Acupressure and Its Role in Improving Mental Well-Being Among College Students

Abstract

College students frequently experience academic pressure, examination stress, financial concerns, social challenges, and uncertainty about future careers. These pressures may contribute to anxiety, negative mood, fatigue, and reduced psychological well-being. Acupressure is a non-invasive complementary intervention involving manual stimulation of selected points and has been investigated as a possible approach for stress and anxiety management. This paper reviews the role of acupressure in improving mental well-being among college students, with particular attention to stress, anxiety, mood, physiological responses, self-administered techniques, and practical implementation. Evidence directly involving college students is limited but informative. A randomized controlled trial involving 109 healthy college students found that a single 40-minute acupressure session did not produce a significantly greater stress reduction than placebo acupressure or a relaxation control, although all three interventions reduced physiological and subjective stress responses. Another randomized controlled trial involving 54 Japanese college students found significantly greater improvements in several mood dimensions after two weeks of self-administered acupressure. Broader systematic reviews also suggest that acupressure can reduce anxiety, although substantial heterogeneity across studies limits certainty. Acupressure may therefore be considered a potentially useful, low-burden complementary strategy for student well-being, but it should not replace professional mental-health care when clinically indicated.