Stress is something that most everyone goes through at some point in their life. Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. There are many different things in our daily lives that can cause stress and anxiety. The cause of stress can be different in everyone. It can be caused by something minor like forgetting to finish a homework assignment or it can be caused by the loss of a loved one. Everyone deals with stress differently. Stress is key for survival, but too much stress can be detrimental. Emotional stress that stays around for weeks or months can weaken the immune system and cause high blood pressure, fatigue, depression, anxiety and even heart disease. Ongoing, chronic stress, can cause or exacerbate many serious health problems, including: Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and stroke. Stress is very common in college students. College students can become very stressed especially freshmen and sophomores because it is a big transition into college life. Being a freshman and sophomore can also be stressful because they may have to share a room with a roommate and that could be something they have never had to do before. There are many different things that can cause stress in undergraduate college students. For example A student who is attending school and is working can become stressed from feeling overwhelmed. Paying for school can be stressful because college is very expensive and so are all the things that go with it, such as books, food ect. Low class college students may have more stress than higher class college students because they are worried about paying for college but they may also be worried about their family back at home. College students who attend different schools may have different stressors as well. For example, college students that attend UNH may be more stressed than kids who attend PSU. This could be because UNH is a much bigger campus with more students. There are a few different easy and cheap ways undergraduate college students can reduce their stress. A few of these are Meditation, Yoga, Planning/Scheduling and Leisurely activities. Meditation is a mind and body practice that has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical relaxation. Meditation would help college students clear their mind and relax.(Oman) Yoga is a mind-body practice that combines physical poses and controlled breathing. (Villate) This will help relax and lower blood pressure. Planning and scheduling will help reduce stress by keeping them on top of their homework and deadlines. Lastly leisurely activities will help college students reduce their stress by getting their mind off of what is causing the stress.(Misra) As a college student, I realize that taking time out of the day can sometimes be hard but it is really important to reduce stress because it can lead to more intense issues. There are a few things that could be done to increase the likelihood of college students doing some of these stress reducing activities. One thing that should be done is that every college should offer free group activities such as yoga or meditation classes. A college student it more likely to go to a yoga or meditation class if it is cheap/free and nearby. The second thing that should be done is posters or flyers in busy areas such as cafeteria, library, coffee places etc, about these yoga or meditation classes and where they are being offerened. Another thing that could be done is having a speaker come to colleges and talk about different stress relieving techniques such as planning/scheduling. Lastly there could be a club that anyone can join whenever they want and do a new leshurly activity each or every other week. Bethany Ao. “Stressed-out college students are sleeping less than ever. Meditation apps could help.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. 15, Oct. 2019. Misra, Ranjita, and Michelle McKean. “College Students’ Academic Stress and Its Relation to Their Anxiety, Time Management, and Leisure Satisfaction.” American Journal of Health Studies, vol. 16, no. 1, Jan. 2000, p. 41. Oman, Doug, et al. “Meditation Lowers Stress and Supports Forgiveness Among College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Journal of American College Health, vol. 56, no. 5, Mar. 2008, pp. 569–578. Villate, Vanessa M. “Yoga for College Students: An Empowering Form of Movement and Connection” Physical Educator, vol. 72, no. 1, LateWinter 2015, pp. 44–66.
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December 2019
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