With midterm exams in full swing, the University of Rhode Island’s College of Business held a stress relief presentation on Oct. 24, in Ballentine Hall.
The COB called on Jessica Greene, assistant director of Health Promotion and Wellness at URI, to give the presentation to all in attendance. The purpose of the presentation, according to Greene, was to give students information on how to relieve stress and reach out to accessible resources.
“This is an important time of year right now,” Greene said. “We know that midterms are happening and students are feeling a little more overwhelmed and anxious.”
Greene began the presentation by asking the audiences to assemble in groups. The groups were given hypothetical stories of individuals undergoing symptoms of stress, where they were then asked to provide their own commentary.
This gave Greene a segue to emphasize sleep, self experience/perception and physical health as key factors that contribute towards stress relief.
“You have a tool box of different skills and useful things that can help you manage challenges,” according to Greene.
Greene said that everyone has tools that they can use to navigate through stressful situations that we attain through our own life experiences.
“Sometimes the toolbox is great and you want to reuse those tools and sometimes it’s not and you need to learn something new,” Greene said.
Young adults need at least six to eight hours of sleep in order to fully function but there are many different external factors that affect the attainment of those ideal hours of sleep, according to Greene.
“The most important things to remember about sleep are sound, light and temperature,” Greene said.
Greene noted that phone use shortly before bed can affect the body’s ability to release melatonin and allow for one to fall asleep due to the amount of direct light exposure that a phone projects.
“Your body needs to see complete darkness in order to sleep and your ideal temperature should be 66 degrees Fahrenheit,” Greene said.
Greene recommended the use of sleep apps in order to build strong and healthy sleep habits. Greene went into detail about the importance of staying active as well, and emphasized the importance of exercise.
For on campus students, alternatives to the gym can be as simple as using the hill or the bike path, according to Greene. Proper nutrition and hydration also play a key role in conjunction with sufficient exercise.
Greene mentioned the URI Eating Concerns Advisors as a resource, a club that raises awareness for disordered eating and body image issues. They provide students with nutritious meal plans and offer support for those in need. Health Services can serve as an additional resource, as they offer a mini walk-in clinic.
Student feedback was positive after the presentation.
“I really like how [Greene] mentioned all the different resources on campus that maybe not a whole lot of students know about,” Kelsey said, a fourth-year marketing major. “There’s a tutoring center, wellness center, and a counseling center. It sucks that we’re seniors and didn’t find out about these resources until now.”
For more information students can email [email protected] or visit URI Health Services. Their hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.