College is a very stressful time. Whether it’s writing a reflective paper or an in-depth thesis, it can be stressful to manage all these classes, other social activities, and even your personal life.
Luckily, there are some ways to manage your college stress easily. We’ll go over what those are, how you can use them, and what some of the best ways to improve your college stress so you can stay on top!
1. Have a Schedule!
This is probably the most important thing to do, but having a schedule will save your bacon, and make college easier on you. While it won’t be a walk in the park, a detailed plan of your assignments, when they’re due, and a schedule of when to work on them will help so that you get them done in a timely fashion. This is even more important if you have other commitments too. For example, if you’re on the basketball team, you still need to make the grades while also attending practices and games. While high school has some of this balancing, it’s a whole different ballgame here.
A schedule, especially on your phone that you can look at, can help you immensely. Don’t be afraid to use Google Calendar to keep track of your assignments so you get them done!
2. Set Aside Time to Relax
This is just as important as having a schedule. Please, if you value yourself, set aside about 15-30 minutes of time to relax every day. This is when you do personal activities that aren’t involving your college work or other commitments. Why is this important? It’s you time. So if you want to work out, or maybe work on a hobby, this is a great way for you to take advantage of this.
Relaxing is also good to recharge your brain. If you’re struggling to keep track of it all and need a minute, a little bit of relaxation can go a long way.
3. Get at least 7-8 hours of Sleep!
This one is hard for lots of college kids, but try to get enough sleep. I know the college kid life is hard, and probably running on 6 hours is a “good” night’s sleep. But your brain won’t be at optimum if you do this! Getting enough sleep is essential, and making sure that you get enough is very important.
Don’t be afraid to get some sleep every now and then, and to make sure that you try to keep a consistent schedule.
4. Eat healthy
Probably just as important as sleeping enough, eating right is the next thing to do. The wrong foods can trigger stress hormones, and inflammation in the body. This in turn puts you at risk for inflammatory conditions, and will trigger your stress response. Which isn’t healthy. The freshman 15 is common in college, but making sure that you’re not just relying on junk food is important.
It’s hard, but try to eat as healthy as you can while being in college. It can help with managing stress, and keeps your body healthy as well.
5. Consider a Therapist
Finally consider a therapist. A therapist can help you get ahold of this, help with managing stressors, and can help you develop great habits to be the best you can be. A therapist is great for also building confidence too. If you’re stressed and unable to manage it, talking to a therapist is essential.
If you’re curious about what kind of therapist to consider, you can go to https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/therapy/searching-for-a-therapist-requirements-for-a-successful-therapeutic-relationship/ to find the right therapist for you, so you get a good one.
College stress is incredibly common, but using these stress management techniques is really good for helping to get the most that you can out of your university experience, and so you can be successful now, and down the road.
