Stress is a common response to the many demands (school, work, relationships, family, etc.) in our lives. Quick, short-term Stress is usually not the type that we need to be concerned about as it is a natural process that helps our bodies release specific hormones and chemicals to handle a certain situation. However, stress takes a toll on one’s body when it is chronic.  For example, let’s say that you are worried about your performance in school or at work daily. At that point, we want to reduce the level of stress to something manageable to give your body a chance to recover. Below are a couple of tips.

1.      Exercise – Engaging in physical activities will increase endorphins and decease your stress levels.
2.      Get More Sleep – This gives your body a chance to fully rest and heal.   
3.      Meditate – When we are constantly thinking about our responsibilities or daily tasks that could increase our stress level. Taking 5-10 minutes to practice even breathing and clearing your thoughts could help quiet the chaos in your mind.
4.      Talk to Someone – Sometimes talking about your problems to a friend, counselor, family member, etc. could really help decrease your feelings of anxiety or helplessness. You might find that you are not alone in your feelings when you have someone to bounce off ideas or provide you the support that you need.
5.      Manage Your Time – Oftentimes, our sense of stress comes from the fact that we have so many things to do in so little time. Creating a daily/weekly schedule to complete certain tasks at a certain time could help make you feel less overwhelmed.

Don’t be discouraged if you tried a tip and it didn’t work for you. Everyone is different. You might need to experiment with each one to determine which help reduce your stress level the most.