So recently I have been under a lot of stress lately. Nothing dramatic, just the tragic balance between a social life and a academic life all college students want to achieve. It always seems that you have to pick one of the other and if you’re like me, it’s getting harder and harder to balance both. All college students are just looking for the perfect stress reliever. I’ve never had one that works perfectly for me, but there are a few classics that I’m sure could help everybody. So, he is a list of ten ways I, or my friends, have found to easily relieve stress!

1.Listen to Music

Listening to good music, preferably soft and comforting music, will definitely calm you down. Studies show, that even a sad song can boost a person’s mood according the memories the song brought. Even if the song brings back a sad song, the memory is more likely to relieve the stress you have! Try it!

• “Banana Pancakes” Jack Johnson
• “Someone Like You” Adele
• “All of Me” John Legend
• “Lego House” Ed Sheeran
• “Try” Pink

2. Eating/Cooking Comfort Food

Now, we can’t all call our moms when we’re stressed to come and make us food. If you’re a college student like me, you wish you could, but that’s not the case. So, I thought, why not learn to cook while I’m stressed? I was never skilled in the kitchen, but I do remember some recipes my mother made me back home and they always relieve my stress. The best foods are ones with greens or organic foods if you are looking to feel lighter. But if you are like me and like to sleep after a stressful day, try pasta or any other starchy food. Fish and Turkey will also help the stress. These will put you to sleep quicker than any vegetable.

• Any Pasta dish with a sauce
• Salad
• Blueberries and Almonds
• Turkey Breast
• Salmon

3. Take Naps

If you’re like me, the first approach you take to relieve stress is a good nap. Just taking a break from the day is one of the best ways to rid the body of stress. Letting your body rest is the most important thing, so make sure to get tons of it. Some of the biggest causes of stress in college students is over working and time-management, so make sure your body gets enough rest for the next day.

4. Watch a Good Movie

Watching a good movie is another great way to relieve stress. Movies have the ability to distract someone from the outside world enough to forget about the things stressing them out. Even if it isn’t for long, a movie will definitely take your mind off the stress.

• See “ My Top Ten Movies I’ve Ever Seen”

5. Go for a Run

Now, I’m not one to vouch for running, but I completely agree with this one. I was on my high school Track and Field team for three years and I can truly say that it truly changed my ideals about running for stress. Having track after school was perfect because I was always forced to run my stress away but now that I’m in college, I have to force myself to do it. Think of it as metaphorically running away from your problems while also being healthy at the same time. It sounds kind of sad, but that’s how some of my friends put it. After a while, it was actually nice and truly did rid me of any stress I had. ( Probably because I was focusing on breathing more than my stress)

6. Doing Breathing Exercises

A really quick way to relieve stress if just by breathing. Sometimes slowing up and resetting a slow breathing pattern can definitely help calm someone down. Sometimes all it takes is some deep breathing for me to calm down enough to finish homework. This might not work for everyone, but just try it. Breathing is important right?

7. Doing Yoga/Stretching

Yoga is used for relaxation and health. Meaning this will definitely help relieve stress. I’m not a fan of yoga, but stretching always relaxes not only my mind, but my muscles. If your body begins to feel tight and cramped when you become stressed, stretching is definitely the way to go. Elongating your body will definitely stretch you out and relieve the tension in the body.

8. Coloring/ Painting

One of my friends, an Art Major, suggested painting as a stress reliever. I can neither paint or color well, but I imagine it would be stress relieving. Try using cool colors to calm the mind if you do decide to paint. I did learn something from middle school art class!

9. Playing Video Games

Again, this isn’t a tactic I would use to relieve stress. Infact, video games make me more stressed because I’m easily competitive. But I do have a friend who often plays video games to relieve stress and he said it worked fine. He claims that the trick is to play a single player game so there aren’t any competitors and to pick a game that will easily relieve stress. Preferably, your favorite. So, Game On!

10. Hanging Out With Friends

Last, but not least! Who else could help you relieve your stress other than your friends? Just taking a break to talk to your friends is one of the best ways to quickly rid you of stress and help you relax. They probably need it too, so relieve some stress together!

So, best of luck to all of the stressed people out there. Hope this helped!