Remember to Breathe!

Hundreds of pages of reading and review, exams, assignments, essays, studying and juggling a part-time job to pay for school…Does the insanity ever end?

Welcome to college life, where it’s just as important to learn how to handle stress as it is to pass that mid-term everyone’s talking about. The truth is, life’s lessons are also taught outside the classroom. You must learn to balance and handle responsibility and life.

Successful students will tell you that part of the key to their success lies in their abilities to cope with stress and move forward. Teens and young adults who enter college and have never been met with such challenges in life must quickly adapt or get left behind.

Stress not only comes from student workloads, but also from the students themselves. Many students enter college with academic scholarships and are required to maintain a certain GPA in order to keep their funding. Others find themselves competing with their fellow classmates to be the best of the best, hoping to secure awards or jobs.

More than anything, college students usually spend so much time trying to balance their studies, part-time jobs and social lives that they often forget how to live well. Their health becomes neglected. Meals become smaller and less nutritious and are eaten quickly and on the run. Sleep becomes a luxury they cannot afford and a solid night of sleep turns into “power naps” and nodding off here and there. These students forget about the fundamentals and, while focusing on balancing their lives, forget about their bodies and minds.

Coffee binges and all-night cramming sessions are not the answer. Eating properly and finding rest are keys to the overall balance of surviving college and should not be taken lightly.  Eat a healthy, light breakfast, plan your day in advance and schedule a couple of short breaks to give yourself a chance to take a deep breath. Eat between classes, get a minimum of eight hours of sleep every night, and make sure to keep in touch with friends and family. Adding these steps into your life are sure to improve your balance and are guaranteed stress-busters.
 

Jason Johnston is with www.StudyBound.com.

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