College is a time of extreme stress due to social and parental pressures. College students have expectations that they must live up to in order to meet and satisfy the needs of both their parents and society. Stress is expressed through a series of symptoms that can be dangerous for the student's physical and mental health. With such high expectations to perform well in college, students may suffer from sleep deprivation, which impairs mental capacity, but sleep deprivation is only one of a wide range of symptoms. Stress is present in all aspects of life and there are multiple causes of stress, especially during the university period which can present itself through many symptoms, but with stress there are also various coping methods to help students deal with it. Stress presents itself in different ways. Some students may experience changes in sleeping and eating habits, increased frequency of headaches, increased levels of frustration and anger, being more irritable than normal, recurring colds and minor illnesses, frequent muscle aches and stiffness, being more disorganized than usual. usual, greater sense of persistent time pressure and greater difficulty in getting things done. Stressed college students may express multiple symptoms at once, which may make them unable to complete homework or even carry out daily activities. It's important to learn to recognize when your stress levels are out of control. The most dangerous thing about stress is how easily it can creep into students. They get used to it and it starts to feel familiar. Students don't realize how much this is affecting them, even though it takes a heavy toll. The signs and symptoms of stress overload can be almost anything. Stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in many ways, ... middle of paper ... and life, college students must learn when to put aside their busy lifestyles to make room for activities and events that help take their minds off the work they do. Works Cited Hargreaves, G. (1998). Stress Management: The Essential Guide to Thinking and Working Smarter. New York: Amacon.Klainberg, M., Ewing, B., & Ryan, M. (2010). Reducing stress on a college campus. Journal of the New York State Nurses Association. 41(2), 4-7. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Lupien, S.J., McEwan, B.S., Gunnar, M.R., & Heim, C. (2009). Lifelong effects of stress on the brain, behavior, and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 434-445. Matthews, G., & Campbell, S. (2009). Sustained performance under overload: Personality and individual differences in stress and coping. Theoretical Issues in the Science of Ergonomics, 10(5), 417-422. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.