Student Athletes & Self-Care
For my blog post, I want to focus on self-care tactics specific to student athletes. While we’ve explored the topic of self-care more broadly in this course (with specific emphasis on criminal justice professionals), being a full-time college student, I want to explore the burden on student athletes as that is a much closer population group to me and my friends. Self-care for student athletes is crucial for maintaining physical, mental, and emotional well-being while managing the demands of both academics and sports.
While speaking to my friends, they highlighted a few self-care strategies they implement in their own lives. Among these strategies is ensuring proper nutrition for peak athletic performance. They note that athletes should focus on a well-rounded diet that includes carbohydrates, proteins, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. When available, meal planning and consulting with a school-appointed nutritionist can help ensure they get the right balance they need. Additionally, another recurring theme in my conversations with the college athletes was the need for adequate rest and sleep. Quality sleep is vital for recovery and overall health. The Children’s Hospital of Colorado notes that athletes should aim for 9-10 hours of continuous sleep per night to support muscle repair, mental focus, and overall well-being (Children’s Hospital Colorado).
However, in my exploration of this topic, the athletes I spoke to noted several barriers to maintaining good mental health. These barriers included time constraints due to busy schedules, lack of support regarding their social lives, and limited access to healthy food. In my additional research, I found this was a recurring theme in regards to the self-care of student athletes more generally. One such study I found noted that collegiate athletes often feel pressure to prioritize their athletic performance over their health, which could lead to neglect of important self-care practices (Rensburg, 2014). Another study found that the student-athletes who asked for mental-health support experienced stigma surrounding mental health issues in more ways than one, including a lack of understanding and/or support from coaches and teammates, and a general perception that seeking help for mental health issues was a sign of weakness. Many participants reported feeling pressure to hide or ignore their struggles with mental health, which often worsened their symptoms and made them feel isolated. However, when student-athletes did receive the support and understanding needed, they reported feeling empowered and more willing to seek help in the future (Marques & Martins, 2018).
Moving forward, I would love to see a world where the fullness of student athletes’ mental well-being is considered. Similar to the issues faced by criminal justice professionals, for student athletes to perform at the highest level they are capable of, they need intensive support systems and strong self-care strategies. In the future, I hope this includes strategies not only to strengthen them as athletes and students but also as people.
References
Children’s Hospital Colorado. (n.d.). How Does Sleep Impact Athletic Performance?. Sleep for Student Athletes. https://www.childrenscolorado.org/conditions-and-advice/sports-articles/sports-safety/sleep-student-athletes-performance/#:~:text=Nine%20to%2010%20hours%20of%20continuous%20sleep%20helps%20with%20muscle,split%2Dsecond%20decision%2Dmaking.
Marques, L., & Martins, O. (2018). Scholarworks.edu. Exploring Mental Health Needs of Student Athletes. https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/rr172364v
Rensburg, C. (2014). Researchgate.net. Exploring wellness practices and barriers: A qualitative study of university student-athletes. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272458815_Exploring_wellness_practices_and_barriers_A_qualitative_study_of_university_student-athletes