William Pruett
Equinox Staff
With college students constantly in motion, they are always looking for the next thing that they have to get done to perfect their grade. While having many classes to juggle and a social life alongside that, it can be extremely hard to try and find the balance between the two. This can lead to a lot of stress. Being a student can be challenging of course, but if you manage to find ways to relieve your stress properly and balance all of the aspects of your life equally, then it is more than easy to be successful.
Minimizing a student’s stress does not have to be a hard obstacle to overcome. It can start out with something basic, like getting the proper amount of sleep that a human should be every night. This does not mean that if you get 8 hours of sleep one night of the week, and barely any on the other nights, that your stress will become relieved and everything will be easier. However, if students maintain at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night consistently, their peak mental, physical and emotional performances can all be reached. A good night’s rest is vital in a student’s stress management.
While sleeping the right amount can definitely help students, there are many other ways to help minimize stress. Another example would be to eat healthy while you are in college. If a student’s diet is always junk food and they are not getting the proper meals and nutrients into their system, their energy can be majorly affected. This can heavily interfere with your ability to get your work done and be motivated enough to go out and try new activities or meet new people. In order to reach your best energy levels, students should try healthy meals, such as a salad or fruits and vegetables.
To go along with the idea that eating healthy meals help students to control their stress, exercise is also extremely important along with eating right. Even as little as 20 minutes of exercise a day is known to decrease stress levels in the average person. If a student exercises, gets enough sleep every night, and also eats healthy every day, their stress levels will be far lower than students who do not. When those three factors are implemented into a students life, their stress will be greatly decreased.
While these are all very important for a student’s stress minimization, having a good social life that has friends that you can confide in when you are struggling is also just as important. If you do not have anyone to talk to about your feelings and just unwind with, then a student’s head can get jammed and they can be overwhelmed. If you do not have these people already, then put yourself out there to find them. It can be hard, but once you find the right friends that have the same interests as you, it is worth it. Having those friends always assures you that you have someone to fall back on when feeling upset or stressed out, so it does not just sit there torturing you. These are all ways that can help a student to minimize stress, it just takes some effort to actually go out and do it first.
William Pruett can be contacted at wpruett@kscequinox.com
