Method: 47 freshman (36 F, 11 M) enrolled in a spring general education wellness course volunteered to participate in the study. During the first and last week of the course, subjects completed a battery of questionnaires to assess physical activity habits, attitudes toward physical activity, profile of mood state (POMS), sleep quality and fatigue levels. Immediately following this height and weight were recorded and BMI was calculated.
Analysis/Results: Eight (17%) of the 47 participants elevated their Physical Activity at least one category from pre-to-post according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). This observation was largely affected by the fact that 34 of the 47 participants were categorized as “Active” during the pre-testing session, limiting the potential effect of Wellness Education on physical activity behaviors. However, significant improvements in total POMS score along with several subscale scores were observed. Mean scores for Tension/Anxiety, Anger/Hostility, Depression/Dejection, and Total Mood (p < 0.05 for each) were all improved from pre-to-post. The mean Locus of Control score was significantly elevated from pre-to-post (p < 0.05), indicating a shift to an increased sense of self-empowerment. While the overall sleep quality score was not significantly improved (p = 0.08), 59.1% of participants experienced an improvement in overall sleep quality from pre-to-post.
Conclusions: Students that complete a Wellness Education course at the university level experience improvements in Mood, locus of control, and, potentially, sleep quality. These findings highlight the positive impact that such a course can have on the behaviors and mental health of students, especially freshman students that are typically enrolled in this type of class. This may have a lasting impact on the future educational success of students.