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Brenda Sanchez

Professor Moore

English 1302.08

30 April 2017

Feel Well to Do Well

Being stressed is a problem that students in college go through on a daily basis due to the

pressure that is put on them to do well in all of their courses. Stress has been a major factor that

challenges the performance of college students. In order for the student to perform well in all

school responsibilities, they need to be feeling well. The stress can cause an interruption to the

daily activities of the student and cause a negative effect in the well-being and performance. If

stress is not controlled early enough, it can lead to serious consequences for the student. It is

important for the college students to be aware that there is a counseling center at all schools for

those who may need it. It is also important for the students to learn of ways to be able to relax to

feel refreshed and stress free. Being stress free can help the students feel energized and also

allow them to concentrate better and be able to retain more information. Students need to

understand that they are not alone and they should find things that work for them to be able to

cope with stress. To release stress, students should participate in stress managing activities to

help them learn to handle pressure and to be able to perform better in college.

The stress that students might be feeling can be due to many different circumstances. One

of the major causes of stress for students is striving for better academic achievements. The

pressure to obtain high grades can make a student feel tense. Students spend many hours

studying for exams, doing homework, and working on projects to try to perform well in their

classes. The feeling of not having enough time to complete their school responsibilities can cause
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some students to feel that their classes are becoming too demanding. Students may also become

tense due to fear of failing their classes. Academic achievement is important for students to be

able to have better career opportunities in the future. Excessive worrying over school

responsibilities can cause the students to have irregular sleep schedules, sleep deprivation, and

feel fatigue. Not getting enough rest could become problematic for the students and increase the

risk of academic failure. In effort to try to find a way to cope with the stress, students might turn

to unhealthy habits. Some of those unhealthy habits can be binge drinking, smoking, consuming

an unhealthy diet, and relying on energy drinks to stay awake. All of these unhealthy habits that a

college student can get into could make the stressful situation worse. The excessive stress can

cause the students to become more prone to illness because the body needs to be at homeostasis

to function well. When stress levels are high, it can make the students have physical symptoms

like headaches, indigestion problems, high blood pressure, lack of concentration, and could also

reduce their level of performance. Eating disorders, anxiety, and depression are also common for

those students who feel overwhelmed. In some circumstances the student might even consider

committing suicide. Students who do not find a way to cope with stress can suffer from many

different negative consequences.

Mindfulness interventions are one of the many ways for a college student to decrease

their high stress levels. Mindfulness is when a person's mind becomes fully conscious of what

they are doing or of what is happening. When a student becomes stressed out, their mind can

often time lose touch with what their body needs. Whether the body needs sleep or just simply

relaxation, if not provided it can cause the students to become anxious. Research has shown

"mindfulness-based interventions to be effective in reducing perceived stress levels, anxiety, and

tension" and can also help to prevent a relapse (Bodenlos). Mindfulness based strategies can
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encourage the students to be at a conscious state of what they are doing while they are doing it.

For example, when a student is having their lunch they might not be fully aware of the taste of

their food because their mind is too busy thinking of something else. With mindfulness based

strategies the student can learn to become conscious of what they are doing at the moment and

avoid for their mind to become cluttered. It is said that mindfulness is "a quality that every

human being already possesses, rather than something we have to conjure up" (Mindful).

Mindfulness helps for the student to not become overwhelmed by what might be going on

around them. Mindfulness has been shown to improve the emotional well-being as well as

socialization of the student. One of the causes of students feeling stressed can be due to drinking

excessively. A mindfulness-based intervention is beneficial for students to prevent those types of

bad habits. It can help the students to have awareness and be more in control of their behaviors.

Mindfulness interventions teach students how to be more in tune with how they act to have

success in decreasing their stress levels.

Incorporating physical activities can be an important way to having a healthier lifestyle,

especially for college students who are constantly under stress. When a student feels physically

strong and healthy, it leads to feeling mentally strong and healthy as well. Researchers found out

that "students who vigorously exercised for at least 20 minutes a day, three times per week

reported better moods and lower stress" (San Luis). It was also found that "exercising with others

helps college students reduce stress" (DeBenedette). By increasing the amount of physical

activity, student can lower their stress levels and also to have an overall better health. Physical

activities, like lifting weights, running, dancing, or whatever activity that raises the heart rate can

reduce the students' high stress levels. Aerobic exercises, like swimming or cycling, have shown

