With the midterm period coming to a close, it is apparent that many students study everything except the one topic that would most benefit them during this demanding time: stress management. Amid the 2 a.m. study sessions, countless cups of coffee and stacks of flashcards, stress management needs to be of greater focus.
A dire problem on campus is the mentality that if students don’t feel over-involved in clubs or sports, they’re not doing enough. While this is a little exaggerated, the Brandeisian ideology nonetheless encourages students to try myriad new activities while still balancing a heavy academic workload. This creates the pressure to successfully juggle everything like acrobats in a circus show—harrowing tightrope walk included.
Furthermore, the widespread student mentality is that staying up late to study is more important than an adequate night’s sleep, because an exam is a one-time chance to pass or fail, while sleep can always be caught up on. However, this is actually not true. Sleeping four hours one night and compensating by sleeping 10 hours Friday night doesn’t readjust your sleep schedule; in fact, this habit makes it worse. Our bodies function best on a set schedule: the same number of hours of sleep per night, not an erratic daily change in hours. But this also doesn’t mean that four hours of sleep every night is healthy: College-age students require between seven and nine hours of nightly rest.
Thus a natural issue arises: Between all our academic, extracurricular and athletic commitments, how is there enough time to stay caught up with all our obligations, let alone get enough sleep? Brandeis doesn’t do enough to address this problem, especially for first-year students who may be wholly unequipped with balancing such full schedules amid their newfound college freedom.
As a first-year, I’ve already heard constantly that it’s normal for a Brandeis student to double major and double minor while simultaneously serving as the president of one club and the treasurer of another. There is a lack of encouragement that it’s okay to reduce your non-academic commitments to focus on schoolwork and get enough sleep—a reassurance that first-years and seniors alike could benefit from hearing.
The Psychological Counseling Center (PCC) oversees many initiatives to promote stress management on campus. The PCC newsletter, found on its page on the Brandeis website, features articles such as “Self-Care Exercise: ‘Steps to Elicit the Relaxation Response’” and “Everything is Awful and I’m Not Okay: Questions to Ask Before Giving Up.” Their counselors address everything from depression and homesickness to relationship problems and drug abuse.
The Office of Academic Services also sent emails to all undergraduate students a few weeks ago detailing a PCC Workshop Series called “Academic Related Anxiety: A Cognitive Behavioral Approach.” The biweekly workshops, which began in September and will continue until early December, are held in Room 314 of the SCC and each focus on a different aspect of stress management. For example, “Midterms and Test Anxiety” was offered in early October to correlate with the exam period. Upcoming sessions include “Panic Attacks!!!” and “Anxiety in the Classroom: Participation and Presentation” on Nov. 2 and 9, respectively.
These PCC workshops are a good start. However, they’re held on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., which is rather impractical considering the number of classes held at that time. Aside from attending these sessions, there are other ways for students to manage their stress. I’m currently taking a physical education class called Keeping Stress in Check, which encourages simple ways to reduce stress and anxiety throughout the day. One option is five-minute meditation: for just five minutes a day, stop working, clear your mind and focus on the movement of your breath. By also envisioning a peaceful scene or memory, this brief act of meditation can renew your energy and reduce stress.
Another important consideration is your diet. It is imperative to not succumb to sporadic snacking because it seems like there’s no time for a real meal. Poor nutrition decreases physical and mental performance, and the detrimental effects to your health aren’t worth the extra hour of studying.
Positive reinforcement is also a useful tool. By visualizing your goals step by step and telling yourself that it’s possible to accomplish them, tasks become less daunting. And especially on such a passionate and industrious campus like Brandeis, the administration could definitely reinforce that overexertion in academics and clubs is not necessary. Despite the surrounding pressure to be involved in more activities than there are hours of the day, students should strive for a balanced schedule. And when stress inevitably strikes, employing stress management techniques is the most useful solution.
