Learning to deal with stress in college is critical because it can quickly take a toll on your health. For example, health experts agree, a constant state of stress can affect all aspects of a student's body.
Physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral functions can go haywire under duress. This is important because stress can affect how a student performs academically and makes personal judgments.
Your body will give you messages about your stress, but you must listen. Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician, wrote more than 2000 years ago, "There is a measure of conscious thought throughout the body." This tells us that we should listen to our inner voice because not only can it tell us when we are hungry or tired, it will also give us signs when we're exhausted and over-stressed. It takes practice to know when to take a break and strike a balance between work and play.
De-stressing techniques for one person may not work for another, but knowing a few simple ways to decompress can give students some handy options. Dr. Gregory Jantz, psychologist and author of How to De-Stress Your Life, points out simple solutions like stepping out of your normal setting if there are too many stimuli. You should remove yourself from distractions and move to an alternative setting for a student fresh perspective. The deviation from pressure can add energy to your studies later in the day.
Along with changing locations, exercise is a healthy way to de-escalate. Rather than sapping your energy, exercise will invigorate your senses and add stamina to your hours of studying.
Dr. Jantz also warns students to drink plenty of water. He points out that hydration helps your mind, and water is a way to improve concentration. This is important because what many college students do during times of stress is overload on sugar or energy drinks. While these are temporary fixes under pressure, they are detrimental to health and useless in helping pass exams.
Staying cognizant of your body's messages and choosing helpful de-stressors is imperative to keeping up with the demands of college and maintaining a healthy and successful semester.
