I'm sure that we all can agree that finals week is far from an enjoyable time. Stress, exams, essays, research papers, and more stress is what finals week is composed of. You also can't forget the sleepless nights and the endless cramming. Well, try to take a different approach and do finals week right this year. Get some sleep, study ahead of time, keep some healthy habits and have a little fun.

Sleep

Sleep is so important. I’m sure that you know, but it can seem really insignificant when you have a cumulative organic chemistry final at 8 a.m. and you haven’t really studied yet. I’m here to say that it is crucial to you getting a good grade! A sleep deprived person is not as good at recalling information and you are more likely to be confused about a question if you studied it on three hours of sleep. So try to get a solid 7 hours of sleep at night and more if you need it! A final is not the time to make stupid mistakes because you were cramming the night before.

Cramming

It may seem like cramming is your only option, but it isn’t. Yes, you may have a really huge test on Tuesday and another tough exam on Wednesday, but you can’t just start studying for Wednesday’s exam after Tuesday’s is finished. It is tempting, but 24 hours or less is not enough time to study for something that is cumulative or that you’ve had problems with for the whole semester. The best way to study for finals is to start a week or two early and to study a little bit of everything every day leading up to exam week. Do you need a break from biology? Study some chemistry or work on a research paper. Everything needs to get done sometime so start everything and work on each one little by little until you’re finished.

Food

Finals week is the time for midnight pizza deliveries and coffee all the damn time, but don't let all of your good habits go. Make sure that you're drinking plenty of water and still making healthy choices. You can't function on just sugar and caffeine all week, so try to mix in some fruits, granola bars, protein, and carbs to have enough energy for all of that studying.

Relax

Relaxing during finals week is so important, not only because you can’t study 24/7, but also because you are leaving school and your friends for a whole month! Make a family dinner together or go out and treat yourselves. Even go out one last time with the squad (but don't be too crazy, you do need to function tomorrow) and make some new memories. Cheers to the end of the semester!