Transitioning into Fall Semester: Managing Stress
Updated: Nov 2, 2022
University can be a very enjoyable experience, but we all know that it can be just as stressful as it is exciting. Students in university often experience stress from various sources in their lives, and it can become overwhelming very quickly. When moving into the fall semester after a glorious four months of summer, it may take a while for people to get back into the groove of things. Or maybe you’re a first-year student experiencing university for the first time! Whatever the situation may be, it is important that we, as students, become more aware of the implications and effects of stress and how we can reduce and manage its impact.
As students, we typically experience stress from different areas, like academics, finances, career development, social life, and individual development. It is a very important time in a person's life, and these different pressures can create a situation of constant and chronic stress. With all this talk about stress, it is important to understand how it can impact individuals who experience large amounts of it. Chronic stress can cause an individual to become more likely to experience adverse health related outcomes. One such outcome is an increased occurrence of poor sleep and sleep disturbances, which have increasingly become one of the most prevalent health complaints in late adolescents and young adults (Amaral et al., 2018).
Empirical studies suggest that emotional and academic stress can negatively impact sleep and result in fewer hours of sleep, more sleep disturbances and later rise times, as per Amaral et al., 2018. Stress can also increase the likelihood of developing mental health-related issues, either during young adulthood or later on in life. The impacts of stress go beyond this and extend to physical health, through various biopsychosocial pathways. Overall, it is increasingly obvious that experiencing large amounts of stress over a long period of time is a cause for concern. But, with all this talk about stress and how it is bad for us, what can we do to reduce and manage its effects?
One very important aspect of having a less stressful university experience is balance. It is ideal for students to balance between their academic life, university life, and their personal health and wellbeing. This entails making some time out of your day or week to spend on yourself and focusing on recovering from your stressful experience through healthy mechanisms. Of course, we are all aware that this is easier said than done. When people think of taking a break, they often think this can only be effective if they do something elaborate and something that is seen as the epitome of relaxation. However, this is actually not the case, as even taking a short break where you do mundane things, or even nothing at all, can be just as effective in helping reduce stress. Studies have found that taking short breaks throughout your day can reduce or prevent stress, as they can help return your mental and physical functional systems to their baselines, while resetting mood and reducing stress (The Wellbeing Thesis, n.d). A great tip is to schedule a set time into your day or week where you commit yourself to move away from your stressful thoughts and spend more time on yourself. During this time you can spend time on your hobbies, be with family and friends, exercise, catch up on some sleep, spend time outside, or even sit and do nothing!
At the end of the day, it is important that we remember to put our health and wellbeing first, no matter the circumstances!
Sources:
The importance of taking breaks. The Wellbeing Thesis. (2020, January 14). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://thewellbeingthesis.org.uk/foundations-for-success/importance-of-taking-breaks-and-having-other-interests/
Amaral, A. P., Soares, M. J., Pinto, A. M., Pereira, A. T., Madeira, N., Bos, S. C., Marques, M., Roque, C., & Macedo, A. (2018). Sleep difficulties in college students: The role of stress, affect and cognitive processes. Psychiatry research, 260, 331–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.11.072
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