{"id":76741,"date":"2023-06-07T08:48:38","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T13:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=76741"},"modified":"2024-04-06T04:53:30","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T04:53:30","slug":"can-stress-be-healthy","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/can-stress-be-healthy\/","title":{"rendered":"CAN STRESS BE HEALTHY?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOTO BY COTTONBRO FROM PEXELS<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer\u2019s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.<\/em><\/div>\n
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According to\u00a0the American Institute of Stress<\/a>, 80% of college students experience frequent stress.<\/p>\n

Frankly, I was surprised the number was this low. Walking through the UCSB library every day, all I can see are countless empty-eyed faces staring at their laptop screens with their notes piled beside them. Many of them will leave the library in an hour or two to rush to their jobs. There\u2019s no doubt that college students are a segment of the population that experiences extremely high levels of stress throughout the academic year. When we think about it, it makes sense; stress is unavoidable when we\u2019re juggling homesickness, social dramas, academic concerns, and financial woes. At times, it feels like we\u2019re drowning in the anxiety that comes with so much responsibility.<\/p>\n

But can this stress ever actually be good for us?<\/p>\n

It seems unlikely, of course. When we think about stress, we usually consider it to be a bad thing. But believe it or not, experts say that moderate levels of stress can actually help us to be successful.\u00a0Dr. Daniela Kaufer<\/a>\u00a0at UC Berkeley states, \u201cSome amounts of stress are good to push you just to the optimal level of alertness, behavioral and cognitive performance.\u201d It can even increase our problem-solving abilities and enhance our memory. We can refer to this sort of stress as \u201cgood stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Good stress is especially relevant for college students. A study at\u00a0Rochester University<\/a>\u00a0found that college students who view their stress as helpful rather than detrimental are more likely to succeed academically and be mentally healthy. Good stress can even\u00a0boost our immune systems<\/a>, which is increasingly important as we enter the flu and cold season.<\/p>\n

Kaufer and other experts say that the difference between \u201cgood\u201d and \u201cbad\u201d stress is that good stress is intermittent as opposed to chronic. Stress should not be a constant lingering feeling, but rather a reaction to a brief event. In addition, the good stress will encourage us to work harder and increase focus towards a task, as it provides us with a short-term energy burst that makes challenging tasks seem more doable. Bad stress has the opposite effect; it is draining and will leave us feeling unmotivated and exhausted.<\/p>\n

So how can we ensure that the stress we experience is good stress?\u00a0Harvard Business Review<\/a>\u00a0offers several tips:<\/p>\n