Hannah Cilliers, Kenzie Huether, Kendall Hewitt, Kobe Lage, Kristopher Meissner-Frisk, Alexa Medrano, Brooke Heth, Joseph Butzke Grand Canyon University
Stress is a natural physiological response to challenges and demands. College students often report stress as a major issue within their day-to-day life and struggle to find the proper methods for mitigating feelings of stress while building resilience. When stress evolves to become chronic, it can have serious consequences for mental and physical well-being, such as anxiety, depression, and dysfunction of the immune system. Given these risks, it is imperative to develop accessible and affordable stress management techniques within college students for their academic performance, their physical health, and their mental well-being. However, many interventions are inaccessible to undergraduate students due to cost and loca-tion. A myriad of these evidence-based interventions, including exercise, walking, yoga, breathing, and mindfulness, have shown promise in reducing stress and improving overall well-being. Within this litera-ture review, the authors aim to explore the effectiveness of these strategies, synthesizing recent research on their impact on stress reduction and how college students can adapt these methods for their benefit.
Keywords: stress, undergraduate students, stress reduction, exercise, yoga, walking, breathing, mindfulness