Stress is one of the hurdles that students encounter when they are in college. When students have to prepare for term papers, they can opt for term paper help from experts to avoid adding pressure. Stress can be short-term and long-term. Neither is good for health; however, some students perform well under short-term stress, resulting in higher grades. However, long-term stress can have detrimental side effects and should be addressed without delay.
Every four in five students experience stress. When these stresses remain unchecked, it leads to side effects like lack of energy, appetite changes, weakened immune system, trouble concentrating, and trouble sleeping. Several online writing services offer paper help to students so they can avoid getting stressed and anxious.
How does stress affect college students?
The literal meaning of stress is basically a physical reaction to an individual’s emotion. Positive events and adverse events can cause it.
There are three forms of stress, namely;
- Acute stress
One of the common types of stress is acute stress which is caused due to daily stressors like missing a deadline, running late to class, or receiving a poor grade. Thankfully acute stress fades away quickly and does not have an adverse mental or physical impact.
- Episodic acute stress
As the name suggests, episodic acute stress occurs when a person experiences stress over an extended time and happens multiple times. Common signs of episodic acute stress are tension, headaches and migraines.
- Chronic acute stress
This type of stress develops when someone cannot avoid a long-term stressful situation. For instance, some students struggle academically and develop chronic, acute stress, resulting in insomnia, anxiety and weight gain.
What are the different signs of stress in college students?
There are always some symptoms that students are exposed to, which provoke stress. Students go through different reactions like physical, emotional, behavioural and cognitive. Students might experience stress differently, which can vary from student to student.
Here are some types of symptoms that students can identify:
- Physical symptom
Sweating, higher rate of heartbeat or blood pressure, vertigo, shortness of breath, muscle tension, headaches, stomachaches, fatigue
- Behavioural symptoms
Excessive or reduced eating, drug or alcohol misuse, erratic sleep habits
- Cognitive symptom
Loss of memory, lack of concentration, negative outlook, dissociation
What are the reasons for stress in college students?
There are different reasons for stress among college students. Below are a few common ones;
- Finances
Students often worry about paying for their college. Unfortunately, not every college has financial aid options, so students have to be the high tuition and housing cost for which they opt to work part-time. However, part-time jobs are minimum wage, and if every student lacks economic stability, they can always opt for grants, loans or work-study.
- Homesickness and newfound independence
In addition to classes, exams and encountering new people, many my assignment help students struggle growing up. Students who study abroad or out of state have to leave their parents, and some students find it hard to stay away from their parents for the first time, which is one of the sources of constant stress.
- Living among strangers
Students must adjust to living a new life on campus, which is most of the time living in isolation. International students and students who study out of state struggle to find familiar friends and even hesitate to make new friends.
- Coursework and exams
Students are often flooded with piles of papers, including coursework and the increased workload they encounter in college. The transition from school to college life is not always smooth because the level of study and pressure is much higher in college than in school. Students have to manage college-level coursework and study for their exams, which can be stressful and make them anxious.
- Work schedules
Most students have part-time jobs, and according to the survey of Citibank and 17 magazines, four out of five students work and study simultaneously. On average, students have to work 19 hours a week and accommodate their studies in that hectic schedule. As a result, more students consult their employers and share their academic schedules with them to manage both work and studies.
- Social obligation
Apart from the academic pressure, students in college have some social obligations, and they feel pressured to make tons of friends and attend weekend parties. The amount of peer pressure and expectations that college students face causes stress, especially the students in the first year.
How does college stress lead to other health conditions?
Students develop different mental health conditions in college, including depression, sleeping disorders, and anxiety which ultimately introduce physical conditions. Here are some of the mental health conditions that students develop in college.
- Anxiety
In college, students are always under the pressure of meeting deadlines, developing impactful and informative academic papers, attending classes, keeping their grades high, etc. All of these lead to severe anxiety.
Unfortunately, students often do not identify that anxiety affects their physical health like muscle tension, racing thoughts, fear, excess worry and irritability.
- Depression
Another common yet complex mental health issue is depression. This is caused by a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors. For example, students who receive poor grades or fail to achieve in a social event become more susceptible to depression.
- Sleep disorders
Students keep on burning the midnight oil to complete and submit academic papers instead of seeking paper help from experts. As a result, they deprive sleep and focus on getting higher grades, but it leads to sleep disorder and sleeps disturbance and anxiety are like two sides of a coin which ultimately leads to lack of concentration and deteriorating health.
3 tips for managing stress in college
Students need to understand that stress is a part of college life, but if they allow stress to get in their way, they can lose a lot of things. Instead of procrastinating, students should work when they have time which can improve their ability to focus on other things that can make them happy.
Here are 3 tips that can help students to manage stress
- Get enough sleep
Sleep is one of the most important things that can reduce stress and remain healthy. Unfortunately, taking a power nap is not a solution that most students think of. Quality and enough sleep are required to improve mood as well as the ability to focus on academic papers and other work too.
- Eat well
In college, students depend on junk foods and sometimes skip meals, leading to digestive issues. However, eating good and healthy food can help in combating stress and boosting a good mood.
- Exercise regularly
Exercise is crucial to keep your mind and body fit, so one can go for regular runs or perform other types of exercises which release endorphins and improves cognitive abilities. In addition, exercise helps to reduce stress and improve sleep.
Exercise does not mean doing strenuous exercises; instead, performing yoga and going on short walks can help improve mental health and relieve tension.
The above-mentioned points can help students understand different aspects of stress like the causes, types, effects, and ways to improve it.
