Exercise for Stress Management

Catalog description

KINES 83 is a course designed to give the student an introductory understanding of the fundamental principles of stress management. This course will provide pertinent information the student needs to understand, organize, plan and implement a preliminary stress management program. In this course, the student will follow a progression to manage stress that encourages gaining awareness of the factors that contribute to stress, gives attention to the physical/ emotional/ behavioral symptoms in response to stress, encourages exploration of a variety of stress management techniques, and fosters the development of strategies that can be effective over time. Throughout the course, the student considers many components of wellness. Attention is given to specific strategies in physical wellness such as using physical activity and exercise to promote fitness, healthy eating to combat nutritional stresses, and physical relaxation techniques to explore reduction in muscular tightness, physical signs and symptoms of stress, and elevated mental distraction. The course also includes good practices in addressing emotional wellness through improving awareness and practicing cognitive stress management techniques such as reframing and cognitive restructuring. The student is introduced to the elements of fitness and research data that support inclusion of fitness prescriptions to enhance the relaxation response and/or to produce relevant changes in hormone levels. In conjunction with this knowledge and application of such knowledge,the student learns how nutritional decisions and qualities food possesses can result in calming versus energizing effects. Combining this knowledge, the student develops skills to create a personal program to incorporate these fitness and nutritional goals into their own behaviors. As the course progresses, there is continual emphasis on the importance of awareness and the connectedness of the mind and the body. Common themes through the course are awareness, mindfulness, and acting with intention with a goal of performing more effectively in a time of stress.