School-Life Balance for Dental Students: Managing Stress Through Hobbies
Dentistry is a competitive field that exposes students to various pressures that can compromise their well-being.
High-stress levels can be detrimental to students' health. However, standard and complementary treatments like stress reduction techniques may help alleviate students' symptoms. You can read more in this article to learn about stress management.
Meanwhile, how can students who aspire to become oral health professionals maintain their school-life balance? What hobbies can help them cope with school-related stress?
This article lists and explains how students, in general, and those studying to become dental professionals, can balance their schoolwork and personal life.
This write-up also gives examples of hobbies to help students manage school-related stress.
School-Life Balance for Dental Students
There’s a potential link between stress-induced anxiety and work-life balance in dental students.
A study from the Journal of Dental Education showed that the University of Birmingham and University of Hong Kong students who indicated a healthy work-life balance also showed lower stress levels.
Stress and anxiety levels in dental students are usually high. Consequently, many undergraduate programs include various interventions to promote school-life balance as part of their curriculum.
However, an intentional approach to keeping a school-life balance may help reduce or prevent anxiety, stress, and other mental health issues in students enrolled in high-performance courses like dental programs.
5 Hobbies That Can Help Dental Students Manage Stress
Journaling
Whether you have superb or beginner writing skills, journaling can help you calm down and unwind after a stressful day at school.
With journaling, you can express your emotions, ideas, and viewpoints in a safe and reflective context.
Some people prefer to record their daily accomplishments in writing. These summaries of minor successes can help you appreciate how far you’ve come in your student journey, reducing your overall anxiety about perceived failure.
You can also use those records to get an honest perspective on your output and effort. Other students also enjoy writing about issues that bother or worry them in their journals.
Similarly, you may feel relieved after writing down your thoughts, leaving them on paper instead of carrying them around in your head throughout the day.
Gardening
Outdoor gardening allows you to enjoy bright and re-energizing sunshine. This hobby is also an excellent opportunity to reconnect with nature and take a break from long study hours.
Do you intend to turn a portion of your yard into a garden? You can choose plants that can thrive in your area’s climate.
But if you don’t have space for an outdoor garden, you can still relax by taking care of a few houseplants on your windowsill.
It’s best to choose low-maintenance plants that won’t require much attention but can still allow you to learn basic gardening skills and concepts.
Exercise
Physical exercise is another excellent way to de-stress after a busy school day. This hobby can also provide the added benefit of fitness and better health.
Don’t worry. Exercise can mean something other than running on a treadmill at the gym all day. There are many ways to get active, lower your stress level, and have fun.
Consider signing up for an exercise class instead of working out on your own. You can make new friends while exercising and explore new activities like Pilates, yoga, or aerobics.
Cooking
Understandably, you may dread cooking a meal once you get home from school. But this hobby may be just what you need to unwind.
Setting aside some time to prepare a delicious meal for yourself and your family may help you slow down from the hustle and bustle of seminars, lectures, and the pressure of simulated dental care practicals.
It could also be satisfying to create new dishes. Also, you can enjoy the aroma of some herbs and use cooking as an aromatherapy technique.
Puzzles
After a long, tiring day at school, dental students often struggle to "switch off" their analytical minds.
Try to spend your time solving puzzles rather than overthinking about school-related problems.
Doing puzzles is a terrific way to relax and change your concentration. Completing a puzzle can require concentration, problem-solving abilities, and detail-oriented attention.
Consequently, solving puzzles is one of the best ways for people with analytical minds, like dental students, to divert their minds from issues they encounter at school.
As indicated above, the dental program is an academically challenging course.
Some students may also feel extra stressed due to senior dentists discussing the industry’s difficulties. The reason for this culture may vary, from dental professionals warning aspirants of the risks of the career to simply providing them with a realistic picture of the job.
However, more experienced dental professionals and educators should recognize that students experience various types of stress and require techniques to manage such stresses well.
When properly managed, a specific amount of pressure can benefit the practicing dental profession. Therefore, students may benefit from schools including stress-coping mechanisms in their curricula.
Meanwhile, if you’re a dental student, you can try the suggested hobbies above to help relieve school-related stress.
References
- Stress and work-life balance in undergraduate dental students in Birmingham, United Kingdom and Hong Kong, China
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33759460/
- Teaching stress management in undergraduate dental education: are we doing enough?
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