to have a profound effect in the brain. It also helps the students' body to improve how oxygen is
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utilized. Even just taking a walk outdoors at a normal pace can help the student in reducing the

stress. Going out for a walk with fresh air allows the student to enter into a peaceful state of

mind. When participating in a physical activity, the body increases the release of the

neurotransmitters called serotonin and norepinephrine that help by reducing the risk of the

student's anxiety and mood disorders. Exercise also stimulates brain cell development and the

hippocampus in the brain helps the student in retention and to recall of memories. The

hippocampus begins to shrink slightly over the years. However, it has been shown "that exercise

prevents the shrinkage and may even promote re-growth" (AIU). Having more retention of the

information learned in class allows the student to do better in school and be less stressed. It is

essential to take breaks from school work and participate in some sort of physical activity.

College students should make time in their day to exercise to avoid feeling stressed out.

For those students who might not enjoy vigorous physical activities, there are other

calmer activities that they can use to reduce their stress level. More relaxing activities that a

student can participate in are yoga and meditation. Yoga and meditation are helpful for the

student because it allows for them to become relaxed. Yoga is considered "a mind-body practice

that combines physical poses, controlled breathing, and meditation or relaxation" (Yoga). Yoga

allows for the students to achieve feeling peaceful in the body and mind. The physical poses,

increases flexibility and strength of the student and at the same time it helps to stretch out

muscles that are feeling tense. The breathing techniques can help the students to control their

body and bring peace to the mind. Meditation is defined as "the formal practice of finding peace

within" by decreasing the mental chatter (Remati). With meditation the student can become more

aware of their inner thoughts, sensations and sounds. Meditation can help a student to strengthen

their brain functions and clear out any of the thoughts that might be affecting them. Students can
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take the techniques they learn in yoga classes and use them whenever they begin to feel tense.

Yoga and meditating are great ways to help college students release stress and be at peace in their

mind.

When a college student becomes stressed out it can affect them in many different type of

ways. Stress is a major factor for the negative performance and well-being of a student.

Attempting to perform well in school, not sleeping enough, and participating in bad habits, can

bring negative consequences for the students. It is necessary for the stressed college students to

participate in stress reducing activities to avoid becoming unhealthy. Practicing mindfulness

interventions allows for the students to become aware of how they are acting and have more

control over their own behaviors to avoid becoming stressed. Participating in physical activities a

few times throughout the week increases the flow of oxygen to the brain and helps the student to

not have a cluttered brain. Relaxing activities like yoga and meditation brings peace to the mind

and body of the student and clears out any negative thought. All of these protective factors need

to be considered by the students to learn how to handle the pressure that is put on by college

responsibilities. It is important for students to be aware that they are not alone and that no person

is the same, so they should participate in the activities that works better for them. Practicing in

stress relieving activities allows the students to feel healthy and will even improve their overall

success.
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Works Cited

AIU. "5 Reasons College Students Should Make Time For Exercise" American Intercontinental

University, n.p., 2012, www.aiuniv.edu/blog,september-2012/5-reasons-college-students-

should-make-time-for-ercercise. Accessed 17 April 2017.

Bodenlos, Jamie S., et al. "Mindfulness and Alcohol Problems in College Students: The

Mediating Effects of Stress." Journal of American College Health, vol. 61, no. 6,

Aug/Sep2013, pp. 371-378. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/07448481.2013.805714. Accessed

16 April 2017.

DeBenedette, Valerie. "Exercising with Others Helps College Students Reduce Stress" Center

For Advancing Health, n.p., 2013, www.cfah.org/hbns/2013/exercising-with-others-

helps-college-students-reduce-stress. Accessed 17 April 2017.

Mindful. "What is Mindfulness" mindful, n.p., 2014, www.midful.org/what-is-mindfulness/.

Accessed 16 April 2017.

Remati, Kathryn. "Meditation: Awareness of Our Inner life." Yoga International, Yoga

International, 2017, https://yogainternational.com/article/view/are-mindfulness-and-

meditation-the-same. Accessed 17 April 2017.

San Luis, Natalie. "Exercise Key To Better Moods, Less Stress For College Students: Study."

The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com,Inc, 2017,

www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/exercise-stress-college-students-

moods_n_3936303.html. Accessed 16 April 2017.

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"Yoga: Fight stress and find serenity." Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation, 2017,

www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-manager/in-depth/yoga/art-20044733.

Accessed 17 April 2017.