Alexandra: A lot of students have been fainting lately in the group classes at the university, so I decided to share some of the reasons why people faint in class, especially this age group. This isn’t a complete list, but it does cover almost all the reasons why college-age exercisers might faint.
When there are changes in the nervous system (spinal cord, brain, neurons, nerves, etc.) and circulatory system (heart, veins and arteries deliver blood to body’s tissues), this can cause a drop in the amount of blood getting to the brain. This decrease leads to ka-thunk — loss of consciousness. We discussed this right here and here.
» Anemia is having a lower than normal red blood cell count. Why does this matter? Because a low count means decreased oxygen to the brain. And lots of university students are iron-deficient, which is strongly correlated to anemia. Lots of females with heavy periods are prone to anemia, too.
» Eating disorders wreak havoc on the body, so it’s no surprise that fainting is a result.
» Pregnancy is fairly uncommon, but not unknown to this age group. Besides changes to the circulatory system and dehydration, those dang fetuses can sit right on top of the blood vessels and squeeze. There goes the brain’s blood supply.
» Stress affects the nervous system, and not in a good way. Blood pressure goes low, low, low when you get under stress. This is rare for university students, as they never, ever worry about finals, papers, social issues, money, grades — that kind of stuff!
» Drugs do not mix well with exercise, including some prescription meds. Actually, if you’re misusing or abusing drugs, fainting is probably the least of your health worries.
» Medical issues, such as cardiac (heart) problems, seizures or certain types of migraines are a big deal. If you’re fainting a lot or for longer than a minute, get checked out.
» Hyperventilation (fast breathing) causes carbon dioxide (CO2) to decrease in the blood. Combine exercise with an anxiety/panic attack, and you see the problem.
» Overexercising pisses off your histamine receptors, and they get so upset that they overact.
» One of the most common reasons students faint is dehydration. Drink more fluids, especially water, and eat properly before your workout. Sadly, this is so easy to prevent, yet accounts for most of the fainting. Does this sound like you? If so, get a water bottle. Use it!
» Another frequent reason for passing out in class is becoming overheated. This goes along with getting dehydrated, so after you get your water bottle, stand by the fan, A/C unit or the open door.
» And now we come to the reason that I suspect there’s an epidemic of fainting this particular quarter — too many people in the room. More students are showing up to class, which means they are all getting hotter, sooner. Considering the fact that students are not fainting in the early morning classes, but are dropping with alarming consistency in the midday slots, my guess is a reasonable one. Now I just have to figure out if it’s better to have fewer students (it’s hard to say no to all those eager undergrads) or require them to bring personal spritzers! Or ask them to be absent more often!
» Bonus word: syncope — This is the medical term for “fainting after exercise.” Pre-syncope is when you have signs that you’re about to faint but manage to recover before fainting occurs. Not to be confused with “syncopate,” which is to place musical accents on the normally unaccented beats, or to shorten a word such as “sequim” to “squim.” (Anyone from the Pacific Northwest knows this one!)
— Identical twins and fitness pros Kymberly Williams-Evans and Alexandra Williams have been in the fitness industry since the first aerobics studio opened on the European continent. They teach, write, edit, emcee and present their programs worldwide on land, sea and airwaves. They co-write Fun and Fit: Q and A with K and A. You can currently find them in action leading classes in Santa Barbara and Goleta. Kymberly is the former faculty minor adviser at UCSB for its fitness instruction degree offered through the Department of Exercise & Sport Studies; Alexandra serves as an instructor and master teacher for the program. Fun and Fit answers real questions from real people, so please send your comments and questions to info@funandfit.org.