With finals fast approaching, I decided to dedicate this final blog to random helpful tips for dealing with the unavoidable high stress levels that are also coming on strong. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with stress, and tend to continue with these habits, regardless of how effective they actually are. College students tend to fall into the same traps when it comes to mishandling high stress levels, oftentimes resorting to things such as food, exercise and even drugs and alcohol. Everyone is usually looking for the quick fix to their anxiety, as it oftentimes seriously interferes with one's ability to focus on schoolwork and get much needed studying done. Here are some of the most dangerous bad habits to watch out for and ways to prevent them.

1. Comfort Food- Studies have show time and again that stress can lead to a greater tendency for people to look towards food as a comfort mechanism. After being holed up in the library for 6 straight hours, withing nothing but coffee and candy in your system, the first thing most students tend to do when they get home is heat up that batch of mac and cheese Mom just sent, or order an 18 inch pizza with extra cheese. The instant satisfaction of the initial taste, and even the feeling of fullness can provide a sense of relief, and help one forget momentarily forget the stress. Another common occurence is for people to much while they are studying or doing work. The problem with this lies in the fact that there is no awareness of exactly how much you are taking in. Entire bags of chips, cookies and other snack foods can dissapear in minutes, oftentimes with the consumer being completely unaware of how much they are eating. If hunger does hit while studying, try to take the time to decide if you are genuinely hungry or just looking for something to take your mind off of schoolwork. If you can't resist the urge, get up and go for a quick walk. This can also be helpful in clearing your head and providing a little study break. Drink a large glass of water to take the edge of your hunger. And, when you do finally eat, make sure you sit down and eat a complete,balance meal, taking your time to chew eat bite. Make sure you are not doing anything else, such as reading or watching TV while eating.

2. Exercise-This habit is a tricky one to deal with. Without a doubt, exercise is one of the best ways to deal with stress. Personally, nothing clears my mind more than a nice long run or swimming laps for an hour or so. The key to getting the most out of this is moderation. It can often be tempting to use exercise as an excuse to distract oneself from work, or ignore the actual massive amount of work one has to do. Running for an hour can be amazing for both the mind and body; dragging yourself along on the treadmill for 2 hours, then forcing yourself into the ellipitcal or bike can be extremely detrimental. Exercising to the point of injury can inhibit your ability to focus on work and retain important information. Also, while going to the gym certainly should be a priority, it shouldn't be an excuse to put off work that needs to get done. By all means, take an hour or so each day to engage in physical activity. But once you are done, jump in the shower then get back to the books. It cna be extremely helpful to write out your schedule, and plan out when you will work out. Having a time to start and end things often makes you more likely to actually get everything done that you need to.

3. Drinking-There is a reason why college students look forward to the weekends so much and its not just because there are no classes. College students today are drinking more today than ever before. Alcohol is the basis of many social situations and events. People use it for its ability to lower inhibitions and the fun they often associate with it. The real problems starts when people begin to rely on it for the opportunity it provides them with to forget about their problems and just have fun without worrying about anything else. Drinking when stressed can lead to a dependence quicker. There is also the physiological effect of drinking when stressed. Instead of being held in the stomach and slowly let into the rest of the digestive system, stress causes the stomach to completely empty its contents all at once, which releases a larger amount of alchol into the body at a much faster rate. Someone can be unaware of how much they are drinking until it hits them all at once. This can have potentially harmful effects, especially if the person continues to drink. For some people, drinking is a great way to unwind from the stress of school, regardless of how helpful it actually is in doing so.If you do choose to drink, remember the key is in moderation. Binge drinking only temporarily solves problems, If anything, it tends to make problems worse, or create new ones. Hang out with friends in a sober environment, or find something fun to do off campus such as go to a movie, go to the mall or walk around the Commons. Having a fun time with friends is often the best way to truly unwind from a stressful week and doing so sober can be even more rewarding.

Hopefully these tips can help provide some peace of mind and help with the heavy workload that we all must go through at some point in time. Don't forget the importance of the prior 2 posts also: limit the caffeine, and be sure to engage in stress reducing activities, such as yoga. The greatest piece of advice I can give is to take a deep breath and a step back whenever things seem unmanageable. The calmer you stay, the easier it is to get things done. Good Luck!

