Exercise Takes the Stress Away

 Relaxation for college students is something that is hard to come by.  Between tests, extracurriculars, and class, stress can be at an all time high.  However, according to research, burning off those extra calories can be the best thing to do to reduce stress.  Exercise is great for your cognitive and mental health, and it can help to reduce anxiety.

 Some students may prefer to de-stress in front of the TV instead of the gym, but a long jog can help protect against stress further down the road, a recent university study suggests.
In addition to reducing anxiety in the moment, moderate exercise may protect against longer-term emotional stress, according to a public health school report released last week. Through the study, published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal, author J. Carson Smith aimed to find out whether the effects of exercise would last after an individual is exposed to a stressful situation.

“There have been a lot of reports about how exercise makes your mood improve afterward, but so do a lot of other things, like relaxing in a chair,” said Smith, a kinesiology professor who specializes in how exercise affects mental and cognitive health. “What I was interested in is, what is it about exercise that helps to not only reduce your anxiety but may actually be more protective over time as you experience stress?”

In the study, Smith and a team of researchers asked 37 healthy and physically active young adults to carry out a 30-minute exercise and then exposed them to 90 images meant to arouse positive, negative and neutral emotions. On the first day, participants spent the time in seated rest before looking at the images for half an hour, and on the second, they cycled at moderate intensity. The researchers measured initial anxiety levels and took measurements 15 minutes after each exercise, and again after participants spent 30 minutes looking at the images, according to the study.

Researchers found that even presenting people with stressful, emotional images did not raise peoples’ anxiety levels significantly after they exercised. However, the images boosted participants’ stress of their initial levels when they had simply rested.

“Exercise protects you in the short term against the potentially anxiety-inducing effects that result from exposure to subsequent emotional events,” Smith said. “[The study] highlights that even though you can obtain an anxiety reduction by just sitting and doing nothing, exercise actually protects you from emotional stress you experience later. You don’t get that same protection by just sitting and relaxing.”

Several students, such as senior kinesiology major Matt Nolder, said they were not surprised regular workouts could help them foster a healthier state of mind.

“During finals week is really big,” said Nolder. “It’ll be my study break for about an hour so I can relax and get my mind off of everything I was doing so I can come back refreshed.”

For more information see The Diamondback.

Make Sure to Vote for Ola!

 Congratulations Ola!  Your fellow Terp was nominated for the Making a Difference Award through BET.  She needs your votes to receive the $2500 dollar cash award that can go to her two foundations.  Ola founded the Sacred Hearts Children's Transplant Foundation and Project ASCEND.

A University of Maryland, College Park, student has been nominated among 10 candidates nationwide to receive a $2,500 Making A Difference award from the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Awards, an online awards show through BET.com.

Ola Ojewumi, 21, was chosen by show producers due to her public service work as the founder and director of two nonprofit organizations, Sacred Hearts Children’s Transplant Foundation and Project 
 ASCEND, which helps Maryland students receive funding for community service projects.

Through the foundation nonprofit, she’s collected hundreds of teddy bears and books to be donated to children living with illnesses throughout the U.S. and has raised awareness about organ donations.


Ojewumi’s bio and information will be added to the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! show page on BET.com for viewers to nominate their favorite contestant through Sept. 14.

The top three candidates receiving the most votes will be given a $2,500 grant courtesy of Crest to support their community work.

Ojewumi was the recipient of two organ transplants for her heart and kidney when she was 11 years old.

For more information see The Gazette.

University College Cork and University of Maryland Start Parternship

 The University of College Cork in Ireland and the University of Maryland have joined forces to provide collaboration in academics and research.  This partnership will allow for student and faculty exchange, and also research information in the sciences.  This also allows for exchange of students for athletic training and competition.

The University of Maryland has entered into a formal partnership agreement with University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, establishing a wide range of collaborative educational and research activities.
The new partnership was formalized during a visit to Cork on August 30 by a delegation from Maryland, led by Maryland Secretary of State John McDonough and University of Maryland Vice President and Chief Research Officer Dr. Patrick O'Shea, a UCC Physics graduate.  The Memorandum of Understanding between UCC and the University of Maryland was signed by Patrick O'Shea and UCC President, Dr. Michael Murphy. 

The partnership agreement will provide for student and staff exchange and research collaboration in areas that include Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Physics, Engineering, Energy, Marine and Environmental Sciences, and Business, blending economic development initiatives with education and research priorities. As the agreement also provides for an exchange of students in the area of Sport, the delegation visited the Mardyke Arena where they were treated to a demonstration of hockey and soccer by UCC students and were also invited to test their hurling skills by UCC's Development Officer, John Grainger.

"I'm proud of my association with these two fine universities, both of which have their roots in the mid nineteenth century," says O'Shea. "This new agreement provides for a transatlantic cooperation that will meet the many challenges of the twenty-first century."

"I am delighted to announce this formal expression of collaboration between UCC and the University of Maryland. We look forward to developing significant links in key areas which will bring benefits, not only to the universities themselves, but to the Cork region and the State of Maryland," says Murphy.

O'Shea and McDonough were also in Cork for the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at Cork's Imperial Hotel to mark a visit to the city 167 years ago by one of the most iconic figures in American history.

Frederick Douglass, a Marylander who inspired the abolitionist movement in the U.S., as well as Britain and Ireland, made a visit to Cork in 1845 where he made numerous speeches on his experiences, his fight for freedom, and his eventual escape from the bonds of slavery.

One of the most spirited addresses by Douglass, who was a dazzling orator, was made in the Imperial Hotel before an audience of civic dignitaries, political leaders, and business people, including the founder of this newspaper, John Francis Maguire.

His words helped galvanize a campaign on both sides of the Atlantic to end slavery. His speeches and writings are still a source of inspiration to many - including President Barack Obama.

The visit to UCC and to the Imperial Hotel for the unveiling of the Frederick Douglass plaque was part of a three-day visit to Cork by the Maryland delegation, which was co-hosted by UCC, Cork County Council, and Cork City Council.

For more information see the University of Maryland.