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Each column provides advice/examples on different techniques for handling stress!

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We hope that students can use this padlet as a resource to find out how to use new strategies in order to reduce stress and to find out what works best for them!

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Meditation is one of the most common and useful ways to manage stress. Meditation involves focusing your mind in way which allows you to disassociate from stressful times. Meditation can improve your mental state and make it easier to complete tasks. The aid meditation provides in soothing stress truly can go a long way!

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Exercise reduces stress hormones such as cortisol and also releases endorphins. This combination makes you feel calm and in control which therefore minimizes feelings of stress!

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Here's a cool article about how exercise can improve mental health!

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Here's a cool article about how exercise can improve mental health!

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One of the best things that parents can do for their kids is help them build an exercise habit. That might mean dance, yoga, hiking or high school athletics. It should be something they really enjoy, so they're inspired to keep doing it.

Why is exercise so essential for teens? Because physical activity has significant benefits for teen mental health, according to a large body of research. In fact, exercise can even be as effective as antidepressants. And, on the flip side, physical inactivity is associated with the development of psychological disorders.
Studies show that exercise has the following benefits for teen mental health:

Positively impacts levels of serotonin, a chemical that helps regulate mental health.

Releases endorphins, the body's natural "happy chemicals."

Lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol .

Stimulates the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which improves mood.

Increases self-esteem and body positivity.

Helps teens sleep better.

Evidence shows that teen athletics are particularly supportive, on a number of levels.

According to a Canadian study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, students who play team sports in grades eight through 12 have less stress and depression as young adults. Teens who play sports also gain confidence, critical-thinking and judgment skills, as well as increased cognitive function.

However, just about any type of physical exercise is beneficial. In a small study of a dozen young adults at the University of Newcastle in Australia, participants with major depressive disorder exercised regularly; after 12 weeks of exercise, 10 of the participants were no longer categorized as depressed. Regular exercise has also been shown to decrease symptoms of anxiety.

And the effects are long-lasting: In one study, researchers found that people who got regular vigorous exercise were 25 percent less likely to develop depression or an anxiety disorder over the next five years.

According to James S. Gordon, author of"Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression,""Physical exercise has direct effects on the biology and psychology of depression. ... Exercising, we discover that feelings of helplessness and hopelessness begin to fade."
Another important benefit for teens: Exercise prevents substance use disorder.
As well as keeping anxiety and depression at bay, physical activity helps fight addiction. Research on lab rats and mice shows that regular exercise reduces the inclination to use drugs and alcohol. In essence, physical activity provides a healthy alternative reward for the brain, catalyzing a powerful surge of dopamine. And finding healthy ways to increase dopamine is key to successful recovery, especially in the early stages.

Additionally, exercise combats addiction because it addresses two of the major motivators for substance and alcohol abuse: depression and anxiety. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, teens who have substance use disorder are roughly twice as likely to have mood and anxiety disorders compared with the general population, and those with mood and anxiety disorders are more likely to use drugs. State of mind is intimately linked with substance use.
However, there are risks associated with teen sports.
When teen athletes feel pressured to overachieve in sports, they sometimes turn to performance-enhancing drugs. In the federal government's annual Monitoring the Future study, researchers examined the use of performance-enhancing substances among 67,000 high school students. Overall, close to 7 percent of students reported trying anabolic steroids at least once - an increase from 2012, when it was 5 percent.

In addition, doctors often prescribe medication for sports injuries, which can lead to addiction, causing serious health problems and even death. Therefore, coaches, doctors and parents need to monitor teen athletes closely, and be vigilant about avoiding addictive methods of pain relief for injured teens.
Researchers say that how often we exercise is more important for mental health than how vigorously we exercise.
"Data regarding the positive mood effects of exercise involvement, independent of fitness gains, suggest that the focus should be on frequency of exercise rather than duration or intensity," say Lynette Craft and Frank Perna, authors of a review of research on the benefits of exercise for clinical depression. According to experts, teens who do some sort of physical activity three to five times a week, for at least 30 minutes, can reap mental health benefits.

Bottom line: Encouraging teens to get moving is worth the extra time, money or driving that teen exercise or athletics might require from parents. Ultimately, it will give them a strong foundation for physical and mental well-being for the rest of their lives.

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Get Moving: The Benefits of Exercise for Teen Mental Health

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One of the best things that parents can do for their kids is help them build an exercise habit. That might mean dance, yoga, hiking or high school athletics. It should be something they really enjoy, so they're inspired to keep doing it. Why is exercise so essential for teens?

