Why Students Must Understand Stress Management.

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

Let us begin with Deji.

Picture the dormitory of a Nigerian University. Somewhere in this typically dingy, overpopulated set of rooms, lives Deji, an undergraduate student. He is on edge because he must cope with multiple deadlines for submitting overdue assignments, and term papers. He will also deal with writing frequent continuous assessment tests later in the semester. His university’s examinations are only a few weeks way; he is so not prepared for the exams.

He must also contrive means to satisfy expenses that could overwhelm any student — tuition fees, living costs, clothing, and of course ‘miscellaneous’ expenditures. The resulting fatigue from these activities will soon kick in, and with full speed. A vicious cycle ensues at this point — a cycle that peaks with health crisis. Not surprisingly, he may have to report to the university’s clinic for treatment of headache, fever, fatigue, etc.

We can rightly infer that Deji is under immense pressure. More specifically, he is stressed out.

This stress pattern dominates the lives of many youngsters in the higher institutions, especially in Nigeria. I refer to Nigerian universities because we must bear in mind the difficulty of the country’s education environment. Deji, for instance, will have to navigate an environment of absent basic infrastructure, inconducive lecture halls, and inefficient administrative system. These, when taken together with our discussion, may help explain how stress could emerge and how it affects students like Deji.

But first, let us demystify the concept.

Stress is the physical and mental response of the body to demands made upon it. This biological response is usually the result of one’s reaction to external events, not necessarily the events themselves. Which means not all stress is bad. Human beings need a healthy dose of stress to get things done. Too little stress can lead to boredom and too much of it can lead to burn out. And as we see with Deji, too much stress, in some cases, do lead to illness.

Scientists call the healthy version of stress ‘adaptive stress’. This helps us rise to life’s challenges. We get a buzz of energy from adrenaline and feel alert, focused, and creative. Conversely, ‘negative stress’ occurs when our ability to cope with life’s demands crumbles. Negative stress creates negative consequences because if we don’t break down the stress chemicals, they remain in the blood stream thereby preventing us from relaxing.

Students are the most obvious victims of stress. Many factors such as financial expenses, over commitment, family expectations, deadlines, and academic workload induce stress in students. Although a mild amount of stress, as we have seen above, is very helpful, too much of it creates unhealthy consequences including depression, and anxiety.

Personal, and societal over-expectations hit students the hardest and are also central to stress inducement. For example, a study by the Economist highlights that one of the causes of teenage isolation might be academic worries. Members of the Generation Z and Millennials consider getting top grades in school a foremost priority. So, many students would likely neglect every other facet of their lives for doing well at school.

It is incomplete to talk about stress in a scientific or socio-psychological sense. A resonating approach is equally needed.

On a personal scale, stress could mean a slightly different thing to some students, and its manifestation, in different shades. Recently, I discussed this subject with a friend, Emmanuel. Being a top student in his undergraduate class, I sought to understand what stress meant to him: “Well stress is a natural thing, and nature made it so that if one works more than his body’s capacity, stress sets in.”

When asked how stress affects him, he said “… stress has affected me in negative and positive ways. Negative way in the sense that most times as a student, there are times I would really want to read, engage in extracurricular activities, and stretch myself to multitask, but due to stress…I won’t have enough strength to execute other plans. This will make me shift the plans to another day. In other words, stress makes me not to achieve some things. On the flip side, it affects me positively by making me know how my body works and how long I can last in doing a particular thing. It also helps me know which activity I should engage in to manage my strength. For instance, I play football on Fridays. To be fit for the Friday games, I do not go for night classes on Thursdays. If for any reason I do both, it will take me like a day to fully recover and be fit for any other activity I intend to engage in (for the coming week).”

Again, I discussed this with another friend, Val, a top graduate from her class. She said “the only time I will say stress affected me is when I go through intense (academic) activities successively, it will reduce the quality of my results. The only thing I can do is manage stress and rest when I can.”

A deducible lesson here is that physical, and mental, exertion could lead to fatigue. And fatigue is a prelude to stress, or it could even be a red-light indicator screaming “hey, you are already stressed out!” Physical fatigue is perhaps easier to identify; what one often does is simply rest. Spotting mental fatigue is subtly difficult. This is why it is usually not addressed for a very long time. But the point is clear: mental fatigue results from exertion.

Emmanuel and Val would likely exert their minds and brains on studying, among many other activities. Exerting the brain on any task — reading a textbook, writing an exam or test, listening to a very long lecture — consumes literal energy from your body’s reserves. And this is an upward progression — the more complex any given task is, the more brain energy required to perform that task. Eventually, the brain’s energy will be depleted, and fatigue sets in.

So, the next time you are puzzled about why you feel exhausted after a long lecture, or a tiring school day, there you have an answer.

Recharging, and managing stress, are critical to a student’s wellbeing.

The basic step to recovery from stress is knowledge. You must know that stress is a phenomenon which actually exists. Then, you must rejig your lifestyle as a student to help manage stress effectively.

