How Busy Adults Can Reduce Back-To-School Stress

It's time to reduce back to school stress and return to routine after the Summer! Whether you are:

•     A working parent getting your kids ready for the school year
•     A college student returning to school in the fall
•     Simply getting back into a routine after the Summer vacation
  

Often, we start feeling stress, tension, or increased anxiety, making us feel less than ideal. As if that wasn't hard enough, now skyrocketing inflation adds another concern for adults struggling to afford back-to-school clothing, school supplies, and after-school care.

Resilience and refuge are more crucial than ever for parents, kids, and even college students in these challenging times.

Here are some ways to reduce back-to-school stress from Barbie's Beauty Bits to get through this year's hustle.

Understand Stress Is A Natural Defense To Uncertainty

Realize that stress is a natural reaction to uncertainty. The problem, however, is that too much stress can be detrimental to our health.

In a report by the National Institute for Mental Health, anxiety disorder and chronic stress affect the immune system, digestion, cardiovascular system, sleep, and reproductive system. Symptoms vary from person to person, including digestive problems, headaches, sleeplessness, sadness, anger, and irritability.

Hence having your feelings validated (and kids) ease back-to-school anxiety, support your child (especially the younger children who may have separation anxiety), and adopt some back-to-school stress relievers. 

These steps are essential to help you during this difficult time.

Resume A Routine To Help Reduce Back To School Stress

During the summer months, routines often take a vacation as well. Add regulating patterns to your household's schedule a few weeks before school starts to reduce stress and help transition back to the school schedule.

If no one has been maintaining a bedtime during summer break, set one that can be held for the school nights (this goes for parents, college students, basically all family members too). Getting much-needed sleep will help everyone with the first day of school, properly adjust to the change in schedule, and benefit everyone's mood and immune system.

If the family has been sleeping late over the Summer, start waking up close to the time you need to get up for school. If you haven't been eating regularly, stick to regular meal times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Include some fun rituals into the evening or weekend routine that can continue after school starts, in addition to a regular chore.

The first few weeks of school are also an excellent time to schedule playdates or activities with a friend of your child's. Psychologically, spending time with peers during times of transition or high stress can help reduce stress.

Maintaining a routine can help those struggling with anxiety,  reduce stress and promote resilience. (That applies to parents, too!)

How CBD Can Help College Students With Stress

There's no denying that college students are under tremendous pressure. Your schedule is packed with academics, internships, socializing, and much more.

Plus, when you're just coming into your own, it's easy to feel nervous and stressed out about the future at this time.

It has been shown that CBD can reduce symptoms of anxiety and stress. So you can become excited about going out on your own, rather than nervous. And of course that "Squirrel Brain", finding it difficult to concentrate!

If you haven't tried CBD products, you might want to educate yourself on CBD products from  CBDistillery and see if they could be helpful to you when you feel anxious or a lack of focus. Many people find that using these products is beneficial.

Take Deep Breaths To Help With Stress

Stress often causes you to think less clearly than you might otherwise. Breathing exercises can help you calm down quickly. They are especially useful for reducing anxiety before tests and other stressful times. You can do them virtually anywhere and relieve stress in just a few minutes. 

Engage In Some Creative Activity To Help Minimize Stress Levels

Getting in touch with your creative energy can boost your overall health. It might sound silly, but an activity as simple as coloring in a trending adult coloring book outdoors or back in your dorm can improve brain function, psychological well-being, and physical health.

Crafting is another form of creativity. Believe it or not, many compare crafting to meditation for its calming effects on the brain and body. Crafting has also proved to help focus the mind.  

Being creative helps us enter a calm state, in which all our negative thoughts melt away, and we simply exist in the present moment. Whether baking, crafting, arts and crafts, it doesn't matter. You just need to do whatever your heart desires without worrying about how well you do; most importantly, you love it.

Enjoy The Outdoors To Help Minimize Back To School Stress

The benefits of spending time in nature and exercising for both kids and adults have been demonstrated in numerous studies. The results were extraordinary: Stress hormones, blood pressure, and heart rate levels decreased.

Exercising reduces tension and releases feel-good brain chemicals that elevate your mood and support calm. In addition to helping you sleep better, regular exercise can also help your kids!

Don't complicate things. Even a half-hour or 15 minutes can make a huge difference. After school begins, you can continue this activity as part of your "routine."

Meditate Outdoors To Reduce Stress And Anxiety

Since you are already enjoying the beautiful outdoors, why not combine it with one of the best things you can do for your mental health, which is meditation? The practice of going to the nearest natural setting, preferably a forest, and simply meditating on your surroundings is known as "forest bathing" in Japan. Get completely absorbed in the here and now, and pay attention to everything that may be seen, heard, smelled, and felt.

Revamp Your Skincare With Some Retinol To Help With Stress

Not only can stress affect your mind, but stress can also take a toll on your complexion. The effects of stress can be seen in an increase in cortisol levels, which, in turn, leads to an increase in inflammation, like swollen eyes due to a lack of sleep and dry skin from eating unhealthy. Stress can even show up as stress wrinkles! Have you ever heard the expression "worry lines"? Those pesky lines on the forehead area!

One skincare ingredient that can improve stress-induced skin is topical retinol. Studies have shown that retinol can be a strategy to attenuate the effects of stress on the skin as it promotes collagen and elastic fiber production and reduces protease synthesis.

A product I love this time of year is "The A Method Pearls of Retinol." It's common to see people's skin become very dry when using retinol without any follow-up products. But not with this system, as it offers the perfect microdosing scenario with hydrating ingredients, like Hyaluronic Acid, Panthenol, and 24K Gold, that prevent dryness, redness, and irritation.

They offer 0.5% and 1% strengths to build strength and tolerance. 

Pamper Yourself: Self-Care Solutions For Stress Relief

We saved this for last. As it is important to set an example for your children and prioritize your health and well-being during this stressful transitional time. 

First, let's clear up one common misconception: Self-care does not mean self-indulgence, vanity, or selfishness.

Self-care means taking care of yourself to stay healthy. From managing stress physically and mentally to lowering blood pressure, self-care for anxiety, and even the amount of sleep you get. The health benefits will not only allow you to succeed at work and care for others but basically live.

The need for self-care to take better care of yourself is more prevalent than ever, especially this time of year, and it doesn't haven't to be something extravagant. It can be something as simple as a stress-relieving massage, an uplifting facial, a hair blowout, or a relaxing spa treatment, these are a must for the ultimate self-care practices.

To Sum It Up
Realize it is normal to occasionally become stressed in anticipation of a test, getting the kids off to school for the first time, and balance family and work.

If you sense you are over committed, you may feel like you are failing in every sphere of your life. You may sometimes notice you are frustrated and wonder why everyone else seems to manage school, kids, and work so quickly. Most adults deal with stress daily, and you are not to blame. Despite this, you can still make it easier by following the steps above.