Stress is your body’s response to a perceived threat, whether real or imagined. As a student, you’re constantly bombarded by stressors all around. You want quick methods to help you get you out of the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Tight deadlines. The plethora of assignments that is due. A Continuous Assessment Test around the corner that you haven’t studied. Not-so-good grades when the report comes in. Does any of this sound similar to a situation you have faced?
A student’s life is continuously faced with these and similarly stressful events. These anxieties are part of life, and individual levels lead us towards growth. However, constant episodic stress may lead to severe manifestations followed by feelings of angst that lower your productivity as a student. You find you no longer enjoy things you used to enjoy doing. You experience impaired concentration.
Below you’ll find three quick methods of managing stress that are not only simple but a student can accomplish them using available resources.
1. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a state of present-focused awareness learned most prominently from the teachings of the Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh. To practice mindfulness, you need to find a comfortable sitting position then focus on your breathing. Afterward, focus your mind’s attention back to the present without thoughts straying to other concerns.
Mindfulness is the idea of treating your mind as a suggestion box. Focusing on the present will enable you to distinguish between problem-solving thoughts and persistent worries with no merit. You’ll find you are better positioned to quickly manage stress by actively choosing ideas to spend your mental resources.
2. Switch on the “Unfocus
Network” in the Brain
Stress arises as a result of your mind being divided amongst so many things. Your ideas are scattered, and plans fragmented leaving you in a state of worry of whether you’ve forgotten something important. A quick method of managing this stress in student life is by turning off your “focus” brain.
A great way to do this is by taking power naps. Napping is not sleeping. Napping entails setting a timer, relaxing and letting your thoughts drift off. By so doing, your mind can retrieve memories while linking ideas allowing for more creativity and sharper thinking.
3. Take a Walk
Taking a walk enables you to break off from internal worries. Among the quick methods of managing stress, walking is a student’s best friend. Walking increases connectivity between the body and the mind. Walking is beneficial for loosening up muscles that were tense from anxiety, and it improves your mental sharpness. Taking a walk also separates you from your stressing environment. Walking allows for a more comprehensive worldview and creative thinking.
Not only is taking a walk essential but how you walk significantly affects its effectiveness. A simple method to improve its efficiency is by free-walking, walking while observing your surroundings. Other studies have shown that walking in a natural environment has a more profound stress relief than in an urban setting. As a student, all you’ll need to start off is a 15-minute walking exercise.
Bottom-line
You pick up new habits and reinforce others during your student life period. Now you know that stress is healthy to encourage growth in a student’s life. However, if left unchecked it will have the opposite effect of reducing your productivity. This article has highlighted some quick methods of managing stress considering a student’s lifestyle and resources.
Practicing mindfulness allows you to sift through your ideas for what is essential. Switching off your “focus mind” enables your mind to make connections between ideas. Add on these by taking a walk to gain a broader worldview, and you’ll be able to adapt excellently to college life.