Stress

The Impact of Stress on Academic Performance

In today’s world stress is something that is unavoidable .It is something that is faced by adults ,teenagers and kids around the world .Stress is often described as a feeling of being overloaded , wound up tight , tense and worried . Stress can sometimes help to motivate us to get a task finished or perform well . But stress can also be harmful if we become over-stressed and it interferes with our ability to get on our normal life for too long .(A.P.S ,n.d , para. 1) When a person is suffering from stress ,we can see him showing signs of symptoms .These symptoms vary from person to person and include things like tensing your jaw , grinding your teeth , getting headaches or feeling irritable and short tempered. Stress can be either good or bad .Stress can never be a bad thing as it motivates us to work hard but too much stress or stress overload can be deleterious to your health . Too much Stress can cause
High blood pressure , sleep disorders, heart problems and it can lead to depression .

In a survey conducted in spring 2008 by the American College Health Association , stress was the most frequently cited psychological factor affecting the academic performance of college students . Since there is a lot of competition among the youth today , students are becoming more stressed . In college the freshmen are more prone to chronic stress because they are new to the college environment .So they have more difficulty coping with stress and adapting to a new environment . Because of this ,Stress, Sleep disturbances , anxiety and depression are the top 5 threats to academic performance .Therefore , it is important to find out what is the cause of Stress in academic life .

There are a number of problems that cause stress in college students. The first problem is Grades and Exam tests. In a survey of 1247 students at a public function , Mid Western University revealed that tests were the number one source of stress accounting for 35% of all responses (Sheilds,1995) . A poor academic performance leads to the threat of failure which would increase stress levels in college students.

Financial problems can also cause stress among college students .Studying in college is expensive and some students make money for their text books and other living expenses by taking part time jobs .Students who fail to make ends meet suffer from stress due to financial problems. Another problem which causes stress are the physical causes of stress . Most college students adopt an unhealthy lifestyle . They stay up all night studying instead of sleeping ,they eat junk food most of the time and start smoking to alleviate the stress. The fourth problem is about the college student’s social life and romantic relationships. When a freshman joins college ,he will have an entire set of new friends who are completely different from his old friends .He has to live with a roommate and deal with young adult relationships .This can lead to a lot of stress .Having a boyfriend/girlfriend can also lead to a lot of stress

These issues have a negative impact on college students . Most students take to bad habits like consuming large amounts of alcohol and smoking. Some students develop eating disorders and gain 15-20 ponds in one year.
Some students even smoke drugs if they go into chronic depression .Some students even try to commit suicide

Because of these factors it is important to keep college stress under control .Although stress is generally thought of as a negative experience ,researchers have recognized that stress can be experienced either as a challenge or a threat ,depending on how events are perceived .

In general , college related stress has been found to be inversely related to academic performance among traditional undergraduates , for freshmen ,for inner city high school students and for immigrant college students.
A student who can cope with stress very well has to have Self-efficiency .

The student needs to set up his own living space where he can focus and concentrate on his subjects .Then he needs to create a schedule that he can work with .To reduce stress ,the student should do some physical activity like jogging and weight lifting. He can join the gym and P.E classes in college. Yoga is a great stress reliever and it provides excellent relaxation and lots of health benefits. The student should try to consume a healthy and balanced diet instead of fast food and sweets. If he is ever feeling homesick ,he can talk to his parents with skype and instant messaging. If he has any other problems ,he should talk to the counselor in his college .The last and one of the most important solution to relieving stress is :-DO NOT PROCRASTINATE .

In conclusion , every single human being in this has some kind of stress, be it academic or work ,but a little bit of stress can get you motivated to do your work .It is impossible to completely get rid of stress ,but is very much possible to greatly reduce stress .In the words of Steve Maraboli ( Speaker, Author ,Behavioral scientist ) who said “You must learn to let it go . Release the stress . You were never in control anyway.”

Reference:

Callahan ,R. (2011 ,March 24) . What Are The Causes Of Stress Among College Students . Livestrong . Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/133023-what-are-causes-stress-among-college-sudents/ Ellis ,M. (2008 , October 22) . How Stress Affects Academic Performance . Healthnews . Retrieved from http://www.healthnews.com/en/news/How-Stress-Affects-Academic-Performance/2wJiMoIl1ErOCym8JC9lWD/ M.S ,E.S. (2009 , April 20) . College Life-How To Reduce Stress In College Life . About.com . Retrieved from http://stress.about.com/od/studentstress/ss/college_stress.htm Understanding and managing stress . (n.d.). Australian Psychological Society . Retrieved from http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/StressTipSheet.pdf

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