The key to managing stress, even while in college, is to make time for quality self-care practices. Get your routine in place, and you’ll feel so much better! And at the end, you are blessed with the capabilities to manage stress levels.
It’s not easy being a student, especially if you’re also a professional or continuing your education. A student is a full-time job, and it comes with its own set of stressors.
5 Cool Tricks To Manage Your Stress Levels
As a student, you have a very minimum amount of time for your relaxation. Managing student stress is possible. The key to succeeding as a student is through an organized stress-bursting process. The rest will fall into place quickly after that.
The following are five steps to manage stress levels and grow your career.
1. Get Enough Sleep Each Night
The top causes of student stress include speaking in front of a class, fear of change, and insufficient sleep.
Adults require at least seven hours of sleep every night. As a student, if you don’t feel prepared for an exam, you’re tempted to pull all-nighters. Instead, get a good night’s sleep, and you’ll notice that your brainpower efficiency improves.
Sleeping recharges your body. It also aids learning and memory, which are essential for studying and managing student stress.
If you’re sleep-deprived, it impacts your body and mood. Seven hours of sleep a night helps you focus and helps to manage stress levels. When you’re 100% focused, you catch the nuances of a lecture better the first time. You optimize your studying sessions when you’re not constantly looking up details and definitions.
Better memory improves study sessions too. When you retain more information, you maximize three hours of study a day instead of spending five.
You can use your free time to get ahead on your assignments, take on personal projects, or start making career connections.
2. Make Exercise Part Of Your Routine
Medical professionals recommend that all adults and children make exercise part of their daily routines. Exercise strengthens muscles, boosts endurance, and helps the heart efficiently pump blood and oxygen. These exercise benefits lead to a healthier body and brain that has energy and focuses on managing stress levels.
There are several creative ways for students to make exercise part of their routine. Those who attend a school with a large campus can walk or bike from their apartment to their classes. You can also take part in an early riser yoga routine or gym session before bedtime.
The world is literally in your hands via your smartphone. You can download a fitness app or adopt an online subscription program that fits your preferences and budget. Many offer 30-day programs that guide you, provide motivation and accountability.
3. Organize Your Coursework (and Yourself!)
Back-to-school shopping is fun. First of all, it’s shopping. Second, retailers have upped their back-to-school college inventory. Finally, the start of the school year offers all the promise in the world. You can maintain that feeling and reduce student stress by gathering organization essentials.
Before your college school year begins, hit the back-to-school shopping sales. It’s the best time to pick up new notebooks, binders, and several writing utensils at a discount. You can also buy new computer memory sticks, an extra power cord, and laptop cleaning towelettes. When you’re shopping, pick up other essentials that help you organize your coursework and yourself.
If you miss the sales, several online retailers cater to college students. Plus, they make suggestions to ease browsing.
Color-coordinated school supplies are a great start. Noise-canceling headphones, a stellar microwavable bowl, and an extra set of bed sheets are others. Focus on items that minimize distractions and optimize studying time.
The organization helps the students to manage stress levels because you don’t interrupt your studying groove.
4. Dedicate Space And Time To Study
Studying on campus offers several benefits. A library is a quiet place that houses many research tools, books, and documents. Your apartment is another option. The key is consistency.
To manage stress levels among students, always dedicate space and time to study.
Humans are creatures of habit. Habits help individuals increase efficiency.
For example, medical professionals recommend that adults adopt a bedtime routine. Going to bed at the same time every night helps your body fall asleep faster. An efficient sleep leads to improved productivity along with manage stress levels.
The same logic applies to studying. If you build a nook in your apartment for learning and block out a chunk of time, it becomes a habit. Seeing the area at the same time sends a signal to your brain because it becomes a habit.
Keep in mind that too much free time is another cause of student stress. If you find that you have extra time on your hands, use it to get together with friends or socialize among your other peers. It’s a good idea to participate in campus extracurricular activities, intramural sports, or social groups.
5. Maintain A Healthy Diet
Student life is unique. The student budget often impacts a diet, so does access to the school cafeteria. Consuming a steady diet of noodles, snacks, and pizza isn’t optimal. (Neither is overdoing it at the dining hall buffet.).Cooling down your stomach is one of the easy processes to manage stress levels.
Instead, focus on budget-friendly, good-for-you foods or balanced diet options at school.
A diet that consists of berries, nuts, and eggs helps you study for exams. Since your body is receiving proper nutrition, you’re going to feel better and reduce stress.
Additional foods to add to your diet are fish, avocados, nuts, and dark chocolate. For breakfast, a yogurt parfait starts the day well. You can substitute the yogurt with oatmeal if that suits your preferences more.
For lunch, consider a hearty sandwich with turkey, avocado, and tomato on sourdough. Chicken with rice and vegetables is a filling dinner option.
The brain uses 20% energy, more than any other organ in your body. Moreover, it only makes up 2% of your body’s weight. So, the brain requires enough rest and nutrition. The more you think, the more calories the brain needs.
It’s okay to fuel yourself with some yummy snacks, pizza, and carbs. However, to give the student brain better fuel and reduce stress, eat more fruits, vegetables, and protein.
Conclusion
Learning how to manage stress levels among students is a great way to prepare for inevitable future stress as a professional and head of household. The ways to manage stress are simple things that benefit your mental and physical health.
Try a few steps from above and integrate your own that optimize a solid study and life balance.
Author bio:
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with The Verge Asheville to help them with their online marketing.
