxiety can arise in students on campus when they don’t feel like their reaching the

perfect image, they receive from social media. Make sure all of your friends and family at

college are feeling fine, ask how they’re doing and see if you can help them in any way.

Sometimes all they need is to converse/rant and know that someone is listening and cares. If

you’re a college student and are experiencing a new feeling and don’t know if it’s anxiety or not,

here’s a screening test: ​mental health screening​. Also, MSU CAPS and CLC departments have

scheduled four different 90-minute workshops to help students to optimize learning, reduce

anxiety, and improve test-taking skills, open to all students (“Test Anxiety Workshop”).

Many therapies have been established in order to decrease/help with someone's anxiety.

Two therapies are yoga and aerobics which are present in a wide array over Michigan State's

campus. Meditation and other stress-reduction techniques such as yoga have been researched as

possible treatments for depression and anxiety since 1970. Yoga can be helpful with both anxiety

and depression by reducing the impact of exaggerated stress responses. It decreases

physiological arousal in ways such as: ​reducing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and

easing respiration (Harvard Health). Aerobics is another beneficial exercise that reduces anxiety

levels when regularly practiced. It also reduces symptoms of something called, anxiety

sensitivity which is a known precursor to panic attacks and panic disorder (​Broman-Fulks, 2004)​.

Exercise helps anxiety by boosting physical and mental energy, relieving tension and stress, and

enhancing well being through the release of endorphins. By focusing on what you are doing with

your body instead of other things, people may be able to block off the continuous worries

traveling through their head (Robinson, 2019).

 The University's already existing social media budget will be used to cover the cost of

implementing our solution for anxiety. In ​fact​, we want to get this up as an advertisement on a

variety of social media platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook.

Additionally, Michigan State University can hire a college student as a part of an unpaid

internship. Another direction the university can go in is to hire a student as a part of work-study.

By hiring through work-study, the cost will not come with any additional fees to the university as

the government already has money set aside that is not being used. Rather, the university could

use a Residence Assistant (RA) who are already working for the Michigan State Residence Halls

to produce either a video ad or flyer to spread across the Michigan State Community. With this

in mind, the university and expand the campaign by requiring all the RAs to post the ads on their

personal social media and in the residence hall Facebook groups.

In order to run the Yoga and Aerobics classes, we will need money to cover the cost of

salaries and the cost of any advertisements. As for supplies we expect the current yoga mats to be

in good shape. However, if the mats are not in good shape new equipment will need to be

purchased. As for advertising, each Resident Assistant is given an annual budget of $200 dollars

for event planning and materials. This amount could cover the cost of flyers around the residence

halls, but will not be merely enough to produce a video advertisement. Instead, we will have to

use the money from a different budget. However, a student a part of the Communication Arts and

Sciences college could use and produce the video free of charge for a class assignment with the

vast technology readily available. Otherwise, the budget for paying an intern would come from

the government work-study program. Another possibility is to advertising these classes by

utilizing the Student life budget of $680,000. Next, since the demand for classes will increase

with more awareness for people with anxiety, a small percentage of the recreational sports and

fitness services budget of $1.026 million will go towards holding yoga and aerobics classes in

the residence halls and intramural sports buildings. A problem, however, is finding extra money

in the budget. Michigan State University is a not-for-profit organization and their expect

expenditures equal that of their revenue. Additionally, in light of the Larry Nassar Scandal, it is

expected that money would be tight for the university. The plans for the universities possible

budget increases to make up for lost profits are unknown, as the university already paid $23

million in legal fees for past employees and $500 million to victims in the fall of 2018. On the

other hand, it is doubtful that the university actually uses all of the money in its budget.

All in all, exercise such as yoga and aerobics go hand in hand with reducing anxiety.

Colleges, such as Michigan State University, need to spread awareness for anxiety programs

across its entire student population in order to give each student proper access to university

resources. Michigan State has many programs in place. By advertising through social media, a

major appeal to our target audience (ages 18-25), men, women, and students will become

increasingly more aware. In turn, they will participate in yoga and aerobics for the benefits to

both their physical and mental health.

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Winowiecki, Emma. “MSU Completes $500 Million Payment to Nassar Survivors Funds.”
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