I have mentioned mental health on here many times before. I think maintaining your mental health is just as important as working on your physical health.
This has come to the front of my attention this week as my husband enters academic crunch mode. It is finals week in our college town and the anxiety and stress in the air is almost palpable. For those who do not know, finals week is the final week of class before the semester ends. All of the classes have their final exams to test their knowledge for the semester. For a full time student this means 4-5 tests in a short period of time. And these kind of tests are sometimes cumulative (meaning anything taught during the semester is game, not just the material recently taught).
Stress
It is not uncommon to find frazzled, sleep deprived students cramming in the library. One word to describe the whole event is stressful.
When my husband is studying I try to do whatever I can to relieve the stress. When you overstress, your mind has a hard time relaxing and you tend to do worse on tests. So stress management is extremely important to succeed during finals week. And I’m pretty sure our cheap student health insurance would not cover a mental breakdown from my husband.
The tips for you
Here are some ways to beat finals blues and come out with that A grade.
- Take breaks. Prolonged studying without a break will wind your brain down. You would not exercise for three hours straight, right? The same goes for your mind. It gets exhausted and needs to get recharged. Take a break every hour or so. Get a snack, talk with a friend, go to the gym. Anything to give your mind a break.
- Eat well. Many students forget to eat healthy (if they eat healthy normally) when finals roll around. One thing we can agree on is eating healthy is good for your body and good for you mind. If you want to be on your top game, eat like you are. Make sure you eat a good breakfast everyday to ensure the best brain power. Reach for high protein snacks like nuts to help keep you full and avoid sugary treats. And don’t even think about stepping near an energy drink. Those will have you flying high and crashing in no time.
- Prioritize. Trying to study for every test at the same time will get you nowhere. In order to study effectively and to maintain your mental acuity, it is extremely important to make a game plan. Whether it is a calendar telling you to study what and when, or assessing what areas and topics you need to spend more time on. Prioritizing is the only way you will successfully get everything done.
- Relax. When you are not studying, put school out of your mind. It will not help you to over stress. Listen to relaxing music, have fun with a friend or do something you love. You deserve it.