Breathe In, Breathe Out

One of the best parts of going to school in Ithaca are the opporutnities to take advantage of all the "alternative" lifestyle techniques this town has to offer. Yoga is probably one of the most beneficial things you can do for your body, especially when it comes to relaxation and stress reduction. The key component of yoga is learning to focus on breathing, and consciously being aware of the air entering and leaving your body. Learning to take deep breaths is shown to increase oxygen flow throughout the body, especially to the brain. It can also calm the central nervous system, which is where the benefits of yoga for stress reduction start to kick in.



Because you have to concentrate so much on your body and breathing during yoga, this leaves little room for other thoughts. Just a few minutes of yoga can leave you feeling significantly relaxed, with a much clearer mind. The physical aspect of yoga also does wonders to relieve anxiety. Physical activity of any sort has been shown to help reduce stress but yoga in particular, with its soothing atmosphere, tends to significantly calm the body and mind.



The greatest thing about doing yoga as exercise is that anyone can do it! There are so many resources out there for people interested in beginning yoga. Just a simple Google search yields thousands of results. Here a few tips if you are interested in getting started-

* Check out your local bookstore or library for any books or pamphlets. Any sort of guide for Beginners Yoga is great place to start. Look for one with pictures so you can make sure to get the positions right.

*Youtube. Lots of professional yoga instructors put short previews of their classes online for potential customers. There are some shows that will put clips of their episodes online also. Check them out and give it a shot! Here are a few good ones I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3vLZqPZxZE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3kA7G3hZbg

*OnDemand. Along with Free Movies, most OnDemand services offer short exercise videos, usually in the Sports section. They range anywhere from 10-30 minutes, so they can be a great quick morning routine or rigorous afternoon workout.

*Check out what your town has to offer! I found several great places right here in Ithaca.

http://www.sunriseyoga.com/

http://www.ithacayoga.org/

http://www.theyogacorner.com/

I personally recommend checking out any type of Bikram Yoga, or "Hot Yoga". It's a traditional yoga class, taking place in a room heated 95-100 degrees. The idea is to flush out toxins with the profuse sweating. Its pretty intense, but the benefits are incredible for anyone who wants to give it a shot. You don't need to risk heat stroke to enjoy the benefits of yoga however, even a few mintutes a day can significantly reduce your stress level. As soon as the stress of midterms starts to hit you, just hop on into Downward Dog or the Cobra and you should be good to go!

Anxiety in a Cup

This first blog is dedicated to a subject that is very near and dear to the hearts of most college students: COFFEE. I hate to break it to you all, but the gut wrenching anxiety most students go through on a regular basis is most likely not entirely due to the massive workload you might have. Many recent studies have begun to show a strong connection between frequent panic attacks and drinking coffee. That heart-racing, energetic feeling one typically gets after sipping a cup of joe can be elevated to extreme levels if too much caffeine is taken in, or if the person in question is already prone to anxiety. While caffeine has been proven to increase alertness and ward off fatigue, people need to be more aware of how much they are drinking, and of how their body responds to certain dosages. Too much caffeine, and its positive effects can be reversed, replaced with a flighty, nervous feeling, making it impossible to concentrate or get anything done.

There is hope however, and it does not involve giving up your early morning pick-me-up. There is nothing wrong with drinking coffee as long as you follow a few basic guidelines.

1. Watch your cup size. Technically a "cup" of coffee is 8 oz. Most mugs and cups of coffee today however, range anywhere from 12-20 oz.

2. Spread out your intake. Rather than drinking a 16 oz cup in the morning, drink 8 oz early on then another 8 oz 2-3 hours later. This supplies your body with a more consistent energy supply, rather than a massive spike, which only leads to a crash later on.

3. End early! Have your last cup of coffee at 3 pm at the very latest, or preferably a noon if possible. Caffeine takes about 12 hours to get out of your system, so the later on you drink it, then the more trouble you'll have sleeping. (Which often leads to restless sleep, resulting in grogginess the next day, leaving you unable to get work done which will make you... yep, you guessed it.... anxious!)

As hard as it may be at first, do yourself a favor and wean off the coffee addiction. If you feel yourself getting tired in the late afternoon, hit the gym, or even walk some laps around your room. A vigorous 10 minute walk has been proven to stimulate the mind for up to 2 hours. And if you start to feel that unavoidable wave of stress hit you, take deep breaths and reach for a glass of cold water. Chugging those 20 oz of java at 10 pm, hoping to stay up until 4 am doing work really won't work out very well in the long run.