My colleagues and I have noticed that there are many studies and discussions on the prevalence of students experiencing depression symptoms and how we can combat that. But there aren't as many studies discussing why students experience depression to better understand what can be done to prevent full on depression. As well as what resources your school has to help you. In this article we discuss some of the biggest reasons why students feel depressed and what can be done to help.
1.Students don't get enough physical activity
This is more true than it has ever been and we can't talk about getting active and outside without discussing the effect covid-19 has on students. In research article conducted by students in 2020 the effects covid-19 had on the physical activity of students was recorded.Physical activity is a powerful counterforce against depression because it improves mental health and brain health.The found that "there was a significant decrease in self-reported minutes of physical activity and worse depression scores in survey participants after the stay-at home order was issued compared to before the order."These findings convey the need for examining ways to maintain or increase physical activity in college students"(Coughenour,2020). Now that mandates have been lifted this is the perfect time to connect students with ways to get active again.
Try a UNLV Fitness Class!
https://www.unlv.edu/campusrec/fitness/exercise-classes
Let's discuss the psychological effects the physical therapy has on depressive symptoms. A research article conducted in 2019 explains that "Exercise stimulates many of the same neuroplastic mechanisms and is associated with growth in several brain regions that are adversely affected in people with depression, such as the hippocampus, prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices (Gujral et al., 2017). It also stimulates cerebral blood flow (Maass et al., 2015; Pereira et al., 2007), which appears to be affected in people with depression." Due to the lack of research on this particular relationship defintive conclusions are hard to make. But we do know that exercise produces changes in cortical activity, endocrine response, and oxidative stress . Which is why exercise is heavily believed to counter depression symptoms because it combats the biological effects depression has in the brain.
2. Students are Going to College for Someone Else
Within the United States education system, or any education system in general, there are a few clear expectations that each student is going to eventually follow. There is the trade school route, the college student route, the athletic route, or the drop out route. Which path a student decides to take is often determined by their parents or their authority figures/role models. These people are so influential in every part of a students life, from the time that they were born to the time they graduate high school, that it only seems to carry over even more in a collegiate setting. In an analysis conducted by Martin Pinquart and Markus Ebeling, it was found that, "Parents of low... educational background often adopt different rules than teachers in judging their children's achievement." The standard that some students are being held to has an entire set of impractical expectation, which is entirely unfair to them.
Elle Harris
Former Gymnast and Cheerleader
This can easily be seen in other realms of life besides education. There is a parallel to this issue, that can be seen in youth sports all the way to collegiate or professional sports. "...those with outstanding sports achievement can be admitted into university without passing an entrance examination, or can acquire qualifications for a job or become a coach after retirement as a player/athlete. As a result, sports achievements are considered a focal factor for pursuing further study and for the career development of students...Therefore, the issue of how to improve achievement is important in the sports field," states Wu Wang, in an article discussing the important of child athlete performances.
We had the chance to sit down and talk with a former athlete and current college student, about her journey with sports and her parental influences.
3. Having an undecided career path/No future goals
According to an article published back in 2016, "College students may often be forced to make major career decisions at a time when such decisions do not come naturally" (Brooks, et al., 2016). This can be difficult for some students who already have added pressures from their families. Pushing a career onto them that they may not be interested in. Some students may pursue that route in college and then halfway through decide that they have been unhappy so this brings them back to square one of discovering what they want to do for work. This inconsistency can lead to depression from regret of not initially pursuing what they wanted instead of living the life path that other people set out for them. Having no set goals does not form a solid foundation for a good career path
Bell, et al. stated that, " Mental wellbeing is protective for a range of health outcomes [11,12,13,14] and found to be associated with higher educational outcomes in adolescence and better occupational functioning in adulthood [15,16,17]" (2019). A beneficial way to combat depression and healthier brain function to assistant in decision making, would be to exercise more. Exercise provides many health benefits and the main one we'll be focusing on is a better state of mind and relieve the stress hormones.