No one needs to explain that 2020 isn’t going as planned. This year has been one giant train­wreck that has come with many sets of down­sides, and with that comes stress and anxi­ety. Students and teach­ers are strug­gling to keep up with virtual school, which is as frus­trat­ing as it is stress­ful. While students and teach­ers cannot change their circum­stances, there are ways to alle­vi­ate some of the suffer­ing. Here are some ways to decrease stress and anxi­ety that are completely free and easy.

Clean your space: Although clean­ing is often seen as annoy­ing or both­er­some, having an unclean room can trans­late to having an unclean mind. Living in an orga­nized space creates a comfort­ing feel­ing of being on top of things, while living in clut­ter has the tendency to create anxi­ety, which induces thoughts of being behind and not know­ing where things are when you need them. Like­wise, taking a shower and getting the filth off of your­self can have a simi­lar effect.

Exer­cise: Exer­cise is an excel­lent way to relieve stress and the proof comes from science. Accord­ing to the Mayo Clinic, phys­i­cal activ­ity increases the produc­tion of the brain’s feel-good neuro­trans­mit­ters, called endor­phins. This means exer­cise will leave you feel­ing relaxed and in control of what­ever situ­a­tion you are in.

“I really enjoy exer­cis­ing so that I can work on better­ing myself and stay­ing healthy,” said sopho­more Meghan Healy.

Yoga: Some may perceive yoga as clique and slightly over hyped, but in actu­al­ity, it is incred­i­bly effec­tive if done prop­erly. Accord­ing to Mayo Clinic, yoga is a clas­sic relax­ation tech­nique because it combines mental coping mech­a­nisms of medi­ta­tion and visu­al­iza­tion with phys­i­cal coping mech­a­nisms such as breath control and exer­cise. To utilize its bene­fits, students and staff members may discover poses online, or find yoga videos taught by real instructors.

Watch a Funny Movie/Show: Watch­ing tv can be a great way to escape your stress­ful real­ity and let your mind enjoy a break. Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube are great places to watch enter­tain­ing and hilar­i­ous content for however long it takes for your stress to decrease.

“My favorite thing to do when I’m stressed is watch movies,” states sopho­more Emily Ruther­ford. “They take my mind off of what­ever is happen­ing in my life.”

Even though life is stress­ful right now, we can still find ways to relax and have fun. Try these tips and see if it makes a differ­ence in your life!