NDSU hosts events for students to promote healthy living
The NDSU Wellness Center hosts many opportunities for students to participate in. This October, various intramural championships and events are happening to encourage fitness and healthy living in students. By participating in these events, students meet new people and exercise in a fun way.
Abby Hopkins, a junior at NDSU, is participating in the women’s volleyball intramural league with her friends. “It is a lot more fun to exercise when you are together and doing a team sport,” said Hopkins. She also stated that it is a great way for students who don’t play NDSU sanctioned sports to get involved on campus.
The season for intramural flag football, sand volleyball and volleyball have all started. Students play once a week and compete with other teams. Teams can be formed by the participants and are open to all people no matter the skill level. Intramural indoor soccer and basketball seasons are starting on Nov. 1.
Student activity while in school has not only shown to help students’ health, but also their grades. According to the University of New Hampshire, “students who exercised at a vigorous intensity for seven days each week had GPAs that were 0.4 points higher than those who didn’t exercise.”
Healthy exercise also improves your mental health. Kevin Hines, speaker at last week’s Green Bandana Project event, worked on a plan for better mental health. He stated that exercise for 23 minutes a day, leads to 12 hours of better, or improved mood, according to Huffpost.
According to the CDC, “Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better.” While in college, students who exercise have reduced anxiety and are able to get better sleep.
NDSU also hosts one-day tournaments. Some of the one-day tournaments include basketball skills, wallyball, canoe battleship and pickleball. The wellness center is also hosting E-sports. These tournaments include NBA 2K, FIFA, Rocket League 2v2 and Fortnite. The E-sports tournaments are free for the students that participate. All tournaments are occurring in November and October. To participate in the events, students must register through the NDSU Wellness website.
The wellness center also hosts free Group Fit classes for students. These classes occur weekly and are free to all students. They provide studio, aquatic and cycle classes which provide many opportunities for students. The studio classes include yoga, Zumba, high intensity interval training, total body strength, Barre and strong. All the classes focus on building muscle and provide a cardio workout.
For more information about intramural sports and the wellness center click here.