Stress is something every single person has to deal with at some point in their lives, especially if you're a college student. According to the AADA, 80% of college students feel some form of stress during the semester. You have a 6-page paper due Thursday, an exam Wednesday, oh, and that huge group project due Friday that you haven't started. It's hard to balance all of these assignments plus work and to try to maintain some form of a social life. Sometimes, you just need a way to cope with the stress and relax your mind because you cannot do your best work if you're mentally foggy. It is also not healthy. According to WebMD, stress can cause headaches, nausea, low energy, muscle aches, chest pain, insomnia, and many other symptoms. It also affects your mental health, causing anxiety and depression. There have to be ways to minimize the stress in order to get through the semester. So, here are some tips to help manage stress and get through the semester while keeping your sanity.
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1. Take Breaks
Taking breaks are crucial to keeping stress low. If you are studying, take a 10 minute break every 20-30 minutes to put your mind at ease for a little while. If you are doing an assignment, reward yourself with watching Netflix for a little while before beginning the next assignment. It is all about balancing work and pleasure.
2. Break Down Your Work
According to Huffington Post, breaking down assignments into smaller portions and spacing them out is way easier and less stressful than cramming everything last minute. Starting a paper and slowly adding more to it as the weeks go by will be way easier on you than trying to write 10 pages in one night. Break it down into bite-sized pieces and save yourself from the all-nighters.
3. Seek Help
Seek professional help when it comes to coping with stress. Most campuses have free counselling services just for students, so take advantage of it! It may feel weird, but just realize it can really help you deal with your stress, and plenty of other students are also going there for the same thing.
4. Study With Friends
Study and do assignments with friends! It's a way less stressful environment because you can have a good time and take breaks to have conversations; just don't take too many breaks, or you will end up with no work actually done.
5. Walk Away
If you are sitting in front of a screen wanting to rip your hair out, running on 2 hours of sleep, and having a throbbing headache, then you need to get up and walk away. Yes, that paper is due tomorrow, and yes, you need to get it done, but your health comes first. Just walk away, take a nice hot shower and make some hot tea; hell, even eat a whole carton of ice cream and watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy! Just make sure you walk away so you can ease your mind and get it in the right place. It doesn't benefit you or your paper if you are stressed out of your mind. Walk away for just a little to clear your head, so you can go back to that paper with a better attitude and a better mind.
6. Live a Healthy Lifestyle
Living a healthy lifestyle is probably the hardest thing on this list to do. How is a college student supposed to eat healthy on a broke budget? It seems impossible, but it's not. Grabbing an apple at the dinning hall instead of a cupcake is a small step in the right direction. Incorporating healthier foods into your diet without completely changing it is 100% possible and easy if you put your mind to it. Also, to be healthy means getting enough sleep, which is very hard for students. Try your best to get at least 6 hours of sleep a night, and if you can't, then take naps so you can to keep your mind focused and not foggy. Exercising is also great for your mind and body. A nice jog or even some crunches gets the blood flowing and releases endorphins that put you in a happier, stress-free mood. So, put down that Red Bull and Snickers bar, and try changing your diet in order to boost your energy and mood.
7. Breathe
Last but not least, breathe. It sounds so easy, but its effectiveness is often forgotten. According to Everyday Health, "When you feel stressed, deep-breathing exercises can help melt away the tension. Try this exercise: Inhale slowly through your nose, hold the breath for a few seconds, then exhale through your mouth, and repeat as needed. This helps prevent the short, shallow breaths that often accompany feelings of tension." (Jennifer Acosta Scott) Doing this for just a couple of minutes can lower your heart rate and relax the nervous system so you can feel more relaxed. So run a bubble bath, use a bath bomb, and breathe
