“College Stress”
By: Alyssa Avila

What can college students do to be less stressed? Everyone knows that college, easy or hard, causes just about all students to be stressed. Stress does not just come from school, but also making time for family and friends, as well as work. As a first-year, full-time student, I have realized that with a fulltime schedule, I have become quite stressed. I plan to share ways to help students minimize their stress.

 

 

The academic workload requires that students face a series of peak periods such as midterms, finals, and the pressure to complete upcoming assignments, having each and every student in their own levels of stress. Students that are stressed are less likely to practice healthy behaviors and are more likely to practice bad habits like eating poorly, not getting regular exercise, and not maintaining hygiene. This also leads to the student having low self-esteem, and has the student focusing on just school losing time for family and friends and has them relying on the support from peers and instructors. To many, that support is hardly there when needed.

 

        Having such an overload with school work, this is the obvious main reason students are stressed. Making time for family and friends is stressful as well. And when it comes to work it just seem like too much.  

 

 

        A student, myself, I have felt like stress is non-stop. Finding the time to study and do homework has been the hardest for me. Staying up late at night doing homework is exhausting, especially when having class in the morning, not to mention also having to work. Working twenty to thirty hours a week, takes much of my energy, leaving me tired by the end of the day.  It’s like I never have enough time for everything. With having to manage my time for family and friends, by the end of such a busy week I mainly have the weekend to catch up on school work and myself. I have noticed that I never have time for those most important in my life. With such a busy life between school, work, and never having enough time for everything, leads to chronic stress.

 

 

        Two major types of stressors that students mainly struggle with, life events and chronic strains. Life events research considers the extent to which the accumulation of a series of experiences can create a stressful impact. Stress from chronic strain results in role overload: conflicting roles in an individual's life that produce competing, and potentially conflicting, demands over time. Role conflict is a common part of the college experience. Research has shown that events such as peer event and social activities can actually increase feelings of stress during college. College norms that define certain types of behavior as appropriate under certain conditions, may be stress inducing and may lead to less healthy practices. For example, staying up all night and studying isn’t good for you. And having friends that believe college norms are great ways to get ahead will lead you to an unhealthy lifestyle.

 

        Making new friends in college influences the way students see things and their behavior. The biggest change in a student’s health behavior is during the first three years of college, peers can have a strong impact on the types of these changes. Learning to cope with academic stress will provide students with life-long skills in stress management that they may employ as they enter the work world.

 

        Research has documented that females and student athletes are more likely to have higher levels of stress. Stress that been associated with a variety of negative outcomes in the adolescent population including suicidal ideation, smoking, drinking, and unprotected sex. Higher levels of stress have been related to poor diet, erratic sleep patterns, and more frequent physical illnesses.

 

         To minimize your stress as a college student you should focus on prioritizing your time effectively and wisely. A way you can prioritize effectively is by using a planning organizer, which helps schedule homework and study time wisely, as well as family and friend time and work.  Eating healthily, exercising regularly, and relaxing are great ways to minimize the amount of stress you may get from being a student. 

 

        A planning organizer allows you to be in control when you plan your days. Having control will keep you to keep track of all your daily engagements. Penciling in all your homework and study time and due dates, helps organization skills. Furthermore you will have a clear view when you will have time for work, family and friends, and for yourself.

 

 

Having a nutrition plan or eating healthy food daily will allow you to have more energy, mental alertness, focus, and overall better health. Having more energy can have you possibly take on a full schedule and get ahead more quickly and efficiently. Good mental alertness will have you at the top of your game.  Clear focus will allow you to absorb the material being taught.  With better health you portray positive energy.

 

Exercising regularly is a source of discipline and structure in your life, as well as positive fuel that enables you to keep motivated and overall healthy.  Discipline and structure in your life allows you to attack daily tasks and obligations that are set with ease and no stress.  Motivation is self driven within.  When you feed and exercise your body, your mind also benefits. In general being healthy overall, you feel better about yourself.

 

 

Practicing relaxation methods eases the mind, body, and soul and is a total plus to relieve stress. To relax the mind great methods such as quiet time and relaxing music are awesome to get your thoughts back on track. Taking a walk or doing yoga is a couple of many ways to relax the body. Drinking a hot cup of calming tea in a nice quiet space will certainly relax the soul.

 

 

         With the stresses of college, it is important to have yourself mentally and physically fit and organized. This will make your college life a pleasant experience and a whole lot less stressful. It is up to you as a student to inhabit good habits and staying focused.

 

 

 

 

Work Cited:

Hudd, Suzanne S., Dumlao, Jennifer, Erdmann-Sager, Diane, Murray, Daniel, Phan, Emily, Soukas, Nicholas, Yokozuka. “Stress at College: Effects on Health Habits, Health Status and Self-Esteem.” College Student Journal Vol. 34 June 2000: p.217