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Imagine: you just woke up to your roommate’s 6:00 a.m. trumpet practice, losing precious sleep; you have to attend your engineering lecture at 8:00 a.m. and are somehow expecting a pop quiz; your suitemate’s pounding techno music makes it nearly impossible to study for said quiz; after class, you must attend a dorm hall meeting, not mandatory but highly encouraged; your fraternity meeting comes right after the dorm meeting, but it’s all the way across campus–you’ll have to run; oh yeah, did I mention you have a ten-page research paper due the next day?
College stress isn’t always that bad, but at times, your responsibilities and commitments will pile up, and it might seem like there aren’t enough hours in the day. The expected stress that accompanies accumulated responsibilities will not only negatively affect your performance in school, but it can damage your health. Here are a few tips to handle the inevitable stress you’ll face in college:
- Sleep: During the first week of dorm life, you will not be on your regular high school sleep schedule. But with so many things to do and people to meet, you’ll be okay with that. After the novelty wears off, though, try to maintain a regular sleep schedule. If you’ve been getting five hours of sleep the last three nights and must choose between a good night’s sleep and a fun night’s partying, make the sensible choice. Your body will thank you. And remember, naps aren’t just for infants and old people; in college, naps are awesome–savor them.
- Find Me Time: You’ll soon realize that there is no “I” in “college.” No, I don’t mean that you need teamwork to succeed; I mean you will be so often surrounded by people that you may forget the importance of tranquil solitude. Try to figure out when your roommate is in class so you can schedule that much needed moment of Zen. If that’s impossible, then just take a walk by yourself. Simply escaping the congested den of bodies will do wonders for your stress.
- Eat: With so many things to do, you may forget the essentials, like, umm, sustenance? It sounds silly, but many students are so wrapped up in their responsibilities that they forget to eat. Don’t just ignore that grumbling coming from your midsection–it’s telling you something important. And please, eat something reasonably good for you, like fruits, veggies, proteins, etc. Good food will make you feel better, physically and mentally.
- Take Breaks: If you’ve been working on your research paper for two days straight, you will likely lose your grip on reality. Just stop. The more you study/work without a break, the less productive you become. Do something you enjoy for an hour or two. Play the guitar. Sing a song. Beat level three on Call of Duty. Better yet, hang out with friends to separate your mind from work. When you return to that paper, you’ll feel refreshed and recharged.
- Exercise: Exercise will often be the last thing on your mind when you have many things to do. Don’t feel that you have to exhaust yourself at the gym or run five miles. Even thirty minutes of solid exercise will make a dramatic improvement in how you feel. Exercise releases a spurt of serotonin into your brain, thereby boosting your mood. When responsibilities are clouding your head with anxiety, you can’t afford not to get that boost.
- Reevaluate: College will be stressful sometimes–there is no getting around that. Make sure, though, that you are not piling on more responsibilities than you can handle. Somewhere between the extra course units, fraternities, clubs, sports practice, honors classes, and research programs, you may realize that there really aren’t enough hours in the day. If you take on too many things, your performance and your health will suffer. For the sake of your wellbeing, reassess your workload and make the necessary changes.
