When hearing about this talk, the first thing that immediately came to my mind was the 21 Pilots Song, Stressed Out. This song has been getting a lot of air time recently. In fact, last semester, this song reached its peak during the finals preparation time. A lot of kids seem to be relating to this overall theme of being stressed out and wishing they were younger to avoid dealing with these stresses. While this is a catchy and quite relatable song, it doesn’t really help anyone deal with the stresses. But, the stress we encounter isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A certain level of stress helps us to get work done and be productive. Stress becomes an issue when it starts to impact the way we are feeling, whether it is our emotional or physical state. Andrea Gerding and Sarah Rubenstein- Gilis from Gannet recommended some things to help when the stress turns from helpful to hurtful.
The biggest takeaway I got from their advice was sleep. I’ve always been someone who needs their sleep. In high school, I had to be in bed by 9, 9:30 at the latest to function properly the next day. As I’ve progressed through college, this 9:30 bed time has somehow disappeared, but I still know the importance of sleep. I learned that the amount of sleep you’re supposed to actually get is over nine hours. The statistic always thrown around is eight hours, but the 9 is what you’re actually supposed to get. In addition, I learned that most muscle recovery happens in the seventh hour. I did not know this beforehand. Muscle recovery is such an important part of life, both with athletics and the everyday stresses that I found this extremely interesting.
Another thing I learned from them was about meditation. We were lead in a 5 minute mediation at the end of their talk. This meditation left me feeling slightly sleepy, but very calm. Since it only took a few minutes, it is something that can be done even in the busiest of times. The research related to meditation showed a ton of positive benefits. Something like this would be a quick way to get yourself back on track during even in the most stressful times.