Downing's Summer of Sport: Dr Kate Daniels
“In the Wellbeing team we often say that if physical activity were a drug, we’d call it a miracle cure!”
We wanted to find out more about what benefits exercise brings to our students, so we spoke to our Head of Student Wellbeing, Dr Kate Daniels.
The physical benefits of taking part in sport are well known. How does sport contribute to our mental and general wellbeing?
Sport and physical activity are critical to positive wellbeing. In the Wellbeing team we often say that if physical activity were a drug, we’d call it a miracle cure! As well as preventing and helping treat physical illness, sport can positively and profoundly impact our mental wellbeing: it can improve our mood, decrease our chances of becoming depressed or anxious, and can help us lead better and more balanced lives overall.
What benefits does sport bring to our students?
Besides enhancing physical and mental fitness, sport offers our students a positive outlet for managing busy terms and intensive workloads. I’d say our active students are more motivated, experience less stress and sleep better than their non-active peers. What’s more, sport helps our students make friends and reduces feelings of loneliness: it builds community and offers a sense of belonging plus ready-made social networks and support. The social or relational aspects of College or University sport are key to achieving a positive experience, particularly for first-year students and those from non-traditional backgrounds.
Amazingly, sport can even enhance students’ attainment and employability. It has been reported by British University and College Sport (2020) that students who participate in sport gain more 1st and 2i grades and earn more after graduation than those who don’t!
Do you have any tips on how to balance exercise and study?
Striking a good balance between exercise and study requires excellent time management. In the Wellbeing team, we encourage our students to take breaks from work, though this can sometimes get out of kilter.
We encourage our students to be conscious of their time use and advise them to timetable their sport and related social activities as they would supervisions and lectures. By regularly auditing how they allocate their time, they can better identify their priorities and develop good routines and habits. They’ll also learn what a balanced and productive week or term looks like.
Is there any advice you’d give to someone who is nervous about trying a sport for the first time or getting back into exercise.
Sport can be such a great part of the student experience at Cambridge, regardless of ability. It’s not all about high performance sport (though naturally specialist support for this is available), and the sporting environment is very inclusive and varied – there really is something for everyone.
So, if competitive sport isn’t a student’s thing, but they want to play sport for recreation or fun, I suggest the University’s ‘Give it a Go’ programme, which offers free, beginner- and improver-friendly, low-commitment physical activities such as squash, badminton, volleyball, lacrosse, pickleball and women’s football. Sessions are informal and delivered largely by other students, and all equipment is provided. Alternatively, I recommend those gentler forms of activity that we build into our wellbeing programme, such as yoga, wellbeing walks and paddleboarding, or suggest a little croquet, frisbee or tennis in our gorgeous College grounds.
How can the Wellbeing team help students get back into sport/exercise?
From the minute our students arrive at Downing, we encourage them to stay fit and active. We direct them towards opportunities for physical activity through our newsletters and social media communications, and we work closely with our JCR Sports and Welfare Officers and the University’s Active Students Programme Coordinator, Callum, who also attends our Societies Fair in Freshers’ Week.
Lastly, we tell our students that, if there isn’t a sports club or team out there for them, they should create one for themselves!