Boluwarin Martins

No one can ever “gets used to” school stress. It is true that a final-year student feels as much pressure and stress as a freshman who is new to the system. Being a student at the University of Ibadan, you’ve signed up to an educational learning system that requires a lot of critical thinking. Coupled with this is the introduction to a novel online mode of learning, which many a student finds daunting to adapt to or navigate through. Should we talk about the endless assignments, your need to balance and succeed in other personal endeavours, and navigating your way through adulthood? Being a Nigerian student is a full-time job.

However, if you are not mindful of the pressures from every quarter listed above, school stress would affect your health, and one of the first places it would show up is on your face. How does school stress affect your face?

School Stress Causes Rashes

No one knows you as much as you know yourself; if you have been mentally strained lately and you suddenly have an outbreak of rashes, it is not you reacting to water or anything else — YOU ARE STRESSED. Studies have shown that stress weakens the immune system to a point that it becomes susceptible to skin infections or trigger stress rash. This stress rash or hive, as it is sometimes called, can appear on the face or on other parts of the body.

How School Stress Affects Your Face: Eye Bags And Dark Circles

Mental pressure can hinder you from resting or catching sleep, even when you are extremely tired and need to sleep. In this situation, the mind has been overwhelmed with assignments and deadlines, the brain has been overworking; absorbing a lot of disparate information within a short time, and the body is fatigued. This can affect blood circulation. School stress can reduce the amount of time you have to sleep and this may lead to eye bags and dark circles underneath the eyes. But beyond lack of enough sleep, stress on its own causes the dark circles and puffy eyes.

School Stress Causes Acne

School stress can cause your hormones to be in disorder. Sudden breakouts may be triggered by stress because when the mind and body is stretched beyond what it can take, the oil glands in the body produces more oil resulting in the appearance of blackheads, whiteheads and other skin conditions. People with oily skins have a higher tendency of having stress-triggered acne than dry and normal skin types.

How School Stress Affects Your Face: Wrinkles

No one smiles when under pressure. Many times, a typical way to know a student that is stressed out is one with a furrowed brow. Constant frowning can cause lines to appear on the face. Research has it that cortisol, the stress hormone, depletes collagen and affects the elasticity of the skin. Prolonged period of stress can cause wrinkles to appear on the face especially the eyes, the skin condition known as crow feet.

School Stress Causes Dry Skin

There is a chain. Stress leads to dehydration which eventually causes dry and flaky skin.

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Tips for Dealing with School Stress

• Get a to-do list or journal: Your brain is doing enough work by assimilating all your notes, it doesn’t have to do the work of a reminder. Learn to jot down important information in a note pad or journal. Also, you can set alarms so you can be reminded of those important things scheduled.

• Go on breaks: Learn to take breaks during your reading time. You don’t have to go on that reading stretch. Taking breaks helps the mind to relax. You deal with school stress by resting after each lectures, if you do not have another coming up immediately.

• Talk to friends: Decluttering your mind through conversations with friends helps you deal with any form of concern. Sometimes a friend advice can help you solve a problem, give you a positive perspective towards handling that issue or the fact that you have someone who can listen to you pour out your mind can be easing.

• Sleep: It is important that you do not deprive your body of its required hours of sleep. It is a brain that rests well that assimilates well. Strive to get enough sleep. It is pertinent to your mental, physical and academic well-being.

• Drink a lot of water and do not skip meals.

For remedies of each of the skin conditions listed above, visit a dermatologist so that you can have clinically prescribed drugs or products to tackle the stress-induced skin problems. Finally, always keep a positive attitude towards life and take everything one step at a time. Have a stress-free academic session ahead.