Thursday, January 22nd 2009

By selma al-samarrai

Are you always tired? Always sick? Are you always irritable and impatient? If you answered yes to these questions, you have met most of the symptoms of stress. It’s only the third week of the semester and most of us are already swamped with tests, assignments, work or volunteer hours. Many students take on a lot more than they allow themselves to commit to and it in turn takes a toll on them. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed at some point is common and inevitable in a day in the life of a university student, but this article has some pointers that could help reduce your stress and help you glide through your days in a more relaxed and happy state of mind.

There are three key factors in remaining healthy throughout the semester: a balanced nutrition, regular sleep, and physical activity. Not only are those three integral to being able to concentrate and staying awake, but they are also very neglected by students.

In terms of sleep, students should try to fall asleep and wake up around the same time everyday, with seven to eight hours in between. According to Debra Earl, the mental health team nurse of the Campus Health Center, common sleep stealers include caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Even though alcohol is a depressant, Earl explained that it is detrimental to your sleep. “It may get you to sleep but it disrupts your natural sleep rhythms and you will awake feeling tired… and you will need to urinate frequently.” Sleep’s many benefits also include repairing tissues, restoring energy and strengthening immunity. Without regular sleep, students are depriving themselves of all these necessary brain functions.

Our nutrition is affected by many factors, including the cost of food, general time management, and the large and easy availability of unhealthy and processed foods. There are many high calorie and high sugar foods that have little to no nutrition. “Resist low-nutrition fillers like fries, chips, donuts, candy and pop. Try unbuttered microwave popcorn, rice cakes, peanut butter on whole grain bagels and crackers, and raw fruits and veggies,” advised Earl.

Healthy options on campus sometimes cost much more than quick and easy filler snacks; therefore you should make the time to pack meals at home to bring to school. This method is much cheaper and healthier, and takes as much time as standing in line for food on campus. Students should also avoid using caffeine and sugar since they usually only provide a short boost of energy and once the energy drops so does your productivity. Also, breakfast is an extremely important meal – arguably the most important meal – so students should fit it into their schedule.

Earl explained that students sometimes find it challenging to maintain a balanced diet that includes milk products, vegetables and fruits, as well as grain, meat, and alternates. Earl advised that students should emphasize plant products in their diet, choose lower fat animal product, limit salt, fats and oils.

Water is also a very useful and healthy drink to consume regularly throughout the day. Earl explained that one should drink a lot of water throughout the day and even unsweetened fruit juice could be a healthy option. As for other drinks, Earl explained, “many fruit drinks are high in sugar. Anything containing alcohol is also calorie rich and will slow you down. Fancy coffee is loaded with fat and sugar. Coffee and tea and pop have caffeine.”

A very important factor in avoiding stress that has many other benefits is exercise. Earl explained that 30 minutes of physical exertion every day could significantly reduce stress. Earl explained that exercise’s many other benefits include improving your self-esteem, builds up your immunity, your strength, your energy and improves your physical and psychological health, it also creates better posture, better balance, weight control, stronger muscles, stronger bones, and more energy.

It’s only the beginning of the second semester and many habits can still be changed. The benefits of these habits can improve many aspects of your life, especially if you’re feeling stressed.

Tags: Health, NUTRITION, SCHOOL, Stress