OT students’ health campaign focuses on the science of rest

Rovaldo Kavanga
Staff reporter

The event which was organised by the 2nd year Occupational Therapy (OT) students, took place under the theme: ‘Listen to your body, take a break’. It featured various activities such as charades, table tennis, and yoga, etc. to encapsulate one of the objectives of the occasion.

At the event, OT Students focused on the key objective of the event, with a short lecture on the importance of taking a break, how to identify fatigue and the various ways one can take a break. All in an attempt to improve students resting habits. “Sleeping doesn’t always mean you are resting”, emphasised Unondengu Tjizembisa, one of the OT students. “To take a break, one needs to be mindful of what you are going through, understand that it is not going well and then disengage and do something that relaxes and excites you,” she added. She further elaborated that simple activities such as board games can be the perfect way to rejuvenate one back into productivity. An activity, Morgan Isaacs, another OT student, labels as a meaningful sacrifice.

“Many students find it difficult to take a break, especially when they have a lot of school work that demands 100% of their time and dedication. Despite this demand, it is important to take a break. We need to make that meaningful sacrifice to rest in order to perform better” he stressed. The campaign highlighted that there is virtue in both work and rest and that neither should be overlooked, and as such, both students and staff had the pleasure to engage in an hour of fun and return to work refreshed. Shireen //Geises, one of the students that took part in the yoga exercise, remarked that, “I needed this so much and I didn’t even know that I needed it. This exercise really took my mind off of the pressure of school and that’s what I loved about it”, remarked an appreciative //Geises. The event ended with sighs of relief, as it provided many with a new perspective of the subject area. Rest doesn’t always have to equate to sleep. A 10- or 20-minute activity in-between hectic study schedules and work, can also be a quick and simple solution to improved productivity.