School students, college students, as well as aspirants must often face fierce competition while completing difficult coursework, building an impressive extracurricular resume, studying for and passing college placement exams and negotiating the social difficulties that come with being a high school student.
While student life can be tough, these 12 stress relief exercises can help you manage your stress and perform better. So let’s dive in and learn about these 12 stress relief methods!
1. Exercise regularly
Exercise daily is one of the healthiest ways to relieve stress. According to research, students who engage in regular physical activity report feeling less stressed overall. Although these children face the same social, intellectual, and personal obstacles as their less-involved peers, these difficulties are simpler to handle and feel less stressful.
It may be difficult to find time for exercise, but there are methods you may employ to fit in more movement throughout your day and engage in some specific stress relief exercises.
2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is another excellent stress relief exercise for students that may be utilized before bed, during exams, or at other times when stress has you physically wound up.
Using this method, all muscles are tensed and released until the body is relaxed. You can learn to quickly release tension from your body with practice. Students may find this especially useful as it may be modified to support pre-sleep relaxation techniques for a more restful sleep.
When used correctly, PMR can be a rapid and convenient method to promote relaxation in any stressful circumstance, including brief panic attacks before an exam or speech.
3. Music
Music is a handy stress reliever that has also been found to have numerous cognitive benefits. Depending on what you need right now, it can help you decompress, calm down, or stimulate your mind.
Studies have indicated that listening to cheerful music can enhance memory and processing speed. Students who are under stress could find that their bodies and minds can relax by listening to soothing music. According to one study, people who listened to calming music were able to recover from stressful situations faster and students can use music to their advantage by listening to classical music while studying, energetic music to “wake up” mentally, or mellow music that they enjoy.
4. Breath Work
You frequently don’t think as clearly as you could while your body is going through a stress response. It’s also possible that your breathing is irregular. Perhaps you are breathing quickly and shallowly and the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen in your body is disrupted when you breathe incorrectly. Breathing exercises are a rapid method of calming down. In only a few minutes, you can do these almost anywhere to reduce stress, and is an excellent stress relief exercise that can help you manage periods of acute stress, like the moments before an exam or presentation, because of their rapid onset. Yet, they can also aid in the management of more persistent stressors like resolving interpersonal, professional, or monetary issues.
5. Guided Imagery
To help anxious kids manage their academic, social, and other pressures, guided imagery can also be a helpful and efficient technique. By using visualizations, you can lessen your body’s stress response, relax, and distance yourself from the source of your stress.
By closing your eyes, sitting in a quiet, comfortable spot, and visualizing a serene environment, you can use guided imagery to help you relax.
6. Meditation
Both long-term and immediate stress reduction are benefits of meditation and you can experiment with a wide variety of meditation techniques; each has its special qualities
You may create a mental mantra that you repeat to yourself while you inhale deeply and slowly. Alternatively, you may spend a few minutes engaging in moment-to-moment mindfulness practice, just to be aware of your senses of taste, touch, smell, and hearing.
7. Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy can make you feel more energized, at ease, or in the present moment, which are all genuine benefits for relieving stress.
According to recent studies, some smells may change brain wave activity and reduce stress hormones in the body, claiming it to be the perfect stress relief exercise.
Thus, think about introducing some aromatherapy into your day, regardless of your preference for candles, diffusers, or body items.
8. Get creative
Even if it might have been simple for you to reconnect with your creative side when you were younger, if you’ve lost touch with your love of art, it’s still possible to do so.If you don’t enjoy painting or drawing, you might want to try coloring in a coloring book. The popularity of adult coloring books has increased, and for good reason—coloring is a fantastic stress relief exercise.
9. Self Talk
It matters how you speak to yourself, which is why it is not beneficial to engage in severe self-criticism, and self-doubt because you’ll stress yourself out if your thoughts are all over the place. It is also important that you develop more realistic and sympathetic self-talk. When you criticize yourself or question your potential for success, respond with more loving words to yourself.
You can cultivate a more optimistic mindset by engaging in positive self-talk. You can better control your emotions and take constructive action by having a chat with someone who is upbeat and caring.
10. Minimize screen time
Even if tablets, PCs, and cellphones are frequently required, using them excessively can make people more stressed, since excessive screen usage is linked to higher stress levels and decreased psychological well-being in both adults and children.
Additionally, screen usage may have a poor impact on sleep, which may raise stress levels as well.
11. Journaling
Maintaining a journal can be a beneficial way to express your ideas and feelings while also lowering tension and anxiety and is a great stress-relief exercise.
They pointed out that keeping a notebook regularly might be associated with proactive self-care practices, better quality of life, and other healthful behaviors like taking prescribed drugs.
If you would rather write in a more focused, expressive journal, you can also give one a try.
12. Learn to say No
You can control certain stressors, but not all of them. Taking on too much can make you feel more stressed and reduce the amount of time you have for self-care.
Saying “no” more frequently could be one strategy to protect your mental health and reduce stress. This is particularly true if you take on more than you can manage, as managing a lot of obligations might make you feel overburdened.
Thankfully, several stress relief exercises can assist you in lowering stress and enhancing your general psychological health. Effective strategies include getting outside more frequently, exercising, practicing mindfulness, and minimizing screen time. While stress relief exercises can help you lower your stress levels and level up your lifestyle, it is important to stay at a place that feels like home for students. So check us out today, Interlude- curated stays for women and girls in Lucknow!