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• 10 Easy Ways to Manage the Stress as College Students

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10 Easy Ways to Manage the Stress as College Students

Stress seems to be a common problem for many students. College is tough. We bet we’re right when we guess that right now, you have 2 essays to write, 75 pages to read, 4 classes to prepare for, 15 math problems to do, and so much more. The list is never ending, isn’t it? It feels like the Great Wall of China. You’re carrying stress on your shoulders, aren’t you?

All these things pile up and really take a toll on your physical and mental health. So, how do we reduce this stress? We’re here to tell you some easy, tried, and tested tips that can help you reduce stress and feel better as a student. 

Let’s dive in. 

1. Get enough sleep to reduce stress 

Sleeping, especially when living the life of a super busy and stressed college student, can seem impossible. It may seem easier to sleep later or wake up earlier to do your homework. But this can have the opposite effect. Getting 8-9 hours of sleep can help college students with memorizing, concentrating, and improving grades. Sleeping enough allows you to work faster, be more productive, and reduce stress!

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2. Exercise to improve your health as a student

Everyone knows this: exercising boosts your mental health and reduces stress. Getting fit and a great body along with reducing college stress? Sign us up with you when you go check out your gym! 

Of course, working out doesn’t need to be in a gym. Hit some steps and get your cardio in by going for a run or a hike outdoors. Pilates and sports are amazing options too! 

Exercising releases hormones that combat stress and ultimately put you in a better mood. It can help students deal with their stresses in a productive and healthy way.

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3. Remove college stress through relaxation techniques (meditation, yoga, massages, etc)

If you’re constantly under high stress as a college student, you may have high blood pressure or heart rates, that are bad for your health. Relaxation techniques activate the body’s relaxation response. These lead to slower breathing, lower blood pressure, and a reduced heart rate. 

By taking the time to practice some techniques like breathing, meditation, or yoga, you could lower your stress and increase productivity.

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4. Journaling to review your day

Imagine you’ve had a bad day. You just need someone to talk to but can’t. Journaling, or detailing your feelings and stresses onto paper, is a great outlet to simply let it all out. Making this into a habit is healthy for college students as it helps identify triggers or patterns of situations that make you feel stressed. 

Releasing your negative thoughts and feelings can have an instant impact on your mood. Get to writing and journaling!

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5. Manage your time well to avoid panic

Often, stress is caused by procrastination and failure to submit assignments on time. By managing your time and scheduling your assignments, you can reduce your stress. Using a calendar, a planner, or a Google Spreadsheet to plan your deadlines and schedule will help college students feel organized and prepared. We can’t wait for you to feel satisfied when you can finally tick an assignment off or delete it after submitting it!

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6. Eat a balanced diet to manage hormones and health

Yes, we know, we know, eating healthy in college seems impossible! But we’re really not kidding; try it out for yourself to see how much of a difference it can make. The benefits of eating well-balanced meals are plenty, including reducing your stress! Eating carbohydrates increases serotonin, which ultimately keeps you in a better mood throughout the day. Similarly, consuming fats filled with omega-3 can regulate cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Lowering stress can be directly linked to cortisol levels in the body.

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7. Set realistic goals and achieve them

As a college student, you should know exactly what needs to get done by when. Keeping your goals realistic is essential to keeping stress levels low. Overachieving students often struggle to keep up because of how much they take on. Make sure you are taking up a realistic amount of work, and always remember: the quality of your work matters over quantity!

Setting realistic goals can also look like breaking your assignments down into smaller portions and doing them one at a time. This helps if you’re procrastinating or stressed about a scary assignment.

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8. Listen to calming music to relax

Music, especially the beat and tempo of music, can control your feelings and help you release stress. Upbeat and exciting music can make you excited and happy, and a calmer tempo can help reduce the stress you may have as a college student. As Selena Gomez and Rema sing, “Baby show me you can calm down!” Gather your friends around and have a listening party or cuddle up and listen to your tunes in peace. 

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9. Experience nature (take a walk, jog, or bike around campus!)

Experts have time and again told us that the more we are surrounded by nature, the lower our cortisol levels are. We’ve already told you the importance of managing cortisol for stress. Surrounding yourself with greenery and nature even helps your body produce more dopamine. This hormone encourages happiness, and who doesn’t want that?

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10. Identify your de-stressors 

The best thing you as a college student can do to lower stress is identify what helps you calm down. Take advantage of it! Driving allows some of us to clear our heads and take our focus away from school and work for a tiny bit. Your de-stressor can be sports, video games, sewing, knitting, playing an instrument, and much more! Anything that helps you unwind is your de-stressor. 

We hope any of the 10 tips we’ve given you help you and your friends reduce stress, regardless of the time of day. Do you have any other tips that help you completely remove your stress as a college student?

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