AD – Collaborative Post // It’s been a pretty stressful year, indeed. Of course, there are plenty of other everyday stressors we’re bound to encounter, unrelated to current events. After all, life is hectic. Kids can be demanding; work can get tiresome, and money is often an issue.
If you’re in school, then you’re looking at a whole other set of stressors unique to what the institution demands. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with them. Check out the list below for six helpful tips on how to manage school stress.
Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep
Sure, this may seem like common sense, probably something your parents have told you time and time again. But they aren’t wrong! Getting enough sleep not only keeps you physically healthy but helps your brain function at its full capacity.
Studies have shown that sufficient sleep contributes to cognitive function, specifically when it comes to memory and problem-solving skills. In fact, researchers have determined that a lack of sleep can have about as bad an impact on brain function as getting drunk!
So, do yourself a favor and make sure you get enough shut-eye. You don’t need to add a poor academic performance to the list of things stressing you out this year!
Get Organized
Scrambling around for a lost item is never fun. It takes time away from other responsibilities and adds to overall levels of frustration. Of course, we are all guilty of misplacing an item every now and then, but it’s certainly not a habit we want to incorporate into our everyday lives.
Creating an organized space will also help you focus. This allows you to complete tasks faster and carve out more time for enjoyable moments. It may take a little time to get the process started, but it’s certainly worth the effort in the end.
Review Your Class Notes
Some classes are more interesting than others, this much we know. The last thing anyone wants to do when landing home from a boring lecture is to review the notes taken during class. But a quick review can provide some major benefits down the line.
Remember, cramming for tests is never fun. It’s also not very effective. This preparation method is known to increase stress, decrease sleep, and reduce our ability to concentrate.
Retaining a little bit of information every day, over time will make preparing for major tests much less stressful. It’s also bound to improve your performance.
Incorporate Brain Food into Your Diet
Again, this sounds a lot like something your mother might say. And again, she wouldn’t be wrong. As rewarding as those cheat meals may be, they aren’t doing much in the way of unburdening your body.
As research scientist Matthew J. Kuchan reminds us, “Eating a healthy diet can reduce the negative effects of stress on your body.” Kuchan explains that stress negatively affects blood pressure. Nutrients from healthy foods can counter that process by improving blood flow in the body.
Sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach, and avocados are just a few foods you might want to think about incorporating into your diet.
Get Some Exercise
Exercise is known to help protect your body from the harmful effects of stress. Not only does it help pump up your endorphins, the brain hormones that help reduce feelings of pain and discomfort, but it actually reduces “stress hormones” like cortisol and adrenaline.
Exercise also serves as a great distraction. Sometimes, walking away from stressful events to focus on something else is the best thing you can do to improve your mood. Even a brief moment removed from the day’s irritations can go a long way in helping you recover from them.
Spend Time with Friends
It’s difficult to prioritize life’s simple pleasures when managing a heavy workload. Too often, students forgo important social interactions to meet the demands of a busy schedule. Of course, it is important to cater to your classroom duties, but it’s also necessary to pepper in a reward every now and then.
Laughter alone functions as a major stress reducer. It feels good and helps stimulate important processes in the body. All that guffawing can actually increase your body’s oxygen intake, stimulating your heart, lungs, and muscles. It can also decrease your heart rate and boosts the number of endorphins released from the brain.
Time with friends also allows you to discuss the problems in your life. Remember, your friends are there for a good time, but they’re also there to provide support when needed. Don’t forget to reach out to this network when necessary.
These tips are simple enough to follow, and most of us probably know them, but it never hurts to get a reminder too.
Throughout the semester, I constantly have to remind myself to take breaks and to meet up with my friends. I usually start to become less involved with my friends from week 10 onwards, and I always feel bad about it after.
One thing I started incorporating into my daily schedule is time for HIIT and yoga! Even though 20min of HIIT feels like torture by the 10min mark, I feel less lethargic and more confident about myself after.
Thanks for sharing these tips, Jenny! 🙂
It goes without saying every student has suffered from the uncalled for stress. Thank you for sharing!! 🙂
Literally just the post I needed–the term is ending by next Friday, and I am in the throes of endless work. As much as I adore and tout exercise, I haven’t been able to really do it the last few weeks which explains why I’ve been so foggy lately, so this post is such a great reminder! Loved this x
I would definitely say make friends with the ‘smart’ students. This is not someone to use, but if you work hard and still struggle to understand some of the work, then you can at least have a buddy to help you out.
All the best, Michelle (michellesclutterbox.com)
This semester has been so stressful for me, thank you so much for the amazing tips, I especially love the brainfood one and can’t wait to try adding some to my diet! 🙂
Some great advice on how students can deal with school stress, school used to stress me out loads as a child! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk