Hormones & Stress!

Student Stressing

As well all know, stress can be unhealthy and quite frankly, stressful. Even animals endure physical and physiological stress. But what is stress? Stress is a condition that the body is in due a stressor, which is a factor that changes the body's internal environment that can threaten life. Short term stressors are those that cause the body so put necessary processes, such as digestion, healing a wound, and fighting infection on hold for a few moments, a "fight or flight" response. This can be when you need to make a split second decision to save your life. Animals running from predators is an example of short term stressors where the body returns to its normal conditions after the response is initiated. A long term stressor is a chronic condition where the body is constantly under stress, usually psychological stress. Long term stress is dangerous to the body and can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems, ulcers, and premature death. The immune system is also compromised because of chronic stress and can lead to increased risk of infection.
There are many ways to reduce stress. These include deep breathing, relaxation, and mediation. For help with stress in school there are other strategies. Not that I am an expert in stress reduction (I have my fair share of school stress), but I have found some ways to reduce stress, at least for a little while.
1. Stay organized!- Knowing what you have to do helps the feeling of assignments and duties hanging over your head.
2. Relax, using deep breathing - as mentioned in the stress video we watched today, deep breathing can calm the body down and alleviate stress.
3. Have some fun- doing some school work before a fun day and some after makes you feel that you got something accomplished before something fun.
I have found these tips helpful but still have a long way to go! Stress is hard to get rid over, especially with finals week quickly approaching!

Student stressing image from http://www.cliving.org/stress%20control%20students.html

                                          Check out these stress reducing tips:
            http://www.totallystressedout.com/06-relaxation-01-exercises.html