Although stress seems to do nothing but disrupt the systems within our bodies, it is actually quite important for keeping them balanced. As such, Stress is like homeostasis. Think back to summer reading. Students were given the entire summer to finish reading a few books, yet somehow many ended up waiting until the day before school started to read them. However, on a school day with just a few hours to complete 10 different things, we manage to get it done.
One would normally associate stress with being harmful and just plain frustrating, as it can have negative mental and physical effects. It can be especially overwhelming to procrastinators. However, when stress is at an optimal level, it can actually have benefits.
“[Stress] is a motivator,” Middle School Counselor Rylan Smith said. “I think it can be beneficial if it’s not to an extreme, if you recognize stress in your body and if you recognize how you tend to cope with stress. So if I am under a lot of stress and I know that I perform better when I have a deadline coming up, then yes, it’s very beneficial for me.”
Let’s say you have a ton of assignments due on Friday, but the whole week leading up to it is filled with sports meets and practices. Along with that, you have a list of chores that have to be done by the end of the week. A common response may be to freak out and get overwhelmed. However, another response could be scheduling tasks and getting organized.
When a bunch of activities are piled on us like this, our only option is to manage our time, which can make us more efficient and productive. According to a study at Witten/Herdecke University in Germany, stress can improve memory and increase focus.
For example, people tend to be able to remember more when cramming for a test under pressure. However, it’s important to note that too much stress can also cause the memory to go blank.
The best option is to harness stress and use it to your advantage. If you find yourself already on the dark side of stress, it’s time to take a step back, rework your schedule and question your tendency to procrastinate.
“When it causes issues, health problems, the inability to perform daily tasks and the inability to cope, then you’ve reached that point where stress is actually a hindrance rather than a motivator,” Smith said.
Let’s say you don’t have any deadlines and nothing to be stressed about. Not being stressed can actually make you more passive and unmotivated. If there is a test that doesn’t seem like a big deal and it’s just not worrying you too much, you might not study as much or take it very seriously. As a result, your performance may be weaker.
“I think that stress can be beneficial because it causes you to put pressure on yourself to do better on assignments and anything important in life,” senior Jared Christopher said. “I am a perfectionist about most things, so I put stress on myself to do everything to the best of my ability.”
Ways to stay within the realm of positive stress include trying to reduce procrastination as much as possible. When you reach the point of extreme procrastination, it can have detrimental effects on your body. To avoid this, try to spread work out as much as possible and of course, manage your time, like setting time limits for each activity you need to complete. Having a fixed time for completing your math Webassign will train your brain to focus and do whatever it takes to finish before time is up. If you find yourself not being able to focus, drop it and move on to something that’s easier to focus on.
There are a lot of pros and cons when it comes to stress, and ome even seem contradicting. According to the Huffington Post, stress can strengthen your immune system, but according to Mayo Clinic, it can also put your health at risk.
It’s really up to you to decide what to do with stress. Sometimes it’s not in your control. But when it is, instead of trying to reduce the stress, try to optimize it.
