During this turbulent week before finals, many St. Olaf students are looking for ways to de-stress in between the never-ending essays and midterms thrown at them by their professors. Look no further than these eight best ways to de-stress using media.
Instagram: Animal appreciation
Never have majestic images of animals been so needed. In between the videos of dogs riding skateboards and the memes of what the animals are thinking are heartwrenching photographs of a father dog looking over his baby pup and otters holding hands.
Skype or facetime a loved one:
Talking to someone close during a stressful time can remind you that you will be okay even if you fail that approaching Principles of Economics midterm you haven’t studied for yet. Loved ones can also help motivate you to study for your midterm or start that essay. Having someone remind you that spring break is only one day away can make you feel a lot better.
Voodoo games (the company not witchcraft):
Hole.io, Paper.io, Slither.io, Boas.io, Crowd city, need I go on? If you have not heard about any of these games, please excuse yourself from under the rock you live and play them ASAP. If you wish to de-stress and procrastinate for one more hour these games are your heroes.
Pixel art:
“Pixel art is a pixelated color by number app, where players are allowed to choose the pictures you color in, even being able to import your own photos to color,” Emma Chambers ’21, an avid user of the app, said.
Netflix and chillax with your favorite show:
What better way to forget everything you should be doing than by binge-watching the entire new season of “Queer Eye” or “Grace and Frankie”? No other way. That’s it – Netflix is your best bet.
“It is important to remember that self-care and destressing is the key to feeling more productive and energized. ” – Elie Nederloe’21
Terrarium:
This is a plant-growing app where players buy plants as seedlings and grow them in this app. As the plants grow, the player is given bubbles of oxygen in return, which they, in turn, can use to upgrade the plants they currently have or purchase more plants. My personal favorite plants are the Mikado, the Venus Flytrap and the Paddle plant.
Music chill time
Lay on the floor (after having vacuumed), turn on some music and relax. Hang with some friends and have some music going in the background or go up to fourth-floor regents put some headphones in your ears and watch the sky change in front of your eyes. De-stress with any type of music that comforts you and brings back good memories.
Headspace:
Headspace is a free meditation app offering different sessions based on the user’s different needs at that time. They offer ones on stress and anxiety, loneliness, relationships and how to sleep better, most things someone may want to improve on in their life. They are 3-10 minute long sessions based on the amount of time you have and are very relaxing.
With these eight ways to relax using varying forms of media, you can feel more relaxed in a short amount of time. It is important to remember that self-care and de-stressing is the key to feeling more productive and energized. While not all of these ways will help, I hope at least one benefits you in the future.
