- Touro University Worldwide
- About
- Academics
- School of Business
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
- Master of Arts in Dispute Resolution
- Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Master of Arts in Public Administration
- Master of Business Administration
- Master of Science in Human Resource Management
- Master of Science in Business Analytics
- Doctorate of Business Administration
- Doctor of Management
- School of Psychology
- The Edith Neumann School of Health and Human Services
- Bachelor of Arts in Social Work
- Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences
- Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
- Master of Science in Health Sciences – Health Education
- Master of Science in Health Sciences – Public Health
- Master of Science in Human Services
- Master of Science in Healthcare Administration
- Doctorate of Physician Assistant
- Doctor of Health Science
- General Studies Degrees
- School of Business
- Admissions
- Current Students
- Military
- Resources
- My TUW
- Locations
The Effect of Chronic Stress on Your Body
All college students experience some level of stress. In many cases, external forces like project deadlines and exams cause stress. In others, it’s caused by internal fears about the potential for failure. In either case, chronic stress takes a toll on the body.
With the intense pressures and demands college students often face, there’s no way to avoid stress. However, college students can better control their reaction to pressure if they know strategies to help them better manage stress.
The most unwise choice is to avoid the issue. Stress left unchecked can cause both short-term and long-term issues.
Understanding the Impact of Stress
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides an overview covering many of the main points of how stress impacts health. NIMH defines stress as how the mind and body react to any demand or challenge.
In listing potential stressors, NIMH includes traumatic events, significant life changes, and performance at school. Stressors can be short-term–an upcoming exam, for example–or long-term, such as constant worry by a student that they’re not doing well enough to earn a passing grade.
Short-term stress isn’t always bad. For example, it can help people sense and avoid injury in a dangerous situation. It also can serve as a motivator to meet a deadline. However, long-term stress leads to health issues. The NIMH writes that chronic stress “can disturb the immune, digestive, cardiovascular, sleep, and reproductive systems. Some people may experience mainly digestive symptoms, while others may have headaches, sleeplessness, sadness, anger, or irritability.”
Examples of Chronic Stress Symptoms
The NIMH and other experts, including the American Psychological Association, have written about how stress impacts the body. They include the following:
- Brain: Stress can impact thinking and memory and increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia over the long term.
- Immune system: Stress reduces the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens. In particular, the stress hormone corticosteroid can suppress the immune system’s effectiveness against viruses, bacteria, and other antigens.
- Physical symptoms: Stressed-out students may experience muscle cramps and pain, headaches, upset stomachs, extreme fatigue, and experience difficulties sleeping.
For many students, the coronavirus pandemic may have increased their feelings of stress and disrupted healthy cognitive processes. However, the pandemic merely exacerbated an already existing problem.
Stress Management Strategies For Students
Much in the way that a doctor or dentist might suggest you take a pain reliever before the pain hits, it’s best to get ahead and stay ahead of stress. That means giving your body healthy ways to relieve stress. Fortunately, students have many choices. These stress management systems work best when used in combination with each other.
Relaxation Techniques
Harvard Health quotes an expert in the field as listing a variety of ways to achieve relaxation that eases breathing, untightens muscles, and lowers blood pressure. They include deep abdominal breathing, a focus on soothing words (they suggest “peace” or “calm”), visualizing tranquil scenes, repetitive prayer, yoga, and tai chi.
A Healthy Diet
Eating a diet with large amounts of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat protein choices (including chicken, turkey, salmon, tuna, legumes, etc.) can help the body function better, lower blood pressure, and also help you feel better.
Regular Exercise
Experts recommend 150 minutes of exercise a week, at least. Another way to measure physical activity is to count steps using a smartphone app (a healthy amount of steps per day is about 10,000). Another smart choice is to take up a sport or active hobby that requires exercising (such as trail walking or bird watching).
Take Breaks
Hours spent on screen time result in hours spent sedentary. Taking a break, getting up, and moving around every hour or so can help. Another good idea is to take up a hobby that has nothing to do with school work, thus giving yourself a break from stressors.
Talk Therapy
For many students, talk therapy can help them sort through their emotions and better understand how to deal with the stress in their lives. In some cases, universities will offer counseling services. Many therapists now offer sessions online, so students do not have to travel to participate in talk therapy.
The best strategy for dealing with stress is recognizing its presence and alleviating its impact. For college students, doing so also establishes healthy stress-management strategies that will serve them well throughout their lives.
Recent News
Benefits of Earning an Associate of Arts in General Studies
An online associate degree program helps workin...Earning a Master’s Degree Online – An Advanced Degree for Non-Traditional Students
An affordable online master’s degree from TUW p...Online Master of Business Administration: Meeting the Business Challenges of the 21st Century
A Master of Business Administration online degr...Launch a Rewarding Career with an Accounting Associate Degree
An accounting associate degree opens the door t...How to Advance Your Career by Earning an Associate Degree
Earning an associate degree opens the door to c...