Assignment Details:
Select one of the following wellness options.
Complete your selected wellness activity following its instructions.
Complete your write-up
Wellness Activity Options:
Take a mindfulness walk: Take a walk outdoors. During your walk, unplug from any electronic devices—do not listen to music or other audio, do not take any phone calls, do not try to multitask. Focus on the experience of the walk, paying attention to your sensory experiences—what do you see, hear, smell, feel, and (maybe even) taste? Attend to your surroundings and try to be present in the moment.
Physical activity: Engage in some sort of physical activity or exercise during this time. Select an activity and intensity that is safe for you, but that gets your heart pumping faster. A good guideline for intensity is that you should still be able to hold a conversation with another person while exercising.
Meditation/relaxation: Engage in 30 minutes of quiet relaxation or meditation. If you are practiced at this, you can use whatever meditation/relaxation techniques you prefer. If you are a novice at meditation, you might consider finding a guided relaxation or meditation program. Several are available for free online or through (free or paid) smart phone apps. If you are a novice, start small—trying to do formal meditation for 30 minutes is probably too ambitious. Instead, maybe try a 5-minute guided meditation. If you have 30 minutes to spend on this activity, you can spend the remaining time simply relaxing, listening to calming music or lying or sitting quietly.
Write-up:
You may submit a reflection on this assignment in written form. Below are details regarding what you should include in your chosen submission type.
Write-Up:
Write a brief reflection paper on this activity in APA style. Your paper should include a title page, body, and references page. Your paper should be written with a target audience of an incoming college first-year student. Your paper should be uploaded as an MS Word (.doc or .docx) formatted file.
Content Requirements for Write-Up:
Describe the wellness activity you did
Discuss whether you would recommend adoption of this wellness activity for an incoming college first-year student, with explanation for why you would or would not. In your discussion, you should include some reflective comments on the activity. For example:
Did you experience an improvement over the activity (i.e., did your scores show reduction in anxiety and stress), or did your scores stay stable or get worse over the activity?
What do you think accounts for how your scores changed (or didn’t)?
Do you engage in these or other wellness activities as part of your regular routine? Would you like to?
What helps you to maintain a wellness routine, or what obstacles get in the way of doing so?
Your write-up should make reference to the scientific literature on the topic; at a minimum, you should include information from your textbook:
Keith, K.D. & Beins, B.C. (2017). The worth expert guide to scientific literacy: Thinking like a psychological scientist. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. You are welcome to, but are not required to, use sources outside of your textbook. Make sure that any external sources are appropriate (e.g., do they pass the CRAAP test?) and are cited in-text and in the references page.
