The Importance Of Stress In College Students

World-renowned doctor Hans Selye once said, “It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” When parents and adults recall their college experience they often remember it as time where they had much freedom and few responsibilities. To students currently attending college, however, this time frame is often viewed as extremely stressful and exhausting. Stress is by far the most important health issue that college students face. Stress reactions have the ability to affect our overall health, our sleep patterns, and our school performance as it prevents us from meeting our everyday goals. It is extremely important for students to be able to identify and manage their stress levels and apply techniques that will enable them to reduce their stress.
Stress not only plays an important factor on your overall wellness, but it is the leading cause to weight gain and the so-called “Freshman 15.” Without parental supervision and time refrains, college students often like to take advantage of their freedom by consuming whatever foods they desire. Instead of opting for healthy choices most students would much rather run to the cafeteria and grab a quick slice of pizza, or stop at the local fast food joint rather than making a salad in their dorm room or blending up a smoothie. Not only do these fatty fast foods taste good, but also they are also extremely easy to obtain especially when students have short breaks in between classes. Unfortunately this so called “15-pound” is not only acquired from the food decision student’s make, but also from the amount of alcohol they consume on weekends. Like the iconic movie portrayals, college students often enjoy going out on both weeknights and weekends consuming an over abundance of alcoh...

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...r students to be able to take a few hours or even a few minutes of their day to do things that they enjoy. Relaxation techniques are extremely valuable in terms of stress management as they make it possible for students to spend a few minutes in a relaxing state of mind. Some other de-stressors are exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy diet, reducing caffeine intake, and getting on a normal sleep schedule. Most college students often lack time management skills, and are prone to procrastinating. It is beneficial to find a balance by setting realistic everyday goals and to keep your life and health in check in order and to manage one’s stress. College is supposed to be the best years of your life, not the most stressful years of your life. Therefore it is important to recognize how to maintain a healthy balance and how to cope and deal with everyday stress.