Navigating Back-To-School Stress
Welcome Back Students! Schools have officially kicked off for the 2024-2025 school year. Classes, sports and other extracurriculars are also taking off at full speed. But, with these
rigorous classes and grueling sports under the sun, students are getting overwhelmed in the
very first week of school. But, we have got you covered because this article is about
navigating stress and so that you don’t feel overwhelmed by the immense pressure that
you have on your back. So, before we learn how to navigate stress, we first have to know what stress is. Stress is the natural reaction your body has when changes or challenges occur. One of the changes that we are talking about is coming back to school. The entire summer, you have woken up at 10:00 or 11:00 am but, now all of a sudden you have to get up at six in the morning. It is difficult! And, we have the solutions for it but let’s get to know more about stress.
There are three different types of stress :
physical, emotional and behavioral. Unfortunately, most of the students go through each type of stress in the first days of school.
Physical stress - it is a kind of stress that your body goes through when your physical health is
deteriorating due to a lack of nutrients and sleep. In simple words, you feel tired. For example: most students don’t eat breakfast which hinders their energy for the rest of the day. As breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it is crucial to have it so that you have good physical health.
Tips to prevent physical stress:
Go to sleep at around 10:00 at night so that you get around 8 hours of sleep. It is fundamental! Good sleep makes you function better at school but also in order to sleep early, you get to eat your dinner early and that leads you to feel hungry when you wake up in the morning. Duh! You can eat breakfast now because you have the appetite. Furthermore, it is beneficial to start the day feeling the warmth of the sun in your skin. It is like hitting two birds with one stone. You get Vitamin D but also you get to wake up your brain a little bit for your first period. You can also do different types of physical activities throughout the day to prevent physical stress like dancing, gymnastics, swimming or even playing other types of sports. A student from Mt. Hebron said “ I love to dance whenever I can. It helps me relax and helps to divert my mind a little bit.” Great! Your muscles and joints will be really happy if you do that. Now, let’s move onto the next type of
stress.
Emotional stress- Do you already have homeworks on the very first week of school? Is it
making you anxious? You are not alone! A lot of students have the same problem as you. It is
hard to get used to the homework as you just got out of summer break. But, you as young people, are the best in adapting to changes.
Tips to prevent Emotional stress: Hmm, homework is a big problem but what if we finish our homework the day it is assigned. This way, we won’t have a pile of homework to finish before the clock turns 11:59. Another student from Mt.Hebron said “I like to finish my homeworks on a daily basis so I don’t have to worry about them over the weekend.” Nice, but better said than done! Obviously, you guys have sports or extracurriculars to do after school. And when you get home, you are too tired to do anything. And, that is why journals or simple diaries are there. Make a schedule and cross out each time you finish a work. It gives so much satisfaction and guess what you will have less emotional stress.
Behavioral stress- It is the result of the two types of stress that we have discussed above. If
you have good physical and emotional health, then you won’t have behavioral stress. But,
students struggle with it the most. High schoolers are saying that they are already tired from the first week of school and it is true. Seniors with their college applications are stressed out.
Juniors are stressed out by their ten AP classes. Sophomores are stuck in the middle and
freshmen are just trying to adjust to their new schools. But, behavioral stress comes from how you perceive things. It is all in our minds.
Tips to prevent Behavioral stress:
If you got a B on your first test, don’t be sad. I
am sure you will have tons of homeworks and
tests to raise your grade. But, instead of
worrying about your grades, why don’t you try to
enjoy these best years of your life. Spend time
with your family, friends or pets. Ask your friends, parents or even counselors to help you
navigate stress. Go on a walk sometimes. Play a sport. Join a club to meet new people. It is
normal to have stress in the first days of school but we can’t let it defeat us. I am sure we will
get through the first days of school together.
Sources:
https://www.sri.com/research/education-learning/behavior/
https://www.collegenp.com/article/effects-of-stress-on-students-academic-performance/
https://bhtherapygroup.com/navigating-back-to-school-stress/
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