De-Stressing During Finals Week
As finals approach, de-stressing during finals week becomes an overwhelming task as we continue to stress while studying. Everyone has some sort of sense of anxiety and there’s no point in hiding it.
Instead of doing so, we could be finding ways to help it and de-stressing during finals week. All the studying in the world won’t help you find as much peace as taking a break and doing some of the following things I going to recommend.
Spend time with some friendly pets
There’s something calming and soothing about playing fetch with a dog, or petting a cat until it purrs. It can take you out of the moment, set aside all your stress, and put a smile on your face, which is exactly what you would need to de-stress during finals week.
If you don’t own any pets, colleges offer cuddle sessions with puppies during finals week as even my school, Central Washington University, always offers this stress relieving activity during finals week. As a final resort, going to a pet store can still bring you a bit closer to a furry friend as it wouldn’t hurt to ask to spend time with one of the pets in the store.
Meditation techniques
Consider during yoga. Even if it’s just two or three poses, slow breathing meditations help with blood flow and clearing the mind. Taking the time to stop and breath can slow down a seemingly busy schedule and release tension from the stress of studying.
The key idea is letting go of your time to refocus and realign your thoughts so that you don’t get buried under the mounds of worry and fear of failure. Even you do a bit of yoga to release the nerves and relax the muscles, it all still takes time to stop, breath, and get back on track with your studies.
Study hard a week early
This option is difficult as we often don’t think that far ahead since there isn’t as much pressure to get to studying. However, even getting ahead start on that final essay helps, starting quiz flash cards, or memorizing equations and formulas, can help when studying a few nights before the final. As finals approach, it wouldn’t hurt to start considering drafting that final essay or quizzing yourself on the material you’ve learned so far.
Get Sleep, take Vitamin C, and drink water
While that finish line is in sight and you’re more than eager to get out for spring break, it would be a darn shame to start break with a terrible cold. After my first quarter as a freshman, I had worked myself into a terrible cold at the start of my winter break, though winter break is long, it wasn’t the way I wanted to start my first time off school. So while you may feel somewhat invincible from a cold, the moment you hand in that final paper or exam your body will start to de-stress and immune system will weaken from the load lifted off.
To change that outcome, I highly recommend not pulling an all-nighter before the exam (difficult, I know) and staying fully hydrated throughout the weak. I also recommend taking Vitamin C to help boost your immune system so that it doesn’t crash after finals week. You studied hard and long to do your best on those exams, so it would only make sense that you don’t deserve a nasty cold as your reward.