Ideas to De-stress
Stressed out?
The pressure to study hard and get good grades can be very stressful, especially as you near exam time. It isn’t healthy to keep all that stress bottled up, so we’ve complied some tips to help keep you cool, calm, and collected.
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Yoga
Yoga is by definition calming. It focuses on breathing, engaging and relaxing your body. Your increased flexibility and balance are a bonus. But it keeps your mind busy with something other than your usual worries.
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Meditation
Get your zen on. Meditation is the ultimate stress release. It’s actively quieting those busy thoughts buzzing around your brain. It’s time used to train you out of concentrating on chaos but on control. It focuses on breathing and centring yourself rather than the worries of your academic life.
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Sing
Sometimes something as simple as belting out the lyrics, karaoke style, to your favourite song can let out all that nervous energy.
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Exercise
Exercise is an excellent stress relief. You can take out your frustrations on the treadmill or a punching bag rather than letting them keep you up at night. Working out releases endorphins which make you happy and sometimes its nice to give your brain a break.
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Pat a pet
Pat a cat, dog or whatever animals you have available. According to one study, dogs basically infect us with their happiness: their enthusiasm is infectious and positively distracting from every day worries. Not to mention they’re soft, adorable, and usually comical.
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Stress ball
You can keep one of these handy at your desk, they’re a relaxer during peak stressful times. The simple squeezing of the rubber or foam ball, especially rhythmically helps to calm you down. The simple on/off release of your arm muscles has a relaxing effect on your whole body.
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Talking
If in doubt, talk it out. You aren’t alone in experiencing stress and often times talking about your worries to a friend or family member can make your stresses seem smaller.
Just take a deep breath and remember that stress means you care.
