Ethan J.

Smith

UWRT 1103

22 Sept. 2019

689 Words

How Does Exercise Help Reduce Stress In College Students?

● Descriptive Narrative:

I have always been an active student, participating in sports and extracurricular activities

all my life, but nothing takes my mind off stress more than weightlifting. It was the beginning of

my Junior year of high school when I knew I was in for a bad time… I had signed up for 2 AP

classes each semester, a college level engineering class, and all honors classes. My only easy

course would be my second semester weightlifting period. Quickly, I found myself burdened

with endless school work while balancing JROTC and running. Until weightlifting class, I was

not having a good year and was constantly stressed. What came out of the weightlifting class was

a healthy lifestyle and a positive outlook.

● History/Context(Who? What? When? How? Why?)

Many wonder why and how exercise helps build a better lifestyle in college. These days,

college students are among the most stressed out people. When a human is stressed out they lose

concentration and may resort to unhealthy habits like drugs or binge eating. Being able to have

an outage for one’s stress is essential to the well-being. Having a clouded mind may

exponentially increase problems. For example, a stressed student cannot think clearly therefore,
they may become more stressed from attempting an assignment while hindered. This is why we

all need to find a way to vent out stress.

● Prior Knowledge? How did you learn it?

My adventure in daily weightlifting began in January, 2019. My passion for the activity

grew as my weightlifting class progressed on. I was constantly setting higher and higher goals,

and that’s how I learned. I knew very little about weightlifting itself; most of my knowledge is

built through lifting with friends and coaches.

● What evidence have you gathered to establish that it is researchable? Include a couple

titles you have found.

A lot of self experience has helped me become interested in this topic. I have looked into

fitness articles, psychology articles, and skimmed a few books at the library. I have rented a book

titled ​Exercise Psychology: The Influence of Physical Exercise on Psychological Processes​,

detailing the science behind these processes.

● What keywords/subject words can you generate related to your inquiry? Consider

synonyms for keywords in your question.

A few terms that relate to my inquiry are: stress, frustration, relief, exercise, fitness,

activity, college, etc. These general words envelope this topic, and are what I have and will be

using to research my topic more deeply.

● Where might you look next for more perspectives on your question?
 The best place to gather information is from students who lift weights/exercise

themselves. A place to ask questions or learn more would be at the SAC or Belk Gym weight

rooms. Also, a great start is asking ROTC cadets, because there is a required PT from 6:00 -

7:00am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I could interview them about how they feel exercise

has impacted them.

● Can you limit or enlarge your question in terms of geography (UNCC, N.C., the U.S.),

time, or population?

Exercise and reduction of stress is a worldwide phenomenon, although the positive

impact is mostly seen in more stressed out individuals such as workers and students. This

concept is caused by the human body and its psychological processes.

● New specific questions?

Now that I am thinking about this subject in even further depth, I am wondering what

types of workouts are the most beneficial for stress relief? How many people just go to the gym

to get their minds of things? Do some people believe working out creates more of a problem?

● Why is this important to the UNCC community?

​This question is relevant because it explores a concept that can greatly impact a student.

Soon, a tremendous fitness facility is being built at UNCC, and I believe more and more students

will take part in some form of activity. Perhaps this topic will come into a few individuals mind

when they start their adventure into weightlifting.