When leaving home for a new journey, college students are faced with newfound independence. Without a parent making you nutritious homecooked meals or telling you to do your homework and get to bed, students are forced to learn how to balance all aspects of their lives on their own.
But when it comes to health and wellness, IU provides a number of resources to help its students and faculty stay on top of their health, and does not just focus on the most common health issues among college students.
Health and wellness focus on four major components that make up a healthy lifestyle: nutrition, stress management, physical activity, and sexual health. At the IU Health and Benefits fair, there were numerous campus and community resources that promote health and wellness.
Vendors and resources that were available to better physical health.
People always talk about the dreaded freshman 15, a term used to label the issue of weight gain among college freshman, and essentially all college students. At the event, there were numerous ways to promote better nutrition, ranging from live cooking demos using produce from the IU Campus Farm, to Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at IU (SAND-IU) , a club for nutrition and dietetics majors, which provides information on plant-based diets and RPS dining options on campus that have more plant-based options that can help students to experiment with this alternative dietary option.
And to assist with another big aspect of physical health, physical activity, IU Recreational Sports, and Step into Fitness Program was there to inform and educate attendees about the many resources available on campus to get students active. These include more than 80 group exercise classes offered each week; court time for a game of pickup basketball, free tennis equipment, lap swimming, or working out using the latest strength training and cardio equipment.
More information about resources and activities available for stress relief.
The American Institute of Stress has numerous reasons for the epidemic of student stress, from getting acclimated to the new environment, to taking care of health, to finances, and more. The campus Health and Benefits Fair provided campus and community resources for managing stress, complete with activities and information for all. With the opportunity to receive a free-five minute massage, create aromatherapy and beaded bracelets, and learn about the Bloomington Salt Cave, a local resource that uses Halotherapy, a drug-free and holistic approach to obtain optimal health and wellness, attendees got a sneak preview of all the resources available to help manage their stress. Campus resources including IU Counseling and Psychological Services were also there, to give attendees the information and resource they need to receive help managing their mental health.
To tackle the talk about sexual health, the IU Health Center was there providing free STI and HIV testing, and information about sexually transmitted diseases, consent, and protection.
Some of the other vendors at the event showing their available resources.
The IU Health and Benefit’s fair had a number of vendors who were there providing information, free benefits, and free products.
Whether it was a free new toothbrush, courtesy of Gentle Dentist, a free spinal scan done by representatives from Osmon Chiropractic Center, or a free carbon-monoxide test from the Tobacco Cessation program at IU, the benefits did not only come from the free products, but also the information attendees got to learn about their own bodies.
But for some, the most rewarding part of coming to this event was not the ways they could benefit their own lives, but the ways they could benefit others. Representatives from the Indiana Donor Network and a bone marrow donation organization called Be The Match were there, with opportunities for attendees to sign up to be donors, and help save lives.
