Students and Stress, Here’s Help

Staying healthy and happy as a college student is not as easy as it seems.  Many students fall into bad eating habits and poor exercise routines.  Many unhealthy habits are born and without awareness to these issues it is easy to let these college habits become lifelong habits; stress eating, binge drinking, bad workout schedule, unhealthy sleep schedules and more.  There are ways for young people to break these habits beforethey become second nature and the good news is, they aren’t difficult.

Don’t let stress run your life, take control

‘My schedule and workload is so stressful that most of the time I don’t eat proper meals.  I might go down to McDonald’s and get a burger after a late night in the library or eat a bag of Taytos and a sub and call it good’ says, American third year student,  Michelle McCabe.  She feels that most of her unhealthiness is attributed to stress and she is probably right.  Stress is one of the biggest culprits of weight gain in and unhealthy tendencies of students; it is usually the root of most problems.  So if a student can tackle stress they will be more productive, happier and healthy.  “Your body is an amazing creation, capable of performing great wonders, but you can destroy that miraculous machine’s potential with an overdose of STRESS”. Harry J. Johnson American, Medical Doctor  Homework, exams, papers, finding a job and planning an unpredictable future all add weight to the slouching shoulders of a student.  While these things are unavoidable, stress is not.  It is imperative for young people to combat the onset of stress and there are many ways to do so.

1.      Keep Yourself on a Routine

It takes a lot of discipline to keep to a schedule, but it is crucial to combating stress.  Staying on a strict schedule helps a student get more done and feel like they are in control; they are running their schedule, not letting the schedule run them.  Time management is never easy especially in a college life atmosphere one trick it to keep a schedule everyday of what needs to get done that day and a list of what needs to be done for the week.  Seeing everything in front of you will help you stay organized and crossing things off the list will make you feel good about yourself as you watch yourself get through your list.

2.      Get Enough Zzz’s

Getting enough sleep is often a forgotten ‘golden rule’ during college. Seven to eight hours a night helps a student cope with stress and avoid irritability.  It also helps keep you calm, gives you more energy throughout the day, prevents illness, helps you maintain your weight, and decreased stress and depression. It is a small change but will help students maintain a schedule and stay healthy.

3.      Have Fun

In college this advice seems like it goes without saying, but we are saying it.  Make sure that you leave time to unwind, safely, and have fun with friends.  Drinking too much can cause some problems we are trying to prevent, but going outside kicking the soccer ball around or going camping with a group is a great stress reliever.  Students have to be careful with alcohol but social interaction helps people stay calm and wards off depression.  So go out, have fun and lookout for each other. 

College is a great time in a person’s life and there is no reason why everyone shouldn’t make the best of these college years.  These helpful suggestions are easy to maintain and change in an everyday life.