Learning to Move: Wellbeing at University

Universities have been putting more emphasis on wellbeing over the past years, both for their students and employees. Nevertheless, work-pressure is big, hours are long and work is put above all else. So how to do you break this negative behaviour and turn it into something that is both positive for wellbeing and the workplace? This question was the driving force for new research into the body’s wellbeing at University of Southampton’s human performance design lab in electronics and computer science.

Their answer is a new model, with the name inbodied5 – combining elements of movement, eating, social engagement, cognitive engagement, and sleep. Movement is an easy place to start, as EDLAB has already embraced in the Education That Moves You project. Other universities are introducing similar ideas, such as the goFIT challenge, that makes you work towards a certain target of movement points with a team, creating a social experience that makes you more active.

As Southampton’s professor MC Schraefel wrote:

The goal isn’t to get folks to run marathons. It’s to raise awareness about how important movement is to our individual and group wellbeing, and to create a space of support. Let’s hear institutions say “we value this for our staff and our students”. Sedentarism doesn’t half make you feel stupid.

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