Promoting Nursing Students’ Healthy Behaviors Through Cognitive Skills-Building

Introduction: Nursing students, who will eventually become practicing nurses, face significant health challenges due to the demanding educational environment, often leading to poor lifestyle choices and adverse health outcomes. Practicing nurses play a vital role as models for promoting healthy behaviors among students. Methods: This study examines the impact of the MINDSTRONG program on nursing students' healthy behaviors at a Big 10 University, offering valuable insights for both students and practicing nurses. Results: A 1-year follow-up survey with 142 participants revealed that most students (96%) utilized at least 1 healthy behavior weekly, with 70% practicing 2 to 3 times daily, particularly positive thinking (66%) and self-talk (63%). However, only 43% reported getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night, and just 12% consumed 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Conclusion: These findings underscore the need for improved strategies to enhance sleep hygiene and healthy food accessibility among students and within clinical environments where practicing nurses can model and reinforce healthy behaviors. By understanding nursing students’ adoption of healthy behaviors, targeted interventions and programming that support wellness can be integrated across all stages of a nursing career.