Most students experience significant amounts of stress, but with all of the activities and responsibilities that fill a student’s schedule, it’s sometimes difficult to find the time to try new stress relievers to help dissipate that stress. Here are some of the following compiled list of stress relievers that are most appropriate for students: relatively easy, quick, and relevant to a student’s life and the type of stress. They’ll help you to function at your best and enjoy the journey as you continue to develop your skills and abilities.
For many students, stress is part of the college experience. … In college students realize what is expected of them, and they may get overwhelmed. College students face a significant amount of stress due to various factors. Many aspects of college life, as well as the stress that comes with it, can all impact a student’s physical and emotional health. If you’re a college student facing stress, here are some stress relievers you can start to try today.
Exercise:
Just 30 minutes every day can increase your cardiovascular, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and reduce stress and boost muscle power and endurance. It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease.
Campus life often offers options for walking, and you should take full advantage of them! Taking a walk around campus between classes. When compared with younger children (ages 6-12) who average 11,000-13,000 steps per day, college students who used a pedometer to count their daily steps and assess walking habits took an average of 7,700 steps per day. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week. Moderate intensity exercises include brisk walking, while vigorous intensity exercises include jogging, cycling or playing sports. Along with aerobic exercise, squeeze in at least two strength-training sessions per week. Your strengthening sessions should include exercises for all major muscle groups including the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest and arms. Aerobic exercises protect your heart, while strength training keeps your muscles and bones strong. Be sure to stretch gently before and after every workout to avoid injury and improve flexibility. With social obligations, television, school work and your cozy bed all distractions for your attention, it’s easy to lose your motivation for exercising. To help you stay on track, gather a group of friends to help you stay accountable. Make a pact to work out for 30 minutes every day. If possible, work out together to increase motivation. You could also involve all the residents in your hallway or building. Post signs in the lobby announcing that your group will meet every day at a certain time for a 30-minute jog around campus.
Create a Schedule:
When planning your activities, be sure you allow yourself the time you need to study and get work done. You may require more time than you realize at first, so it’s best to over-estimate when it comes.
Give yourself enough time to complete each task. In day-to-day working life, students tend to find themselves struggling to stick to self-imposed schedules. One or two things overrun; emails and phone calls come in; No matter how beautiful your schedule looks, just writing it out isn’t going to help you. The biggest mistake which most of college students make when it comes to scheduling is to over-plan. We’re optimistic, even unrealistic, about how much work we can really fit into a day. We look at a blank seven or eight hours and think we can cram them full – when the reality is that we never can.
Whatever your class is, you’re almost certainly going to have to face all sorts of little interruptions and hold-ups. You’ll probably also find that some tasks invariably take more time than you realize. Try timing how long it takes you to project each day – perhaps you’re budgeting half an hour when it’s actually more like a whole hour.
Your schedule should not look like an endurance test. If you’re focusing single-mindedly on each item and putting in full effort, you will need to take breaks at regular intervals. No one can focus at full capacity for hours on end.
When you come to the end of one task, give yourself a short break. But you can at least get up, walk to the water cooler, get a coffee, or do something, which requires little mental energy (like tidying your desk or sorting out your filing) while you’re mentally recharging from a high-focus task. Fill out all the necessary information. Everyone’s days are different and what you include will vary from person to person. However, you should include every detail that you need to make sure you are able to complete tasks efficiently and on time. If you have to go to a meeting at 11:30 am, you may want to include where the meeting is. Who you are meeting with, how long the meeting will last. And possibly what the meeting will cover. You may also want to write down in a note area what to bring to the meeting. Filling out every bit of information may prove to be too much for you. During your first “test” week, find out what works best for you. If you find that you are scribbling down the margins of your paper or creating long notes in an app to include everything, ease back.
The purpose of being more specific is to help you prepare. Try including more than just a time and a brief description. But if you are feeling overwhelmed by trying to add every detail, just include the ones that make you feel prepared and on top of your day. Commit to this method of scheduling. Once you have figured out which method of scheduling and organizing works best for you, stick to it. Don’t try to include extra methods for scheduling than necessary. If you find an app that lets you easily input everything you need for your schedule, then only use that app. Unless you have to use multiple platforms for work, the less the better.
Perhaps you like to write your schedule out on paper. Know that you may also have to use a calendar to schedule meetings or deadlines. That’s fine. Learn to separate the two. You can still write down those meetings or tasks in your notebook. Consider using your calendar for just the events that you have to plan far in advance; and those work meetings.
Create time for yourself:
College students love to complain about how busy and overwrought they are with classes and studying. Come midterms and finals, there’s no end to the caffeinated drinks and cramming. But just how much time are college students really spending on their “me time” with themselves to clear their mind and get ready for finals?
According to a survey of more than 800 college educators by the National Coalition Against Censorship, a majority — 62 percent — said they think not having their me time have or will have a negative effect on academic freedom.
As you set up your living space, be sure there’s a quiet space for you to focus and concentrate. If your roommate is noisy or ever-present, that may mean finding a favorite nook in the library or coffee shop to frequent. Otherwise, set up a nice desk for yourself where you can keep everything you need, focus, and get things done. One of the most impotent things students can do to clear their mind from getting rid of stress is mediation! Meditation can make your grades better; researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found that college students who were trained in mindfulness performed better on the verbal reasoning section of the GRE, and also experienced improvements in their working memory. “Our results suggest that cultivating mindfulness is an effective and efficient technique for improving cognitive function. It changes the brain in a protective way.” University of Oregon researchers found that integrative body-mind training — which is a meditation technique — can actually result in brain changes that may be protective against mental illness. The meditation practice was linked with increased signaling connections in the brain called axonal density, as well as increased protective tissue (myelin) around the axons in the anterior cingulate brain region.
1. Get enough sleep. …
2. Eat well. …
3. Exercise. …
4. Avoid unnatural energy boosters. …
5. Get emotional support. …
6. Don’t give up your passions. …
7. Try not to overload yourself. …
8. Avoid relaxing with alcohol.
