How many college students feel overwhelmed by the amount of assignments, projects and tests that we get every semester? Assignments and projects can easily wear any student down. It’s important to find time to relax. There is nothing better than relaxing after a long hard day. No matter what you do to relax, relaxing is one of the best things for a college student. Whether it means going to the HUB with friends, going to a movie on a Friday night, or working out at the rec center.

Stress is anything that alters your natural balance. When stress is present, your body and your mind must attend to it in order to return you to balance. Your body reacts to stress by releasing hormones that help you cope with the situation.  That in turn takes energy away from the other functions of your brain, like concentrating.  There are two different sources of stress: external triggers, like getting a poor grade and internal triggers, like placing high expectations on yourself. 

Never push yourself to your breaking point with projects, assignments. Not everything has to be done at once. Space every assignment out. Develop a time schedule in order to get things done in a calm state of mind developing a time slot for every assignment makes your life a little easier. Here are some ways KSU students relieve stress:

 “Schoolwork, the workload of it stresses me out, and I write to relieve stress.” Rachel DiPaola, a junior language arts major, said.

 “I have a lot of schoolwork and the overall workload of every assignment is overwhelming,” Bria Zupancic, a junior communications major, said. “I listen to music to relieve stress. I also use deep, slow breathing to relax if I get too overwhelmed during working on any assignments. I also use a stress ball to relieve stress.”

You don’t have to stay up all hours of the night just to get homework done either. Sleep is one of the most important things for a college student. No matter how much work you have, make sure you get at least seven hours of sleep or more at night. That way you wake up ready for the next day.  Figure out what assignments and projects are the most important for you to be focusing on and study those materials first. If an assignment isn’t due for two more weeks or a month, then you have enough time to study for it and prepare.

Stop working for a short amount of time, maybe 15-20 minutes if you start to feel overwhelmed by assignments. Give yourself time to wind down every night, no matter how much work you have. No amount of work is worth risking your health over it.

Alexis Wohler is a junior journalism major. Contact her at [email protected].