Physical Health and the Student

A presentation by: Ariana Walterhouse, Elizabeth Dennis, and Lauren Reid.

Can improving one’s overall physical health aid in academic

Physical health [digital image] . Retrieved from performance, improve mental health, and provide a better
https://www.brown.edu/campus-
life/health/services/promotion/general-health/physical-
night’s sleep?
health
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEPnYII8uSI

What is Physical Health?

 Based on the Project School Wellness video:

• Physical health is the state of our physical body and how well
it is functioning.

• If we forget to care for one area of our physical body, such as

not getting enough sleep, another area of our body will suffer
the consequences (i.e. losing focus at school).

• What does this mean for a student? Is it especially important

for students to pay attention to their physical health?

Physical Health [digital image]. Retrieved from

https://www.minimalist.academy/using-a-minimalist-approach-to-physical-health/
Let’s take quick a look at some research…
Pie charts generated from meta-chart.
 • There has been little to no studies done on the
correlation between a student’s diet and his or
her academic performance. Why?
Diet and
• Socioeconomic factors play a big role, and
Academic separating people based on their status would
Performance not be appropriate for this type of study.

• Diet is still part of our physical health however,

so how do we relate the two?
 • A study from 2013, done by the Nutrition Journal, was only
able to link the consumption of French fries to poor academic
performance.

• The study surveyed 101 first year university students, asking a

variety of diet related questions and linked them to each
students’ GPA and attendance.
Something to • Of all the different foods listed in the survey, the only food that
think on… showed somewhat of a spike between low GPA and diet was a
large consumption of French fries over a period of time.
(Deliens, Clarys, Bourdeaudhuij, & Deforche, 2013)

**To yourself, personally reflect on a time when you have maybe

consumed a large amount of fried foods or otherwise unhealthy food.
Did you lose energy more quickly after that? Did you have more
trouble focusing on tasks?**
 • If mental health branches off of physical health, can
daily physical activity promote better stress levels?

Physical • The Anxiety and Depression Association of

America states that “the physical benefits of
Activity and exercise—improving physical condition and fighting
Mental Health disease—have long been established, and physicians
always encourage staying physically active. Exercise is
also considered vital for maintaining mental fitness,
and it can reduce stress.” (ADAA, 2018)
 The DSM-5 factors for mental health and the diagnosis of mental
disorders fails to mention that physical health plays a key role in
the possible downfall of a persons mental state. Based on our
own personal experiences, is this something that should be
changed? Or are they too scientifically different to blame one on
the other in a healthcare setting?

“1. A behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an

individual

2.Reflects an underlying psychobiological dysfunction

3. The consequences of which are clinically significant distress (e.g., a

painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important
areas of functioning) Mental Illness [digital image].
Retrieved from
4. Must not be merely an expected response to common stressors and http://www.galaxytvonline.com/healt
losses (ex. the loss of a loved one) or a culturally sanctioned response to a h/expert-says-half-of-mental-illness-
particular event (ex. trance states in religious rituals) cases-begin-at-14yrs

5. Primarily a result of social deviance or conflicts with society”

(American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
 • We hear all over the media that the more active we are, the
more regulated our daily schedule will become, sleep
included.

• Sleep is one of those topics that people are constantly

Physical interested in and especially interested in studying about.

Health and • According to a 2015 study from the Journal of Behavioral

Medicine, the benefits of exercise on sleep can be seen
Sleep immediately, and exercise has an acute positive impact on
many important objectives of sleep. It can lead to greater
subjective/objective sleep benefits over time: including
benefits comparable to those that are produced through
behaviour therapy for insomnia. Though the benefits are
immediate they have the potential to grow over time.
(Kredlow, Capozzoli, Hearon, Calkins & Otto, 2015)
• A 2017 study showed that purposely decreasing your
physical activity will result in lower-quality sleep (less
hours of sleep a night).

• An intervention group of 26 people, aged 18-35 were

asked to decrease their step count by >5000 a day,
while a control group of 13 people remained
participating in their own regular activities.

• There was significant evidence to show that the

intervention group was receiving poorer quality of sleep
compared to the control group, and when they finished What happens
the experiment their levels gradually went up again.
when we test
(Edwards & Loprinzi, 2017)
the evidence?
 LET’S PLAY A
GAME

 https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/d0a93c31-f2dc-460f-8cd4-afd5b8991f41

Jigsaw [digital image]. Retrieved from

https://www.redbubble.com/de/people/da
rtuarote/works/28533953-puzzle-ein-
gruseliges-gesicht?p=photographic-print
 Closing Thoughts…

• Physical health is so much more than just the physical aspect of our personal
being. We must look after all aspects of our overall self (mentally, physically, and
socially) in order to maintain balanced physical health.

• Reflect: after learning about how each aspect of physical health effects a student,
what areas do you think you need to improve on or focus on in order to elevate
your experience as a learner?
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American
Psychiatric Publishing.

Deliens, T., Clarys, P., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Deforche, B. (2013). Weight, socio-demographics, and health behaviour related
correlates of academic performance in first year university students. Nutrition Journal, 12, 162.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.dproxy.library.dc-uoit.ca/10.1186/1475-2891-12-162

Edwards, M. K., & Loprinzi PhD, P. D. (2017, March). Experimentally increasing sedentary behavior results in decreased sleep
quality among young adults. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 12, 132-140.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2017.04.002

Kredlow, M. A., Capozzoli, M. C., Hearon, B. A., Calkins, A. W., & Otto, M. W. (2015). The effects of physical activity on sleep: a
meta-analytic review. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 38(3), 427+. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.dproxy.library.dc-
uoit.ca/apps/doc/A434803436/AONE?u=ko_acd_dc&sid=AONE&xid=726ecc80

Physical Activity Reduces Stress. (2018). Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Retrieved from
https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-illnesses/other-related-conditions/stress/physical-activity-reduces-st

References