What’s so bad about stress? Stress makes us more alert, true. But it also means poor sleep, memory and concentration. It also results in the ‘short fuse’ when dealing with friends and family. To help bring the equilibrium of stress and relaxation back to normal, try these tips:

Vitamin C helps support the adrenal glands and reduces the effects of chronic stress. Eat lots of uncooked fruits and vegetables such as kiwis, grapefruit, mangoes, broccoli, cabbage, beans and dark green leafy veggies.

The B vitamins are needed for calm nerves and mental stability. Avoid the insanity of an overwhelming schedule with whole grains like oatmeal and couscous, green vegetables, beans and seeds, fish, eggs, nuts and nutritional yeast. The good news is that these foods also make you feel full for a longer time, which means you’ll be less tempted to waste your bucks on junk.

Magnesium is the most critical mineral for coping with stresss. It’s important in a wide array of chemical reactions in the brain and for the immune system. The last thing you need in your studious life is to get sick, so fill up on watermelon, seafood, dark leafy green veggies, bananas, dates, figs, beans, buckwheat, oats, millet and organ meats. Constant stress depletes this mineral from your body and it’s easy to become deficient on a dorm food diet.

Calcium is a mild tranquilizer for the nervous system. Use stress to your advantage and build your bones and hair at the same time with milk, yogurt, lean meats, eggs, nuts, beans and seeds, seafood and dark leafy greens!

The things which help to set your body off balance include caffeine and alcohol. These also take the glow away from your skin, and drain away your B vitamins and calcium. If you need to stay awake to cram, how about a cold splash of water on the face or a bit of stretching to get the blood circulating instead?

Excess sugar gives you momentary energy, but it robs your body of B vitamins. It also brings mood swings, low blood sugar, and can make you feel restless, tired and depressed.

Too much salt in your Ramen noodles (more than 5 grams a day or 1 teaspon) can cause a sodium/potassium imbalance and stress your kidneys. Potassium is another mineral important to proper brain and nervous system function.

Stress doesn’t have to be a bad thing. A healthy attitude towards problems and avoiding last minute dashes for the assignment deadline will help decrease pimples and increase your academic grade anyhow, so eat up our tips for anti-anxiety!