While studying at university offers wonderful opportunities for learning, developing friendships and expanding our possibilities, it also comes with essays, exams and ever impending deadlines.
Whether you’re the bright-eyed student in your first year of university after finishing high school, or the mature age student pursuing a career change along with balancing work and family commitments, it is likely that you have found managing the demands of your studies stressful from time to time.
Thankfully there are a range of effective coping methods available to help us not only reduce our stress, but also perform at our best.
And just like our individual circumstances differ, our coping methods are likely to differ too. There’s no one size fits all approach, so it’s best to find a strategy that is most effective for you.
I have three main methods I use to cope with the challenges of completing my Honours year in psychology full time along with managing my personal commitments. While at first glance these strategies may appear unrelated, mindfulness is the thread that binds them all together. Luckily for me, mindfulness has been found to be associated with many health benefits, including greater attentional control and emotional regulation, both of which are valuable traits for students.[1]
The first method I use is high intensity interval training. I always include one of these sessions into my weekly running routine, often in the form of 10 sets of 400 metres. I find that the intensity of these sessions gets me into a state of focus and flow, while also flooding me with endorphins. I also find that I am a more effective student as a result. My own hunch has been supported by research which found that regular physical activity correlated with increases in grey matter volume in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory.[2]
My second strategy is a daily restorative yoga practice before bed. This meditative practice calms my mind, restores my energy, and relaxes my body. Importantly, it mostly leads to a good night’s sleep too. Yoga has also been found to be effective in reducing psychological distress, with a meta-analysis finding that yoga interventions can lead to a reduction in depressive symptoms.[3]
The third coping strategy I have found to be effective is highly curating the inputs that enter my mind. For example, throughout the university semester I reduce the content I consume not related to my studies. This allows me to stay focused on the academic tasks at hand, rather than on external factors that I have little to no control over.
Over time, I’ve found that these three strategies are the coping methods that work best for me. I’m always interested in hearing what other methods students use to cope with juggling their studies alongside their personal commitments. I’d love to know what your three most effective coping methods are, as I’m always open to incorporating some new strategies into my own routine!
References:
[1] Tang, Y.Y., Holzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 213–225. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3916
[2] Killgore, W. D. S., Olson, E. A., & Weber, M. (2013). Physical exercise habits correlate with grey matter volume of the hippocampus in healthy adult humans. Scientific Reports, 3(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03457
[3] Brinsley, J., Schuch, F., Lederman, O., Girard, D., Smout, M., Immink, M. A., Stubbs, B., Firth, J., Davison, K., & Rosenbaum, S. (2021). Effects of yoga on depressive symptoms in people with mental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 55(17), 992–1000. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101242
Photo by Jenny Hill on Unsplash
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