By Ellysa Gonzalez and Audra Coffman
Eighty percent of college students report frequent daily stress, shows a 2008 Associated Press and mtvU survey. To respond to the stress crisis, Texas Tech University’s Student Counseling Center is teaching students how to relax.
A new zero-gravity massage chair in the MindSpa Relaxation Room has recently become a popular place to unwind. The services are open to anybody with a Tech ID, including faculty, staff and students.
It is so popular that appointments are now required to reserve the chair for an hour, said Nancy Robinson, coordinator of MindSpa Services and a licensed staff psychologist at Texas Tech. In recent weeks, time slots for the chair have been hard to come by.
“Let’s just say the relaxation room has been pretty full,” she said.
The benefits of the MindSpa go beyond receiving a one-hour massage, Robinson said, and include learning stress-management skills.
“People with anxiety or with depression or with other issues that might bring them here also benefit from the MindSpa and can use that,” she said. “But I think it’s a great resource for students who maybe don’t have a need for counseling, but still want to learn how to manage their stress better.”
Justin Gonzales, a senior journalism major from Ingram, Texas, said she has only been at the MindSpa once, but she really enjoyed the massage chair.
“The natural sounds they have playing in the room are soothing and help you de-stress in a darkened room,” Gonzales said. “I would go more often, but I just haven’t been able to make it a part of my routine.”
Though the counseling center does not keep tabs on MindSpa attendees, Robinson said first-time visitors almost always come back.
Other available de-stressing aids include yoga DVDs and mats, virtual computer programs and biofeedback measures to gauge the body’s heart rate.
The body responds to stress by simultaneously accelerating heart rate and breathing patterns, Robinson said.
“That’s fine if you’re trying to run away from a tiger but not if you’re trying to focus on an exam,” Robinson said. “Breathing changes our heart rate and the heart rate changes our breathing. The breathing is something that you can learn how to do differently. It’s not like you can sit there and say ‘OK heart, breathe more regularly.’”
The biofeedback measures and programs within the MindSpa help visitors develop ways to restore the even pace of their heart rates, she said. Ideally, MindSpa visitors can take the spa experiences into the fast-paced world outside.
“It’s just like any kind of exercise or sport,” Robinson said. “When you practice something, you get really good at it and you can use it in a number of settings.”
That’s the goal of the MindSpa, she said.
It is not necessary to wait until you’re already stressed before booking time.
“I think it would be great to use it before you’re stressed out,” she said. “It’s preventative, too. I think for sure once you start to feel stress that accessing the services would be good. I mean, who doesn’t like a good massage?”
Transparency-in-reporting testimony by Audra Coffman
For the sake of good journalism, I decided to check the MindSpa out myself. You know, just to be thorough. The massage chair is better than any professional massage I have ever received. Each setting lasts about 15 minutes. By the time my 45 minutes were up, I had sampled each setting and exited the room feeling like a new woman. I may just make this a weekly thing.
About JOUR 4350
