Getting youths active to boost their mental health

By Lara Pickford-Gordon
Email: snrwriter.camsel@catholictt.org

Lara Littlepage and her colleagues in the teaching fraternity were struggling to keep their students motivated while online. Beyond academic performance, they were concerned about mental health and well-being, so they came together and formed Students United.

Littlepage, a teacher at St Mary’s College (CIC) for the past 17 years, said she has always been involved in trying to keep children/students active. She was involved in the school’s sports programme and helping with the 5K fundraiser. “Being an active person, I always saw the value in children being active,” she said in a telephone interview August 30.

Six months into the Covid-19 pandemic, the school’s 5K committee met September 2020 to discuss if to have the event, usually held in the last quarter of the year. It was a chance to bring the school population together however, the Covid-19 public health restrictions on gathering put a halt to plans.

Littlepage said, four months later, January 2021, “We were really struggling as teachers to keep students active… interested in work.” Talking to teachers from different schools, she knew they were facing the same thing.

The absence of internet and devices made online education difficult for some students but there were other concerns. “Lots of kids have devices and internet and are just not engaged online and we [teachers] will be working really hard to come up with activities and assignments and using all the Google docs and all the fancy things; and just the fact they are unmotivated means it is not working.”

According to ‘Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review’ published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, June 29, 2021, “Psychological impact on children/adolescents is significant, either due to the fear of the illness or social isolation related to COVID-19. One may focus on improving sleep habits and physical activity and regulating internet use for maintaining psychological well-being.”

Littlepage said, “The secondary school student is suffering a lot, because between that age 13 and 16, kids are supposed to be interacting and learning how to build relationships, and healthy relationships.”

She said at school, children got an understanding of different cultures. “In school, you have people of all different kinds in your class. Now people are not socialising.” Littlepage is concerned there will be a generation of children with social anxiety.

She thought to herself, “We really needed to do something to just get their endorphins going; a big part of exercise, activity, helps with your endorphins rush.”

Endorphins are produced by the body’s nervous system and are referred to as the “feel-good” chemicals. They are produced during exercise and have been found to improve mood, and ease symptoms of depression and anxiety.

A triathlon athlete since her teens, she said, “running has been my absolute mental health saviour. I would not be able to do anything if I did not look after my own mental health. It was very, very hard during that period of no exercising outdoors.”

Littlepage said focus was adjusted from bringing people together in camaraderie for a 5K to self-help – how students could help themselves and maintain mental health during the pandemic.

She contacted a few friends from other schools, and they put her in contact with teachers who may be interested in being part of the Students United Committee.

Joining forces

“It went from myself and a friend thinking about it, to me calling Bafasports to ask what they thought, because I knew at this stage, they had done a couple virtual races.”

Founder of Bafasports, Nigel Bellamy was receptive and the idea mushroomed. Schools began contacting Littlepage to join. “We ended up having 18 or 19 schools, some as far as Arima. It was pretty cool how people got the word out we were trying to do something to bring one common goal, where we realise students needed to stay active,” Littlepage said.

There is a mix of private, government and government-assisted schools e.g. CIC, Diego Central, Fatima, Holy Name, Mucurapo East, SWAHA Hindu College.

Road running clubs contributed training programmes for different categories: beginners 5K (3 miles), experienced persons doing 5K, 10K, 20K. These were available from April 1, with Google maps of flat and safe training locations. The event was open for registration March and there was also the option to walk the 5K and 10K.

Littlepage said, “You were not going to meet up your classmates to run this event. You do it on your own time…you could run with your family members, a sister and brother who goes to a different school, but you can still run together…you can train with your neighbours.”

She added, “The idea was as a whole nation we would get our kids, particularly our teenagers, just out, even if it is just in their neighbourhoods”.

Students had to email studentsunited@bafasports.com. Through sponsorship, 300 youths were registered free of charge, and attractive giveaways secured.

There was a setback for the June 1–30 race period when a State of Emergency was announced to take effect May 17. Littlepage said this would have drained students’ enthusiasm and registration began waning.

She set up a Students United Instagram account to promote staying active while at home. There were push-ups and plank challenges, and viewers were invited to come up with workouts and post them. The response was not great.

Littlepage said children have become so “home-based” it was easy for them to remain on screens and be sedentary. “As a parent who is active it was hard for me to motivate my kids [sons, ages 14-, 12-, 8- and 5-year-old daughter] far less for kids who needed to motivate themselves.”

July’s announcement of easing of restrictions caused an adjustment of the race period to October 1–31. Participants can do their exercise any day or time. When they sign-up they receive a Strava App which is used with mobile phones to a give a time and distance. A participation package and medal will be given to students.

Littlepage said these will be distributed through schools involved in the committee. For students who register privately, an arrangement will be made for them to collect their package/medal at a location.

Littlepage said meetings of the Students United Committee will resume with the start of the September school term to get feedback from teachers. “We have 300 people registered for the race which is pretty incredible, but of course our original goal is 500—we still have 100 spots for students” she said. Her sons are registered and she will be running with them. For information on the 5K, 10K and 20K go to https://bafasports.com.