Incorporate Exercise Into The Day
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans by the CDC recommends at least one hour of exercise per day for children and adolescents to strengthen cardio fitness and keep depression and anxiety at bay. Surprisingly, just 1 in 3 children get physical exercise each day. Parents should encourage younger children to exercise by turning off screens and sending them outside to play. Teens may need more structured activity like organized sports.
Encourage Them To Stay Connected With Others
We are social creatures, and social relationships are really important to our general wellbeing. Its OK for young people to take time out for themselves. Encourage your young person to maintain strong social connections when they are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, as their friends and family can help them through these times.
Be Clear About What You Expect
Some parents ask their kids to just do your best. This can sound overwhelming teens may think youre asking them to give 100 percent effort in everything, all the time. Communicate what you actually expect, and be as specific as possible. For example, imagine you want your teen to start being more responsible. Will your teen know exactly what more responsible looks like, or is it too abstract? You will need to explain, in concrete terms, what youre looking for. You can start by praising your teen for the kinds of things you want to see more of. Its hard to cross the finish line if you dont know where it is!
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Journal About Your Daily Trials And Tribulations
Writing is an amazing way to relieve stress. The trick is that you need to do it regularly.
Whether you prefer laptops or notebooks, take your writing tools and set aside a specific time for journaling at least several times a week. Pour all your thoughts into a string of sentences that dont need to make any sense or be grammatically flawless. Youll benefit from writing about your days because:
- Acknowledging your stress is enough to make a majority of it go away
- Transforming your emotions into words has the same positive effects as pouring your heart out to a real person
- Reflecting on your struggles helps you realize why you are struggling and how to prevent it next time
You should also take care to note any positive occurrences in your life. Whether you write about a delicious coffee you had or your crush returning your text messages, including happy moments helps you:
- Realize you always have something to look forward to
- Be grateful for positive aspects of life
- Acknowledge what brings a smile to your face and seek that out actively
A bonus advantage of journaling is that you practice your writing skills so you can write better school papers, internship cover letters, and personal statements for college.
Stay Organized And Create A Good Workspace
Cleaning your room, or otherwise organizing your spaces and belonging, can be an annoying task, and teenagers are notorious for the lengths theyll go to to avoid tidying up. However, taking some time to keep things neat can pay off later in terms of stress relief.
Keeping a clean and organized workspace makes for a more pleasant working experience, and more importantly, it ensures that youre able to access what you need quickly and easilyno more frantically digging through stacks of paper for the one document that you really need. While it cant prevent every stressful situation, and unexpected things do happen, it does help eliminate one particular source of stress.
This can apply to your electronic spaces as well as your physical spaceswhens the last time you tidied up your hard drive and made sure important files were correctly labeled and easily accessible? As college applications become increasingly digital in format, its just as important to keep your digital files where you can find them as it is to keep physical paperwork organized.
If youre spending a lot of time at your desk studying or writing, you should also ask yourself whether its comfortable and healthy. Is your chair supportive enough? Do you have the right lighting? Is your computers keyboard at the right height? Having a workspace thats well-suited to your needs can only help.
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Techniques For Dealing With Stress In High School
Stress is a fact of life for people of all ages. If youre a teenager, however, the experience of attending high school and preparing for college may expose you to a level of stress thats higher than any youve experienced before. Thats part of growing up and taking on new challenges, which is a necessary and beneficial process. In the moment, though, feeling the brunt of that stress can be quite difficult to handle.
However, the challenge is far from insurmountable. Many people have been through this stage of life before you, including those of us who now work at CollegeVine, and weve learned from the experience. Read on for some of our favorite strategies for managing your stress level, mitigating the negative effects of stress, and navigating high school in a way that will keep you healthy and happy as well as accomplished and successful.
How To Reduce Homework Stress At School
For many students, homework is one of the worst parts of school. Taking some of the stress from the school building home with you is not a good feeling.
According to a study from Stanford University, 56% of students see homework as a primary source of stress. And when stress can lead to poor sleep, less healthy eating habits, and reduced time for your social life, it quickly becomes apparent that school stress can be a serious problem.
So we want to talk about how to reduce homework stressand how to begin while youre still physically at school.
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Check Out Meditative Activities
While some people feel that they get a lot from formal meditation practices, not everyone is interested in or enjoys pursuing that kind of practice. However, there are many activities that have a meditative quality that can help to ease your mind.
