Fitness and Wellness Trends on Campus: What’s Worth the Hype?
University life is synonymous with long nights, mounting deadlines, and social overload. In recent years, students have turned increasingly to fitness and wellness trends to regain control over their health—both physical and mental. Whether it’s early morning HIIT sessions, guided mindfulness apps, or cold water swims, campus culture today is steeped in wellness rhetoric. But in the swirl of Lululemon leggings, Instagram story meditations, and workout trackers, which trends are truly beneficial—and which are just hype?
At Trinity College, wellness initiatives are becoming increasingly embedded in campus life. The Healthy Trinity programme promotes physical activity, mental wellbeing, and nutrition through events such as step challenges, mental health weeks, and inclusive fitness sessions. Trinity Sport offers a wide variety of group classes—from spinning and strength training to yoga and pilates—all of which are included in the student gym membership. Importantly, the university also integrates mindfulness into mental health services, with the Student Counselling Service hosting regular workshops and drop-in sessions. These institutional efforts are bolstered by student societies like Yoga Soc and clubs that offer communal exercise, promoting consistency and a sense of belonging. Still, access and participation can be uneven, and wellness messaging often assumes a level of free time, financial stability, or prior fitness that not all students have.
Cold water swimming has recently emerged as one of the more visible and viral trends among students. Groups of students regularly head to the Forty Foot or Seapoint for a dip, often sharing the ritual online as a form of collective resilience and mental reset. While some students swear by the practice’s mood-lifting effects, experts caution that its benefits, though promising, remain under-researched. Nevertheless, as part of a broader cultural shift towards embodied, social, and outdoor wellness, the popularity of cold-water immersion speaks to students’ desire for low-cost, communal experiences outside traditional gym walls.
Beyond Trinity, one of the most widespread wellness practices on campuses globally is mindfulness. Popularised through apps like Calm and Headspace, mindfulness promises enhanced focus, reduced anxiety, and improved sleep—benefits particularly appealing to students balancing study, work, and social pressures. A major study published in The Lancet (Galante et al., 2021) found that university students who completed an eight-week mindfulness programme experienced significantly lower stress and improved resilience. The low barrier to entry—many apps offer free trials or university partnerships—makes mindfulness a practical option for students. However, its growing commercialisation has led some critics to argue that it is often used to treat symptoms of burnout without addressing root causes, such as academic overload or financial strain.
Yoga holds a similarly powerful place in student wellness. Fusing strength, flexibility, and calm, it’s especially popular in campus societies and gym classes. In Ireland, most universities have active yoga communities that offer free or low-cost classes. A 2017 meta-analysis in Depression and Anxiety (Cramer et al.) supports yoga’s benefits for reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms, while improving physical wellbeing. Unlike high-intensity workouts, yoga tends to emphasise non-competitiveness and self-acceptance—an important counterbalance to pressure-driven university culture. Still, some students find it too slow-paced, and for those seeking rapid results or intense endorphin highs, it may not meet immediate needs.
For a more intense fix, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a dominant trend. These workouts, which combine short bursts of activity with brief rest, can be done in under 30 minutes, making them ideal for time-pressed students. HIIT is particularly popular in student gyms, YouTube workouts, and apps like Nike Training Club. A 2020 review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Keating et al.) showed that HIIT is just as effective as longer-duration moderate workouts for cardiovascular and metabolic health. However, HIIT’s intensity can be off-putting to beginners or those with underlying health concerns, and when overdone, it may contribute to burnout or injury.
Technology also plays a significant role in student wellness culture. Fitness trackers and apps—such as Strava, MyFitnessPal, and Fitbit—encourage users to monitor steps, sleep, workouts, and even mood. These tools often gamify progress, making wellness feel more like a social challenge. On the upside, they can motivate students to move more and sleep better. But there’s a downside: constant self-monitoring can foster anxiety and promote unhealthy comparisons. A 2021 study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (Yang et al.) found that university-aged users of tracking apps reported increased body dissatisfaction and compulsive behaviours related to eating and exercise.
Another growing wellness theme is community-based fitness. Rather than solo gym sessions, students are increasingly drawn to group classes, sports clubs, or communal outdoor activities. A 2017 study in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (Yorks et al.) found that medical students participating in group fitness reported lower stress and improved quality of life compared to those working out alone. This emphasis on togetherness reflects a wider shift towards social support as a key pillar of wellbeing. Group fitness also reduces intimidation for new exercisers and can help break down gender or cultural barriers in sport.
Still, there are valid criticisms of campus wellness culture. The most common is that it is often individualised and commercialised, framing health as a personal project of optimisation rather than a collective right. From pricey acai bowls to €90 yoga mats, the wellness industry profits off students’ insecurities while failing to acknowledge deeper structural issues—a rising cost of living, precarious housing, overwork. This framing can alienate students who can’t afford to participate or who don’t see themselves represented in wellness marketing. It also risks shifting the blame onto students when their mental or physical health falters, instead of holding institutions accountable for the stress-inducing systems they create.
Gender norms also shape how students engage with wellness. Women are more likely to participate in yoga, mindfulness, and holistic health activities, while men dominate spaces like the weight room or competitive sport. These gendered trends often reinforce stereotypes and can discourage students from stepping outside of socially sanctioned roles. There is some evidence that this is shifting, with more universities offering inclusive programming—such as beginner lifting classes for women and non-binary students, or mindfulness spaces for men—but traditional divides still linger.
So, what’s actually worth the hype? The short answer is: it depends. The most effective wellness trends are those that are sustainable, inclusive, and rooted in real student needs, not curated aesthetics. Yoga, mindfulness, HIIT, and cold-water swimming all have evidence-based benefits, but none are a silver bullet. The key is to choose practices that feel nourishing rather than performative—ones that foster connection, rest, and enjoyment, not pressure to conform or compete.
For universities like Trinity and beyond, the goal should be to create a wellness culture that is equitable, accessible, and student-driven. That means offering diverse options, challenging exclusionary norms, and integrating wellness into campus life in meaningful—not tokenistic—ways. The hype will always be there. The challenge is building something deeper underneath.
References
Galante, J., Friedrich, C., Dawson, A. et al. (2021). Mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in nonclinical settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. The Lancet Public Health, 6(11), e701–e709.
Cramer, H., Lauche, R., Langhorst, J., & Dobos, G. (2017). Yoga for depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Depression and Anxiety, 34(11), 1043–1050.
Keating, S. E., Johnson, N. A., Mielke, G. I., & Coombes, J. S. (2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis of interval training versus moderate-intensity continuous training on body adiposity. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(10), 643–651.
van Tulleken, C., Tipton, M., Massey, H., & Harper, C. M. (2020). Open water swimming as a treatment for major depressive disorder. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 79(1), 1757782.
Yang, Q., van Stee, S. K., & Fu, Y. (2021). The Effects of Fitness App Usage on Physical Activity and Psychological Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(9), e26085.
Yorks, D. M., Frothingham, C. A., & Schuenke, M. D. (2017). Effects of Group Fitness Classes on Stress and Quality of Life of Medical Students. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 117(11), e17–e25.