Always stay alert to spot the patterns building up to stress. This is a very critical preventive measure. Usually, students will allow stress degenerate to a crisis before seeking emergency help. But that is very unhealthy. For example, do not wait until the tail end of a semester to evaluate your stress level. On a periodical basis, you should take proactive steps to know when you are stressed, and when you are not.

If you feel you might be stressed out, then you need the following helpful tips.

The first tip is having a good diet. Recall we mentioned that the brain’s reserves are depleted from exertion. So, how can the reserves be replenished? By simply eating well and staying hydrated. Food rich in glucose nutrients energizes the brain thereby making it optimal to process information. Never study or go to lectures without eating and drinking enough water. In addition, you could try snacking when reading. However, be sure to cut down on the amount of junk food you eat.

Second tip. Take a break. Refreshing breaks could appear trivial, but they help recharge your body and mind. For instance, ensure that on a weekly basis, you allot specific hours to relax, rest, and clear your head through mindful reflection and meditation. Take mini-pauses, or breathers, in between academic tasks, even in between one lecture and the next. This will give your brain time to recover from information overload.

And no, looking at your phone or laptop is not taking a break! Keep your devices away if you truly want to relax. Fun fact: the brain consumes just as much energy when you browse social media as it does when you read. Maybe just a bit higher when you read, but the point is that addiction to your screen is not giving yourself a break.

Side task: keep your phone away for 5 minutes. Time yourself. Take a break from reading this article and return to continue. You will witness the refreshing eye to the written details.

We must note that taking a break is different from getting good sleep. To supplement the requirement for breaks, you also need at least 6 hours of daily sleep. Pulling late nights for exam or test purposes may be exceptions. But if you consistently study all night, you will certainly experience side effects, one of which is … (drumrolls)… Stress! Some students believe taking semester-long night studies will translate to better grades. That is partly true. For some this method works, for others, it is counterproductive. So, we must find a balance.

To get a balance, you must eat an elephant. How do you achieve this daunting culinary challenge? You eat the elephant in bits. This analogy applies to your semesters’ workload. Prioritizing tasks and breaking the curriculum into manageable bits are helpful strategies to apply. For example, set out early in the term to have an idea of the entire courses’ outlines. Divide the course outlines into weeks, and days of topics you can read. Same strategy applies to assignments: if your assignment requires writing 4 papers in 2 weeks, arrange your schedule to write each paper in 3 days. Within the 3 days, specific hours must be devoted to different aspects of the paper e.g., x number of hours for brainstorming topic ideas, x number of hours for clarifying gray areas with the lecturer, x number of hours for outlining the paper contents, x number for research, draft, review, final submission, and so on.

Similar approach of batching tasks, and time-blocking can be applied to reading.

Spoiler alert: crafting good strategies, like we did above, without the discipline to follow through or achieve them makes a mess of your good intentions. So, never procrastinate (…too much, and too often, lol. I procrastinate too, so you are not alone in this). Read early on in semester. Avoid last minute panic cramming.

There is no single path to surmounting the accumulation of stress, especially when one is faced with immense, challenging responsibilities. However, you will be surprised by how resilient students are, and how they can get things done under uncomfortable circumstances. For example, if you condition yourself to read a chapter of a textbook in 3 days, it will take you nothing less than 3 days to read the chapter. But if you condition yourself to read the same chapter in 6 hours, it will take you 6 hours to do so. (Remember to take breaks in any case!)

But I caution you, do not stretch resilience to the breaking point. Do your academic tasks on time.

Also, repeat what you study throughout the semester before the continuous assessments and examinations. Repetition makes information stick in the brain. And it is easy to retrieve such information when needed. The brain remains relatively calm when it can easily recall data. When it cannot, panic sets in. And shortly after, especially when this panic is repeated over time, stress follows. So, repeated study may help you alleviate anxiety before the exam season.

Your energy is finite, and so is your time. Reduce the obligations you undertake in school as well as some extracurricular activities. Really, you do not need to put your hand in every pie. Multiple activities will sap your energy. This is a quick route to burnout. Commit to only relevant activities.

Many students, like Deji, struggle with their finance in school. This is a huge problem. For instance, without money, you probably cannot afford to eat good food, pay for decent lodging (a common, if not advisable alternative to the university hostels), pay for transportation, tuition fees and so on. It is a problem because the physical inconvenience from lack contributes to mental anxiety. Expecting money from a source yet unknown prevents you from focusing on what matters most — study.

If you face this predicament, then you must find a support system for your finances. I am unable to advise exhaustively on this issue, but you really need a support system. This could be through funding from friends, family members, colleagues, or philanthropic benefactors. Finance, or a lack of it, could compound stress, so watch against it.

Sometimes we all need a listening ear, and an empathetic mind. Try to speak with a mentor, or a trusted friend about stress. Also seek professional counselling if you can afford to. Reaching out for help could be quite difficult, but it is advisable.

Finally, if all else fails, be kind to yourself. Take a big break. Know when to completely detach from everything, from everyone and hibernate for a few days. For me, I typically assign some days as lazy days where I do practically nothing and wallow in inertia. This chunk of lazy days, of hibernating, and probably deep sleeping, when done in the right frequency can lead to full, and energetic recovery preparing you to take on the coming challenges.

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