Coloring has become particularly popular as a meditative stress-relief activity. Art supply stores and bookstores now stock plenty of coloring books oriented toward teens and adults, which are far more detailed and interesting than those you might have used as a child.
Other forms of art and craft, from drawing to cross-stitch embroidery to woodworking to playing a musical instrument, can have similar effects. You dont have to be an immensely talented artist to benefit, both in terms of meditative concentration and in terms of simply doing something you enjoy and expressing yourself.
Many other activities can have a meditative quality. Some people find that spending time in nature fills this need. Others find a sense of peace in everything from writing to gardening to religious observations. The range of possibilities is broad, and ultimately, only you can say what feels right for you.
Reduce Student Stress In The Classroom With These 6 Tips
by TeachThought Staff
How do you make your students feel?
Research is starting to show pretty conclusively that the answer to this question can have a profound effect on the learning that occurs within your class or school. More specifically, children who are anxious about their learning, their abilities, their homeworkalmost anythingwill have elevated levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress.
Though cortisol has its benefits, a perpetual state of elevated cortisol levels, or even regular spikes in levels are damaging to the body in numerous ways, including impaired cognitive abilities. Studies also show that increased instances of elevated cortisol levels leads to lowered cortisol levels down the road, which is also problematic. The other, more immediate effect is that the physiological energy needed for the body to regulate stress hormone levels detracts from the energy available to focus on learning.
Weve all seen children in obvious states of emotional distress and its well known that students in such a state are incapable of much learning. But students with less visible, perhaps lower levels of stress or anxiety are also affected. The notion of stress in this case is very broad, and many kids, parents are unaware of the effects of these stressors. Things like too much video game time, too little breakfast or tension in the home can have profound effects on students levels of stress which can mean an imbalance of cortisol.
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Surround Yourself With Supportive People
Social support is critical when managing stress. Finding people you trust whether friends, family members, or coworkers can help you mitigate the adverse effects of stress.
Set aside time each week to meet with a friend. If possible, use this time to exercise, since physical activity also decreases stress. Agree to walk together a few times a week or go for a bike ride.
In addition to the strategies listed for students and parents, here are additional ways teachers and other school employees can cope with stress.
Tips To Manage Stress For College Students
- May 14, 2019
Stress in college is inevitable. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 80% of college students frequently or sometimes experience stress daily. Stress is also a contributing factor to poor academic performance for one in three students. College students can develop coping strategies to combat stress triggers and improve their experience while in school.
What causes stress in college students?
According to the American College Health Association , 44.9% of college students experience more than average stress levels, while 12.7% experience overwhelming stress levels. With so many academic demands and responsibilities as a student, its expected that you might feel high levels of stress from time to time. But, when stress disrupts daily activities, you need to determine the cause of your stress and how to manage it.
These are some of the most common causes of stress for college students.
Living away from home
Financial struggles
Academic pressure
Conflict with a roommate
While some colleges provide the option to choose a private room in a residence hall, most schools only offer shared living spaces. Putting a group of strangers together in a small room can easily lead to tension and conflict if the individuals dont get along or become friends. Research has shown that roommate conflict impacts grades and increases the chance of a student dropping out.
Relationship issues
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Create A Good Study Environment
Creating a soothing environment can reduce stress and help you learn.
Aromatherapy, for example, is a known stress reliever, and peppermint essential oil is said to wake up your brain. Playing classical music as you study can also soothe you and help you learn .
Consider what would make a good study environment for you. Each individual is different, so what works for someone else might be less than ideal for you.
Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Another great stress reliever that can be used during tests, before bed, or at other times when stress has you physically wound up is progressive muscle relaxation . This technique involves tensing and relaxing all muscles until the body is completely relaxed.
With practice, you can learn to release stress from your body in seconds. This can be particularly helpful for students because it can be adapted to help relaxation efforts before sleep for deeper sleep, something students can always use, or even to relax and reverse test-induced panic before or during a test.
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Ways To Manage Student Stress
Finding your independence is one of the advantages of university life, but it can come with its fair share of stress. Study goals, money trouble, living away from home and the impact of COVID-19 can all play on your mind. Here’s how to keep the worry at bay
Student stress can be caused by a number of factors, including:
- struggling with your mental health
- loneliness, homesickness or relationship difficulties
- finding it hard to save money or deal with debt
- harmful use of, or withdrawal from, alcohol or drugs.
