Stress
The adjustment to academic life at college is stressful for almost every new student. In addition, each student has specific situations and events that cause him or her stress
(public speaking, test taking, being able to say no when you really don't have the time, and issues around money, relationships, parents, partying, roommates, careers, tests, and papers).
- Our stress level is determined primarily from our reactions to stressors:
- Both positive and negative events can cause stress (i.e., mid-terms, try-outs, winning the lotto, pressure to find a job, family crises).
- People have different stressors (e.g., public speaking may cause much more stress for some people than others).
- The body does not distinguish between real and perceived stress; the reactions are very much the same.
- People respond to stress in a variety of ways. Behaviors run the gamut from those that are health promoting to those that are not healthy to use more than occasionally.
- Effective stress management requires time, attention, and effort.
Sleep In college it is easy to short-change our sleep when we are trying to do more and more in the same amount of time. There is no sleep police forcing us to get enough. When there are more demands on us than we have time for, sleep tends to make up the difference. Fortunately, we are designed to function with varying levels of sleep, but most people feel that they need 6-8 hours to feel truly rested. According to the National College Health Assessment, over 60% of students nationally reported getting enough sleep to feel rested in the morning at least 3 days a week.¹
Sleep Tips: Promoting a Healthy Sleep Style - Here are a few.more to come!
- Keep a regular sleep schedule. Keeping a regular bed and wake time, even on the weekends, will make it easier for you to fall asleep and maintain quality sleep throughout the week.
- Avoid caffeine & nicotine Avoiding caffeine within six hours of going to bed can help improve sleep quality. When smokers go to sleep, they experience withdrawal from nicotine, which can cause problems falling asleep or waking in the morning.
- Avoid alcohol Often thought of as a sleep AID, it can cause more sleep disruptions throughout the night.
- Don't eat or drink too much close to bedtime.
- You don't want to go to bed hungry, but eating or drinking too much may make you less comfortable when settling down for the night.
¹National College Health Assessment, 2002. n=28,258