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Feeling stressed? Try one of these activities!

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Feeling stressed? Try one of these activities!

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Go for a walk or jog!

Have a dance party!

Try some yoga!

Go for a swim!

Go to a gym!

Practice your sport!

Bottom line, pick an activity that will get your heart rate going and that you'll enjoy!

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Try out this guided yoga video for beginners!

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Try out this guided yoga video for beginners!

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10-Minute Yoga For Beginners | Start Yoga Here...

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Give this beginner at-home workout a try!

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Give this beginner at-home workout a try!

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20 min FULL BODY Workout for TOTAL BEGINNERS (No Equipment)

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Having a balanced diet strengthens your immune system and cell regrowth which gives your body the extra energy that it needs to cope with stressful events.

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Don't stress eat! Instead, try one of the following:

Carbs - All carbs prompt the brain to make serotonin!

Oranges - Vitamin C can lower levels of stress hormones!

Almonds - Vitamin B can make you more resilient during periods of stress and depression!

Raw vegetables - crunching down on a carrot or cucumber helps release a clenched jaw which fends off tension!

Don't have or like any of these, don't worry! Your favorite comfort meal or snack will work just as well!

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Check out this article about the link between nutrition and stress!

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Check out this article about the link between nutrition and stress!

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Are you feeling stressed? If you're like most people, chances are the answer is yes. As if the daily pressures of life weren't enough, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed stress levels to new heights. A recent study, for example, found that 38% of study participants had experienced some degree of distress due to COVID-19. Moreover, an additional 16% were highly distressed "and likely in need of mental health services."

These relationships are clinically meaningful, yet there has been so little clinical research in this area.

As nutrition scientists, practitioners and policymakers, we are particularly interested in learning how stress affects nutrition and, conversely, how nutrition affects stress. Dr. Elissa Epel, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, has dedicated much of her career to addressing these questions. According to Dr. Epel, "these relationships are clinically meaningful, yet there has been so little clinical research in this area." Recently, Dr. Epel shared her insights into the complex relationships between stress, nutrition, and chronic disease during Food and the Aging Brain: Updates on Nutrition and Cognitive Health in Older Adults, a webinar sponsored by the Food Forum, with support from Sarah Ohlhorst, ASN's Chief Science Policy Officer, who served on the planning committee.

During the webinar, Dr. Epel explained how stress triggers our drive for comfort food, including excess sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets such as baked goods. At the same time, during times of stress, we tend to lower our intake of whole foods, fruits, and vegetables. This, in turn, leads to a higher risk of insulin resistance, excess visceral fat, and type 2 diabetes.

Stress has its own deleterious effects on health, but eating junk food while stressed synergistically leads to metabolic havoc.

Interestingly, stress appears to have its own impact on health outcomes independent of its impact on the food we select. Dr. Epel pointed to an animal model study in which rodents were fed a "junk food" diet. A subset of the rodents were exposed to chronic stress (such as predator odors). The junk food alone did not lead to an increase in visceral fat among the rodents, but when the animals were also stressed, the combination of stress and poor diet substantially increased visceral fat and the risk of early metabolic disease.

Dr. Epel and colleagues have found that these same relationships exist among people. In one study, for example, highly stressed maternal caregivers exhibited greater compulsive eating and increased abdominal fat over several years.

Just as stress can affect nutrition, nutrition can affect stress. As evidence, Dr. Epel discussed the results of population-based studies that found that dietary patterns emphasizing whole foods were associated with lower depression, anxiety and stress, whereas a typical Western dietary pattern was associated with a higher risk of poor mental health. In addition, Dr. Epel's research has found that mindful eating during pregnancy, particularly among low-income women with overweight, can reduce stress eating and improve glucose control.

Studies published in ASN journals echo Dr. Epel's findings demonstrating how stress and our overall emotional state shape our eating behavior and food choices. For example, in his Advances in Nutrition review, " The Effects of Psychological and Environmental Stress on Micronutrient Concentrations in the Body: A Review of the Evidence," Adrian L. Lopresti noted that "although research is somewhat limited and the robustness of research is variable, the bulk of evidence suggests psychological and physical stress can influence concentrations of several micronutrients." In particular, the author pointed to studies that found a link between stress and the depletion of magnesium, zinc, calcium, and iron concentrations.

Chronic stress played a role in negatively influencing dietary behaviors.