There are a number of common reactions to stressful circumstances such as these, including:
- Behavioural – these could involve avoiding or escaping from the situation and turning to alcohol or drugs, a change in appetite or an inability to concentrate.
- Physical – you may experience an increased heart rate, sweating, shaking, headaches, butterflies and over-breathing.
- Psychological – stress can lead to fear, panic and the feeling that something bad is going to happen.
Successful coping mechanisms differ for everyone, but if stress is beginning to affect your mental wellbeing, try the following strategies.
Difference Between Stress And Pressure
Its common to hear stress and pressure used interchangeably. But theres a difference: pressure refers to external expectations to perform or deliver and stress refers to internal perceptions of unpreparedness or lack of resources.
For example, stress would be what you feel when you have three assignments due in 3 days and not enough hours in the day to complete them.
And pressure would be having a low grade in a class and knowing you need a specific high score on the upcoming final to pass the course.
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Activities For Teachers To Support Student Mental Health
The costs of COVID-19 lockdowns and school closures on children’s health, well-being and learning has been devastating.
Everyone has been affected by the pandemic, but for some children and adolescents, lockdowns and school closures have meant being subjected to violence, abuse and neglect at home.
For others, increased time online, particularly unsupervised time for younger children, may have heightened the risk of being exposed to harmful content, cyberbullying and online sexual abuse and exploitation.
As your students return to school, you might be the first trusted adult they have encountered outside their home since COVID-19 containment measures started. You may be the first person to spot if something is wrong.
To help you provide your students with a safe and supportive learning environment, here are some ways to support your students well-being.
Did you know? During times of stress and crisis, children observe adults behaviours and emotions for cues on how to manage their own.
Get Outside And Get Moving
Getting outside, exercising, or participating in some other kind of physical activity can be a great distraction from stressful thoughts and tasks. Tiring yourself out physically can also help you to sleep better, and as well discuss in greater detail below, quality sleep is a valuable thing.
For some people, exercise feels good on a physical level, whether from endorphins or from the satisfaction of meeting a tough physical challenge. Others may find that physical activity helps ease the tension and other physical symptoms that can occur when theyre stressed.
You dont have to run a marathon or join a competitive sport to reap the benefits of physical activity. Taking a walk in the park, playing fetch with your dog, or even scrubbing the bathroom tile can be helpful as well. The best physical activity is one that you enjoy, that helps you feel better, and that youll be motivated to do consistently.
Everyone is different not everyone has the ability to undertake significant physical exertion, and some people just dont find it enjoyable. However, if youre struggling with stress management, its worth putting some work into finding a physical activity that suits you and giving it a try.
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Yoga Exercise And Additional Physical Health Strategies
Yoga Journal provides an extensive list of articles that can help college students use the practice of yoga to reduce stress and increase mindfulness. An article from Harvard Health Publishing dives deep into how various types of exercises, from participating in sports teams to vigorous workouts, help to bring enhanced peace of mind to a person. The article encourages college students to embrace exercise, in whatever form they choose, as a means of reducing stress.
Dealing With School Stress
The causes of school stress can be different for each student, but can all lead to the same negative impacts on academic performance. This makes learning how to manage and reduce stress at school an important skill for all students to master.
Your child wont always be able to completely avoid school stress. But once he or she knows how to handle school stress, your child will be able to learn more effectively.
Check out these 11 tips to help your child overcome school stress, and become a happier, more confident student.
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What If I Feel Overwhelmed By Stress
Practicing better stress management is a good idea for everyone, but its easy to neglect this form of self-care until it reaches a point where youre overwhelmed. If the negative effects of your stress level are seriously impacting your life, and youre not sure where to start in addressing the problem, there are a few things that you can try that may help.
One strategy is to drop one of your existing activities, leaving you with more time and more flexibility in balancing your other obligations. As weve covered previously in our blog post Managing Extracurriculars: A Guide to Strategic Quitting, its better for you be involved in fewer activities in higher-quality ways than to spread yourself too thin and burden yourself with an excessive amount of stress.
Talking to people you trust can also help. Your friends are likely going through similar issues, and will be able to relate. Your parents, who know you well, may have advice thats particularly targeted to your needs. Your guidance counselor is trained to assist high school students with issues like these and can help you access resources at your school and in your community.
