Finals are nearing us college students every day, and it is important to veer away from all extra stress in our lives. I know that sounds like a lot to do when we have a million essays to write and last minute projects to finish., and of course the tremendous amount of studying that takes place for each final we might have. Regardless of all the craziness in stall, please try to remember about your mental health, and your health in general. Here are some tips I've tried to keep to in the past to not be as stressed out.
1. Get assignments done well in advance.
I know this can be difficult to do, especially when you have two or more assignments to finish. However, getting an assignment done even three or four days before they are due, will help out so much. When you wait until the last minute to finish an assignment you rush to get it done, and you don't do nearly as great of a job as if you had done it with a clearer conscious. If you start the assignment well in advance, you have more time to work on it over time instead of stressing to get it done in a shorter time frame.
2. Sleep more.
No more of this "staying awake until two/three in the morning to do assignments" bull-crap. It is so unhealthy to stay awake in the wee hours of the morning, I don't care what you say about how your body is this way and all that. The more you sleep you get before midnight, the better you will feel the next morning and the better sleep you will get during the night. Sleep is the necessity for your body to clear our toxins and heal from the day. It also helps if you wake up around the same time every morning so you have a routine scheduled into your subconscious. Plus, there is the potential of falling asleep during the day and not being focused enough to function properly.
3. Take breaks in between study sessions.
Make sure you are taking breaks in between studying. I know you might just want to do it all at once, but if you are studying for hours on end without any breaks, you will become fried so much more quickly. Your mind may start to wander and go off track and you will overwork yourself unnecessarily. Taking a break every 45 minutes to an hour can help space out your time so if you do start to "zone out" you can compose yourself during the break and be prepared to get back to working on whatever assignment which needs to be done.
4. Vary your studying subjects.
Speaking of studying and taking breaks, another way to help de-stress this stressful time of the year is to vary your studying subjects. Basically what this means is work on one assignment, then switch to a different one before going back to the original assignment you were working on. I know spending hours and hours at a time on one assignment can put a heavy toll on a person, so it's a good idea to switch it up and work on bits and pieces of multiple assignments at a time.
5. Eat healthy.
OK, so I know that this is hard for college students in general, but I'm absolutely serious on this one. If you eat like crap all throughout your finals, you are going to feel like crap. You need healthy, nutritious foods going into your body to keep you energized and ready for all the exams and assignments you have left for the rest of the semester. Be mindful of what you eat, and try not to eat pizza and fried foods for every meal, get some greens in there. Maybe eat a salad or something.
I know the weeks of final exams can be super stressful and everyone gets on edge, but everyone is capable of getting through it. You've got to push through and do your best, and that's all that matters. At the end of it all, if you know you've done your best then that is what is most important. i wish everyone the best of luck on all their finals, I know you can do it!
