We are a month into our fall semester at the University of New Hampshire and our lives are getting crazy busy. Between all the assignments and exams from multiple class and our time consuming extracurricular activities it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed out. Stress is a mental and emotional pressure or tension that results from a variety of demanding circumstances. We can quickly succumb to this emotional state and start giving up and procrastinating until we find ourselves in a worse situation than what we started with. Thankfully, there are many helpful and effective tips that can help you reduce stress and keep motivated to achieve great things.
Health and Fitness
There are many options in the health and fitness category that can relieve stress! All are very simple and manageable throughout your daily lives.
- Staying hydrated and consuming less caffeine. Water consumption increases energy, boosts your mood and will save you money (you won’t be buying 5$ lattes every day)! On the other hand, caffeine amplifies feelings of stress and anxiousness. A great supplement for your coffee fix is honey lavender stress relief tea!
- Taking three deep breaths. This will relax your mind, relieve emotional problems and will help release tension in the body.
- Eating mindfully. This idea came from a journalist who visited a Buddhist monastery. The monks ate slowly and cautiously to absorb every taste, texture and smell in the food. This is a great way to relax and enjoy your meals and not be on the phone or computer, scarfing a snack down.
- Meditating. There is a great app called Headspace which reminds you once a day to sit down and meditate for 3 minutes. It guides you through the process and is very relaxing and refreshing.
- Stretching. Stretching in the morning will quickly start your mind and body and create a positive outlook. Stretching also releases endorphins which creates a sense of tranquility.
Organization
There are many helpful little tricks that can keep you feeling organized and on top of all your assignments that you face throughout your day.
- Prepare for the morning the night before. As annoying it may be, it is very helpful when you wake up to find your things for the day already in your backpack and your outfit picked out and ready to go.
- Keep an agenda. This will help you keep track of the assignments that are coming up throughout the week so nothing pops up on you out of the blue!
- Evaluate your priorities. When you have a day so busy that you don’t think you can manage to do everything, take the time to sit down and eliminate your to do list by see what has be done by today and are essential for school.
Activities
There are a lot of fun, quick activities that have been known to relieve stress and boost your mood.
- Read a book! Even if it’s only a couple of pages!
- Do a social media cleanse.
- Do something nice for someone else. Being nice to each other’s is instantly mood boosting as it increases health and boost self-esteem.
- Squeeze a stress ball. It’s a mood enhancer and it will divert your attention from stress. When you let go of your grip on the ball, your muscles relax and release tension and stress.
- Talk to someone you trust.
- Aromatherapy. Essential oils are an alternative medicine practice that help balance your mind, spirit, and body. There are six essential oils that have been studied for their relaxing and de-stressing effects. The most popular is lavender; other stress relievers are lemon, bergamot, clary sage, jasmine and ylang ylang.
- Write in a journal. Some ideas for de-stressing through writing are
- making a list of 10 things you are grateful for…
- what’s going well in your life right now…
- the little things you can enjoy today are…
Even doing one of the activities from above each day will be a great way to start practicing stress relief. Even during the busiest times it’s always important to take care of yourself so that you can succeed.