School Stress Management For Busy Students

School causes us lots of stress. There are always lots of things to be done, and no time to do them. And it doesn't help when you never get enough sleep or have time to eat right.

- Tests and papers. The night before a test can be a fingernail gnawing nightmare, and papers often require us to "burn the midnight oil" and stay up at all hours wired on coffee trying to get them done.

- Going back to school. In surveys, students report that a major stressor is just starting the next school term. The anticipation of new things leads to worry and anxiety.

- Bad time management. You might know this term better as "procrastination." It means leaving everything until the last possible minute, and then cranking it out in a flurry of stressed-out activity.

- Organization problems. Nobody's perfectly organized, but not so many people know that being disorganized is a major cause of school stress.

- Worry. Plain and simple, worrying over whether we'll make the grade or not is one of the biggest stressors involved in studying.

How To Tackle School Stress

Here are some tips that will help you deal with school stress.

- Eat right. Lots of students skip meals. Others eat, but they live on a steady diet of pizza and potato chips. Studies increasingly show that there is a strong link between nutrition and brain activity. This means that eating right can help you deal with stress.

Your brain needs sugars and proteins from food (good food!) in order to function properly. Without these, your brain and nerves develop hair trigger responses to stress, can't function calmly, can't focus or concentrate, and generally make a big stress out of little things.

Make sure you eat meals, and reach for something healthy when you get a midnight snack attack. Fresh fruit and veggies are the best.

- Slow down on the coffee. Lots of students crank the coffee when they have to work hard. A little caffeine boosts your brain power, but too much actually makes you feel fatigued.

Try tea instead of coffee. There is less caffeine in tea, which means it will perk you up and last longer. Or, reach for a glass of water.

- Take little breaks. Get up and walk around, or do some activity that relaxes you. These should be short breaks, but take them often. Whenever you start to feel your focus slipping, take one. Do something that will relax and distract your mind.

- Get organized. It sounds like a huge job, and it is, but a little tidying up goes a long way. Think of some small thing that will make your study routine go more smoothly. You don't have to completely reorganize everything, just change something simple to make it more organized.

- Work on your time management. Get started on things early, and don't wait until the last minute. As soon as you get an assignment, make some initial steps toward getting it done. Just getting a little bit done day by day will make it seem much easier and less daunting.

Meditate To Reduce School Stress

Finally, exercises like meditation, visualization and deep breathing work great at busting stress, whether it's school-related, work-related or anything at all. Here is a simple exercise that can help you handle your stressed-out mind and body, and you can do it anywhere anytime.

Find a quiet place and sit down in a relaxed position. Lying down is not recommended, especially for students who are sleep deprived and will pass out! Close your eyes and begin to breathe deeply. Your breathing should be slow and natural. Don't force it.

Once you begin to feel relaxed, clear your mind of everything. Stop thinking about what's troubling you or anything at all. Get rid of all distractions.

At first it may be tough to get into a meditative state where all distractions are gone from your mind, but with practice, you'll be able to close your eyes and in seconds get there. Meditation is a great way to relieve stress, and you can do it anywhere.