STRESS, Learning & Performance

Pursuing a liberal arts education at a celebrated university can be STRESSFUL - but it need not be. Though the EARTH Lodge program certainly offers its members a variety of challenges (intellectual, creative, social and physical), it is specifically designed to help students devise practical strategies to navigate these challenges with increased enthusiasm and less stress.


How can digital technologies invisibly increase our stress, and how can we find a better balance for our use of them?

Like all high-demand environments, the campus atmosphere at UR can sometimes seem to encourage stress and dismiss the damaging impact stress can have on our minds and bodies. However, recent research by Stanford neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky demonstrates that it may be worthwhile to reassess our dismissal of stress if we want to live happy lives and maximize our performance.

Inspired by our readings, especially "The Eureka Hunt" by Jonah Lehrer, some 2008 Lodge members have suggested that creativity can be a key to reducing student stress as demonstrated in their brief digital essay "The Creativity Project."

So, next time you're tempted to surrender to the storms of stress that naturally come our way, think of the cost and remember that you can take a break and recover your peace of mind.