By Ncamisile Mtshali
To help students manage exam stress and mental health during the upcoming exam season, the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and a Durban-based fitness trainer held a workout session at the DUT Steve Biko Campus’s Sports Centre recently.
The DUT Department of Student Counselling and Health partnered with Blaise Mukembanyi, a herbal life wellness coach and fitness trainer, to offer workout session for students to help manage exam stress and mental health during the upcoming exam season.
Mukembanyi said that exercise does not only provide physical benefits, but also enhances mental well-being.
“The benefits of working out are that it relieves stress and releases happy hormones, which will allow your body to start feeling better so that you will be able to retain information when you are studying. This will be good for their (the students’) study habits as well, because it means they will be able to absorb information quickly. Training helps to activate our mental capacity,” he said.
Mukembanyi added that they organised the sessions to empower students to prioritise their health over resorting to unhealthy activities, such as alcohol and substance abuse, to deal with stress.
“Youth tend to spend time on alcohol and drugs, which destroy lives. Attending these kinds of sessions will keep them away from such,” he advised.
Neliswa Qwabe, a DUT student who participated in the session, said that she hoped that exercise will enhance her focus while studying to prepare for the exams.
She said: “I was motivated to join this fitness session because I like sports and exercising. Workouts help me, especially when I am tired. They ease my mind and reduce academic stress, which is good for my body and mental health. It also makes me think outside the box. I become more focused and energetic, which is helpful when I’m preparing for exams.”
Another student, Samukelo Mkhize, expressed his desire for the university to invite fitness trainers like Mukembanyi regularly to help train students.
“Seeing today’s training session made me want to participate in the next sessions if they will be there. I wish the university could do this more often and have coaches like Mukembanyi to offer these kinds of training and exercising programmes. I have seen how helpful they can be by just watching other students do different workouts. I saw the joy it brought and I would like to partake next time,” he said.
Salome Naidoo, a DUT Department of Student Counselling and Health nurse, pointed out that some physical health issues may stem from underlying mental health issues.
“As nurses, we do not only look at the physical expectations and diagnoses. When a student enters our office and he or she sits down, we look at the overall situation to see if the student is stressed or not. You may find out that stress is causing high blood pressure. We offer the best wellness care and we refer students to the Counselling Department if they are dealing with depression and anxiety,” she said.
