How to Reduce Stress as a College Student

Not every college student has trouble with stress management, but the majority of students face stress through their study years. Some have an ability to overcome difficulties without being too frustrated – stress makes them even more focused on their goals. However, feeling overwhelmed and depressed because of the pressure of college assignments is a common case. 

If you are the one who would like to learn how to manage your thoughts, emotions and relieve stress while studying, this article is just for you. We have found some cool techniques that will help you cool down and relax. However, if you find yourself in a constant state of disturbance, anger, frustration, apathy, or if you have troubles with controlling your emotions, sleep or food habits, you should definitely see a specialist for professional help and advice. 

Pick the Way to Calm Down

There are multiple tools and techniques that can help you calm down when you are nervous or stressed. For example, you can buy and squeeze a stress ball or a pop-it fidget toy; you can also take a break to listen to relaxing music, light an aroma candle, or just lay down on your bed. We all have a different approach to calm ourselves – sometimes it’s just about breathing or distracting on some ASMR video. If you are interested in relaxing breathing techniques, we have a few for you:

• Breathe in slowly, counting from one to five. Exhale through your nose slowly. Repeat a few times.
• A ‘square’ technique. Breathe in, hold your breath, breathe out and hold your breath again. Count from one to four on each step. This technique is also useful if you want to quit smoking.
• Abdomen breath. Put your hand on your belly and make sure it goes up and down when you are breathing; concentrate on the feeling of your hand against your abdomen. Inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth. It’s even better if you close your eyes. This method helps a lot to relax and calm down when you have anxiety.

Try various methods until you find the one that works for you. Taking a warm with bubbles or dancing to your favorite track – it’s up to you.

Review Your Diet

The food that you consume matters a lot when it comes to managing stress and dealing with challenging deadlines, as it might enhance or reduce your brain activity. For example, fast food is not good neither for your body weight nor for your concentration and the speed of reaction. Make sure your diet consists of healthy foods, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, and healthy fats like olive oil. If you are not a vegetarian, make sure you eat a lot of chicken and low-fat veal. Stay away from lots of pork, bacon, and other kinds of meat that are heavy for your digesting system.

Drink your water every day. Especially in the morning, right after you wake up, to boost your brain activity. When you are eating healthy, it’s much easier for your body to produce hormones that help you cope with stress – cortisol.

Have Enough Sleep

Sleeping well for at least 7-8 hours per day is essential for a student. There are too many things that you must deal with throughout the day, so you need to let your body rest at night and get energized. Lack of sleep might cause sleep deprivation, depression, anger, and tearfulness, even if these are not your normal states.

If you face difficulties with falling asleep at night or wake up multiple times, try to change something in your routine. For example:

• Avoid using your devices for at least 1.5-2 hours before sleep. The screen’s blue light makes your system stay in tonus instead of feeling relaxed when you are going to bed.
• Make sure you don’t eat much food before you go to sleep.
• Open windows in your room to let the fresh air in. It helps you fall asleep faster.
• Try breathing techniques to fall asleep.

Don’t try to catch up with sleep during the holidays or weekends. Instead, try to sleep the same amount of time each day. It’s also helpful if you can create a routine with a set time for when you go to bed and wake up in the morning. Your brain will get used to the schedule if you are constant with it.

Plan Beforehand

The main cause of anxiety and stress when you are a student is the need to deal with various tight deadlines and lots of assignments. However, if you learn how to plan your days and study sessions, improve your time-management skills, you will avoid much of the stress caused by deadlines. Don’t put everything to the last moment, as it quickly becomes a habit that is hard to cope with.

Wrapping Up

Don’t let stress and deadlines put you down. If you feel like you have too many things you need to deal with as a college student and they cause anxiety, make sure you turn to our team to let us help you with your studies. We know how stressful those deadlines are, and we are glad to do something for you to ease your college life. Stay positive!