5 Simple Ways to Stress Less!

By Amy Wagner on January 30, 2013

This is the fifth in a series of health, fitness, and wellness-related articles to kick off the most resolution filled month of the year. Check back throughout the remainder of January for more articles on these topics!

As college students, we’re all intimately familiar with stress. It crops up when that ten-page paper is assigned, before a big exam for a subject you don’t exactly excel at, as things with roommates become tense…the list of stressful situations one faces in college is virtually endless. But there are steps that can be taken to combat stress.  They may seem small or insignificant, but try to make one or two of them habits and you just might be surprised to feel your stress melting away!

Photo courtesy of Google Images

First, pinpoint the cause of your stress. It is difficult, or even impossible, to combat stress if you do not know the root cause. Once you discover this, you can go about brainstorming ways.  Is it that horrendous math class? Ask a math-savvy friend for help. Find YouTube videos on the topic to see if it makes more sense explained in a different way. Make time to go into your teacher’s office hours.

According to WebMD, practicing thought management can help mitigate stress. It is important to remember that “what we think, how we think, what we expect, and what we tell ourselves often determine how we feel and how well we manage rising stress levels.” However, with practice, it is possible to alter thoughts that contribute to stress. Pay particular attention to thoughts that involve unrealistic expectations or “over-generalize sets of circumstances – for example, ‘I’m a failure at my whole job because I missed one deadline.’”

Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do to fight stress and tension. Did you know that ideally, the average adult needs roughly 8 hours of sleep per night? If you wake up every morning having gotten adequate sleep the night before, you will feel rested and ready to start your day, as well as fully ready to complete the tasks that may be causing you stress.

Irritability, which often goes hand-in-hand with stress, can actually be caused by dehydration. So, drink water! Staying hydrated is important not only as a potential method to reduce stress, but also for your general health.

Lastly, although it might seem obvious, there are several “little” things that can be done to relax and give yourself a new perspective. Take a walk. Have coffee with a friend. Play with your dog. Do some yoga. Read something you enjoy rather than another chapter of a textbook. And be sure to remember this: just breathe!

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