A lot of people would say that you’re too young to be stressed out, so they think you don’t need to know some stress-relief techniques.
But you’ve got a lot of requirements to submit and it’s making you dizzy. And your brain feels like it’s about to explode because of the lessons you have to review to pass your subjects.
Sigh. Being a student is stressful.
There are many factors that have a negative effect on students’ mental health, and since they are still young, they have a lower tolerance to stress compared to working adults.
We’ve collected 25+ best stress-relief techniques according that can help students better manage their stress. Let’s talk about them one by one. These stress-relief techniques don’t involve any medication but a simple change in lifestyle and how one relates to others, so these are safe even for young students who are already dealing with stress.
1. Get a Good-quality Sleep
It’s probably not news to you that if your sleeping schedule is messed up, your life will be a total mess.
If you don’t sleep at least 8 hours every day, you will feel tired throughout the day and that will stress you out because you won’t be able to do what you need to do. You won’t be able to focus, too, so it will be difficult for you to understand the lessons.
2. Relax Your Tense Muscles Progressively
When you are stressed, your muscles also become stressed. That’s why you feel body pain, too, even if you haven’t done any physical activity.
The progressive muscle relaxation technique is focused on easing the tension that your body feels as a result of your stress. It involves tensing and relaxing your muscles from your toes to your head.
3. Adapt an Accepting Attitude
If you dwell on the negative things that you can’t control, it will just make you more stressed out because it’s frustrating, isn’t it? Sometimes, the very reason why people can’t seem to get out of a stressful phase in their life is that they don’t want to look the other way and see the positive side of the situation.
4. Use Guided Imagery for Relaxation
Our mind is powerful. If you keep thinking that something is true, you will eventually believe that it is the truth even though it’s not. So stop overthinking and worrying about the things that don’t exist. Imagine yourself being in a peaceful place, and do that every day, so that you can feel at ease and reduce your stress.
5. Do Breathing Exercises
You breathe every day, but that kind of breathing just makes you survive. You have to breathe deeply into your abdomen or diaphragm as that’s how you will relieve the stress you feel. There are different breathing techniques for stress relief, such as:
- Diaphragmatic breathing
- Box breathing
- Lion’s breath
Inhale, exhale. Sit down and be comfortable. Breathe in through your nose, and then breathe out through your mouth.
6. Laugh
Laughter is the best medicine, and that’s also one of the most effective stress-relief techniques that you can do. Even if it’s forced laughter, it can still help you feel positive emotions. That’s based on a study conducted in 2002.
Nonetheless, don’t overdo it as laughing excessively without any reason is linked to a condition called pseudobulbar affect (PBA).
7. Yoga
Yoga is a proven relaxation technique for stress relief. It doesn’t involve any heavy physical movements but it’s very effective for making you more flexible and stronger as well as for improving your overall well-being.
8. Exercise
If you don’t move your body, you will easily get tired because your muscles aren’t strong enough to handle even moderate physical activities. However, overexercising doesn’t necessarily make you stronger. Too many physical movements result in stress, so exercise, but do it properly.
9. Be Aware of the Cause of Your Stress
You have to know what’s causing your stress so you can nip it in the bud, so take the time to assess your life. Reflect on your situation and make sure you understand it well so you can know what stress-relief technique will help you overcome it.
10. Have a Lifestyle That Suits You
You don’t have to do it the way others do it. It’s easy to be pressured to be the same as others or to want to possess something that others have, but forcing yourself to live the kind of life that doesn’t reflect who you are will stress you out. Be okay with being different and learn to embrace yourself.
11. Avoid Alcohol, Drugs, and Caffeine
You’re at the stage in your life where you are surrounded by people who like having fun, and their kind of fun involves alcohol, drugs, and caffeine. These substances could relieve your stress, but only temporarily. The long-term effects can be damaging.
12. Talk to Someone About Your Problems
It’s hard to breathe when you’re bottling up your feelings, don’t you think? It feels like there’s a huge block in your life and you can’t do things freely, and that stresses you out. In this case, the stress-relief technique you should do is to simply release those feelings. Talk to someone about your problems!
13. Don’t Multitask
You may be thinking that you’ll be able to accomplish things faster if you do them all at once, but you’re confused and overwhelmed because there are many different things in front of you. Why don’t you try finishing off one task at a time?
14. Focus on the Positive Things
Our thoughts affect our mood. If you focus on the positive things, how you feel about your life, in general, will improve. This is a mental stress-relief technique that works!
15. Give Yourself a Break
You don’t have to be busy all the time to have a worthwhile life. You have to pause and give yourself a break, too, because if you don’t allow yourself to breathe, life may suffocate you.
You have to regain your energy in between activities so you can do things well.
16. Spend Time With Your Friends and Family
Your life should revolve around just studies. Spend time with your friends and family and have fun with them. As mentioned earlier, laughter is a great stress-relief technique, so laugh with them!
17. Befriend Your Schoolmates
Just because they are your schoolmates doesn’t mean that you are allowed to talk only about school with them. Cultivating friendships while you’re in school is one of the things that make student life memorable. Some friendships formed in school last forever!
18. Have an After-school Routine
If you revolve your life around school, that will stress you out because there’s no fun in that. Having an after-school routine can help you manage your life and reduce the possibility of being stressed.
19. Set Boundaries
Having a school-life balance is simple but a lot of people fail at this. When you have lots of projects that you must finish by the deadline, there’s no other choice but to put your after-school routine on the back burner for a while so you can submit them on time.
That’s understandable, but learn when to pause.
20. Set Realistic Goals
You don’t need to be better than everyone. You just need to be the best that you can be. Don’t feel pressured to reach the top because pressure can cause stress! Don’t push yourself too hard and know your limitations.
21. Celebrate Your Achievements
You have to focus on the positive things, right? So when you reach an achievement, celebrate! Don’t think about the next milestone you want to achieve just yet.
22. Ask for Help
You don’t have to do it alone. One of the best stress-relief techniques that can help you alleviate stress is simply asking for help if you think you can’t solve the problem by yourself. It’s hard to ask for help because you don’t want to feel like a burden to people, but many people around you would be glad to lend a hand.
23. Take One Step at a Time
When engineers, architects, and construction workers rush the construction of a building, it can easily collapse. Instant success is equal to instant failure. If you take one step at a time, you’ll be able to build a strong foundation for what you’re trying to achieve. So take your time and don’t stress over being the fastest.
24. Don’t Procrastinate
Procrastinating is common among students, and that’s usually the cause of their stress. That said, one stress-relief technique that you can do as a student is simply to balance study and play. If you play too much now, you’ll be stressed out later because your pending tasks have piled up!
25. Don’t Expect Too Much From Yourself
Your capabilities, interests, and priorities are different from other people’s, so don’t feel like you have to be like them and accomplish what they have accomplished because it’s cool. You may not be the smartest guy or gal in the room, but there’s something about you that makes you unique and special.
As mentioned earlier, focusing on the positive things is a great stress-relief technique. Find your strengths.
26. Practice the Jin Shin Jyutsu Method
The Jin Shin Jyutsu stress-relief technique is used by the Japanese people to better manage the energy surrounding them, which is a factor that affects a person’s mood. They use their hands to control the flow of energy and keep it balanced.
They believe that each part of the hand is connected to certain emotions, functions, and body parts. For example, the thumb is connected to one’s worries, stomach, and the surface of the skin.