A study published in Current Developments in Nutrition, " Chronic Stress and Unhealthy Dietary Behaviors among Low-Income African-American Female Caregivers," found that "chronic stress played a role in negatively influencing dietary behaviors." In particular, a connection was seen between chronic stress and a higher consumption of soda and fatty foods. The authors, Sungwoo Lim et al., noted that "almost 41% of this association was explained by an indirect pathway through depressive symptoms."

A similar study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, " Occupational Burnout, Eating Behavior, and Weight among Working Women," found that women experiencing occupational burnout, resulting from chronic on-the-job stress, "may be more vulnerable to emotional eating and uncontrolled eating and have a hindered ability to make changes in their eating behavior." Among subjects who were overweight or obese, authors Nina J. Nevanperä et al. noted, "failure to make changes due to burnout and reduced resources may impair self-esteem and self-efficacy, which are important for achieving success in weight maintenance."

Another facet of stress eating is emotional eating, which refers to how we eat in response to negative emotions often brought on by stress. The topic was addressed in " The Associations between Emotional Eating and Consumption of Energy-Dense Snack Foods Are Modified by Sex and Depressive Symptomatology," published in The Journal of Nutrition. Authors Géraldine M. Camilleri et al. observed "a positive association between emotional eating and energy-dense snack-food intake." Interestingly, among women the presence of depressive symptoms exacerbated this association; however, among men the relation between emotional eating and energy-dense snack foods was found only among men who did not exhibit depressive symptoms.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to better understand the relationship between nutrition and stress so that we can better help people maintain their health during these highly stressful times. If you are conducting research in this area, please consider publishing your research results in an ASN journal. We'll make sure your important findings are quickly disseminated around the world, helping to build a strong body of evidence to inform clinical practice and further research in this important and timely area of research.

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Are you feeling stressed? If you're like most people, chances are the answer is yes. As if the daily pressures of life weren't enough, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed stress levels to new heights. A recent study, for example, found that 38% of study participants had experienced some degree of distress due to COVID-19.

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Try some of these comfort food recipes to help you feel better when stressed! 

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Try some of these comfort food recipes to help you feel better when stressed! 

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For comfort food recipes like lasagna, potato casseroles, chicken soup, and meatloaf--just to name a few-- look no further. We have them all, tried and true, rated and reviewed.

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There are a variety of guided meditations available for free on platforms such as youtube and spotify. Meditations can be as short as 5 minutes or as long as 50 minutes. The tutorial you follow can also be curated to you particular need. For example, some meditations could be specifically to help you get better sleep other good assist after a particularly overwhelming day. Even if you don't follow a tutorial, simply taking a few intentional deep breathes can make all the difference.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7d5Plai03g

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Here is a 5 minute beginners meditation!

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Here is a 5 minute beginners meditation!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inpok4MKVLM

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5-Minute Meditation You Can Do Anywhere | Goodful

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Academic burnout ofter occurs  amongst students, particularly teenagers. This is when a mixture of assignments, grades, social life, and extra-curriculars cause a prolonged sense of exhaustion.  Symptoms of this can be some of the following:
- Poor eating
-Constant Procrastination/ A lot of overdue school work
-Limited Physical movement
-Lack of sleep
-Significant reduction in socializing

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One of the first, and admittedly challenging steps of coping with academic burnout, is to reach out. While it's most important to inform your parents, it can be beneficial to inform your teachers if you're looking to request extensions or corrections for exams and assignments. While a teacher may not fulfill your request, simply getting a handle on what work you have to make up or complete can provide a sense of motivation which can help overcome the burnout.

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Overcoming academic burnout does not mean studying 24/7, it can actually mean to build a consistent routine. While everyone's routine will fluctuate depending on the activities they do, their commute, and their schools start and end times, there is a basic layout for a healthy routine which will cope with academic stress. Here are the factors needed for a healthy routine.

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Your routine must involve getting an adequate amount of sleep. teenagers are recommended to get around 8-10 hours however getting a little less sleep is better that getting next to no sleep and justifying it by getting more sleep of the weekend. Think of it this way, getting 6-7 hours of sleep during the school week and 9-10 on the weekend is better than getting 3-4 hours of sleep during the school week and 12-14 on the weekend.

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Food gives you energy! maintaining a balanced diet improves you mood, health, and energy level. It's important to have 3 meals per day and to listen to your body! reference the nutrition section for more information.

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The most important way to build a routine, and overcome academic burnout is through consistency. Results are never immediate, but sticking with a routine, and continuing to try to overcome that burnout will provide results!