Veterinary Medical Students' Motivations for Exercise.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) declares exercise to be one of the most important activities one can do to improve health. The benefits of exercise are well documented and include both physiologic and psychological health. Given the current landscape of wellness issues in veterinary medical education, it is necessary that students engage in exercise activities to manage stress and increase overall health. Therefore, to develop targeted interventions with the greatest likelihood for success, it is first necessary to understand what motivates veterinary medical students to exercise given their unique situational and environmental factors. This study is the first to explore this issue systematically in veterinary medical education, thus it is the authors' hope that the findings from this research will help identify exercise-related wellness interventions that could be implemented in veterinary medical schools.

Veterinary Medical Students' Motivations for Exercise.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) declares exercise to be one of the most important activities one can do to improve health. The benefits of exercise are well documented and include both physiologic and psychological health. Given the current landscape of wellness issues in veterinary medical education, it is necessary that students engage in exercise activities to manage stress and increase overall health. Therefore, to develop targeted interventions with the greatest likelihood for success, it is first necessary to understand what motivates veterinary medical students to exercise given their unique situational and environmental factors. This study is the first to explore this issue systematically in veterinary medical education, thus it is the authors' hope that the findings from this research will help identify exercise-related wellness interventions that could be implemented in veterinary medical schools.

Sleep hygiene among veterinary medical students.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to better understand veterinary medical students' sleep hygiene and identify the extent to which sleep hygiene behaviors may result in consequences (either positive or negative) for students. SAMPLE: A total of 187 doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) program students at a large College of Veterinary Medicine in the United States. METHODS: The Epworth Sleep Scale and Daytime Sleepiness Scale were administered to 393 students enrolled in the DVM program. RESULTS: About 55.1% of students reported <7 h of sleep per night, 28.9% reported having trouble sleeping, and 50.3% reported feeling sleepy all day. With respect to sleep quality, 5.3% described it as excellent, 52.4% as good, 34.2% as fair, and 8.0% as poor. CONCLUSIONS: A significant percentage of veterinary medical students exhibit poor sleep hygiene habits that may be detrimental to both their health and academic endeavors.