With college being a balancing act between deadlines and social life, many students find little to no time to fit much else into their busy schedules, let alone, ways to reduce stress.
Michael Duke, an anthropology professor at the University of Memphis, defined stress as the way the body physically responds to a perceived challenge.
"Stress, and the stress response, is both positive and necessary to a certain extent," Duke said. "It becomes detrimental when the stress remains constant over an extended period of time."
According to Duke, among a tense posture and overall nervousness, there are a few tell-tell indicators that a person is stressed out.
"Many people, though, do not display physical signs of stress no matter how stressed out they are, or else the signs are subtle," he said. "In other words, it is not always possible to tell how stressed out another person is unless you know him (or her) well."
Duke said he spends time with his family and plays music to calm his nerves during stressful situations.
Another viable stress reliever is exercise.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exercising is one of the most beneficial methods to relieve stress.
By exercising, the body releases endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are chemicals that help reduce the sensation of pain.
Endorphins are also induced by activities such as consuming alcohol and meditation.
Luckily, exercising is far less dangerous than drinking, and for those with a short attention span-it is more stimulating than meditation.
Although for University of Memphis Yoga Instructor, Bob Hughes, meditation doesn't hurt.
He meditates twice a day and has been doing yoga for 40 years.
"Yoga really does relieve stress-its just helped with so many things," said the 66-year-old yoga guru.
He attributed yoga with alleviating the symptoms of his personal health issues including asthma and migraines.
Hughes has personally been affected by including Yoga into his daily routine, but admitted he was even more pleased to hear how it has affected so many of his students.
"I've heard so much from them (my students)-it helped with their road rage, their grades have gone up, they get along better with their spouses or main squeezes," Hughes said.
Hughes believes stress is unavoidable. For Hughes, the death of both of his parents went beyond inducing stress.
His mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and he took care of her during her final days.
"She was in hospice care, and I saw her, I must say yoga helped me maintain my sanity," Hughes said.
Although he does advocate bodily movement to alleviate stress, Hughes, who graduated from the U of M with a doctorate and Master's in Counseling, also suggests talking to professionals if situations get too extreme.
