So you’re just weeks into the school year and you have already refamiliarized yourself with an old friend: stress. Hey, just like Pitbull, we’ve all been there, done that. Stress can be quite the burden, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed, chances are you need a break. So, to help you out, we asked a few Prep students what they like to do to cope with stress.

“Making myself laugh,” says Audrey Jung ‘23. It’s true: according to scientific research, laughing has both psychological and physiological benefits. In fact, in recent years, something called Laughter Yoga has been gaining worldwide popularity. It is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s based on  the belief that the mind can’t tell the difference between voluntary and spontaneous laughter. However, if that’s not your cup of tea, Audrey has other ways she makes herself laugh, including “making up song parodies, reading my English assignments in a British accent, or watching my sister do spot-on impersonations.” So while stress is certainly no joke, try taking time to find the things that make you laugh. 

“Take a shower, a nap, or both,” says Veronica Habashy ‘22. She finds clearing her head is just the reset she needs. “You are just rendered incapable of problem solving or anything essentially when your brain is overloaded. We’re like MacBooks that can’t handle more than ten tabs open.” This is also true: taking a cold shower has been commonly known to reduce symptoms of anxiety, and taking naps allow your brain to process information. One study even showed that taking a 90 minute nap delivers the same learning benefits as an 8 hour slumber. That’s not to say you should only sleep for 90 minutes a night, of course. But sometimes, Veronica says, “it’s really the best thing to just walk away from the problem or assignment, reset my entire body, and come back when I feel more settled.” 

Whether you decide to force a little laugh, hop in the shower, or put your things aside and take a nap the next time you feel stressed, it’s a good idea to find what helps you kick stress to the curb, and to remember that you’re never in it alone.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6125057/ 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20848578/

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/07/health/laughter-yoga-sw/index.html

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17993252/ 

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/07-08/naps