The past year has been a crazy time for all of us with the pandemic arising, schools being shut down, thousands dying, then returning back to school after a hard year. It is definitely a struggle for many, with one prominent struggle being academic stress. Academic stress is common among teens, especially those who are balancing academics, sports, and extracurriculars. With everything occurring during the pandemic such as family struggles, the pressure of academic wellness, athletics, and club commitments, it is safe to assume that the stress has gotten to everyone. Although many individuals already deal with academic stress, some have not experienced it yet, so within this blog, you will find some helpful tips on how to avoid or prevent academic stress.
1. Staying Organized
This tip is definitely crucial. Staying organized is major and definitely helps to reduce some academic pressure you may feel. Making a planner is a great strategy to keep track of all your assignments, tests, and projects. You can also do this with club and sports commitments you made by marking on your schedule when you meet up with sports and clubs, when the important games are, or meetings are with the club to avoid pushing academic work out to the last minute. You should stay organized, make a planner or calendar to help you even, and avoid the cramming of all the studying, homework, and club meetings at the last minute, in order to prevent stressing yourself out.
2. Exercise and Deep Breathing
This tip is probably one of the hardest to do but definitely something that will help prevent academic stress. Exercise is something that works for many people. In the middle of a lot of stress, you're facing with either lot of school work, tests, sports games, or club meetings coming up, exercise helps ease your mind. Exercise is something as simple as running or taking a walk and it can help your mind escape the stressed feeling you have and go into a world where you can be free of all your worries. Since exercise is not for everyone and some people do not like doing it, deep breathing is another good method where people do not even need to get up. Just put the pencil down and breathe in and out ten times to cleanse your mind from all the bad stress and anxiety you feel from schoolwork, tests, sports, or extracurriculars.
3. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Sleep is definitely something not to mess with since it impacts your energy level throughout the day and not having the energy to last the day bright and awake definitely increases your academic stress. Teens facing academic stress should be getting 8-10 hours of sleep per night. Not getting enough sleep because you are up all night studying or practicing is not something to laugh about. Getting enough sleep is crucial to ease the stress that you have been facing throughout your day and helps you wake up with a fresh mind the next day with no stress, ready to work hard and succeed.
4. Eat and Drink Regularly (BUT HEALTHY)
Eating junk food and feeling like it is healing the stress you are dealing with is common. After a long day of working hard, stressing about academic workload and school overall, it is crucial that you eat something healthy like fruits and vegetables rather than desserts to help you gain energy to do the same thing the next day and power through. Constantly eating desserts and sweets may provide you with a short burst of energy, but it will not last a long period of time and help with staying engaged in classes, extracurriculars, or any other activities. Eating healthy foods like proteins, fruits, or vegetables may not be as tasty, but will definitely help you have more energy throughout the day and help you stay focused and engaged as well, proving to be crucial to help reduce academic stress.
After hearing all these amazing tips, remember to prioritize deadlines, do things that have a closer deadline first and organize everything for yourself!! It is crazy how much academic stress may build up to a point where you feel like you cannot take it anymore. These tips listed above are crucial to managing your stress with your academics and will help you avoid the extra pressure of leaving assignments, studying, and club meetings all to the last minute. Remember the key tips and always know that academics do not always mean stress. Remember that managing your stress while accomplishing your academic work will lead to a bright, bright future filled with all your fulfilled dreams and hopes!
Works Cited
Academic Stress: Coping Strategies. www.unh.edu/pacs/academic-stress-coping-strategies. Accessed 1 July 2021.
5 Stress Management Techniques. Kristin O'Conner, 12 Jan. 2016, cy-hopecounseling.org/blog/5-stress-management-techniques. Accessed 1 July 2021.
Morin, Amy, editor. Top 10 Stress Management Techniques for Students. Elizabeth Scott, 17 July 2019, www.verywellmind.com/top-school-stress-relievers-for-students-3145179. Accessed 1 July 2021.
School Stress Management: Tips and Strategies for Students of All Ages. Clinical and Mental Health Counseling, counseling.online.wfu.edu/blog/school-stress-management-for-students/. Accessed 1 July 2021.
10 Tips to Deal with Academic Stress, from One Student to Another. O'Connor Professional Group, 15 Apr. 2021, oconnorpg.com/10-tips-deal-academic-stress/. Accessed 1 July 2021.
10 Tips to Manage Stress. Melinda Ratini, 29 Apr. 2021, www.webmd.com/balance/guide/tips-to-control-stress. Accessed 1 July 2021.
Edited by Ally Chan.
___________________________________________________________________________
Jahnavi Vadavalli is a rising Junior at South Windsor High School. She is beyond excited to be talking about the academic stress many face as she, herself has experienced it and feels many should be aware of tips that may benefit them in avoiding this stress. She has strong interests in business, finance, and math and often spends her free time volunteering, playing basketball and volleyball, and spending time with friends and family.