So, it’s – hashtag week five Pios! Midterms are here (if they already haven’t hit you), and the stress is all here, too!!!
Sometimes it can be really hard to figure out how to find time to relax and de-stress when all your time is dedicated to the schools. If you need some help and/or inspiration, look no further.
A. While you are studying (or doing whatever), take five minutes to focus and reset your breath (whether during the study session, or a quick brain break). Remember to always inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, and breathe in your stomach, not your chest. Here are various breathing techniques for different effects.
B. Remember to take brain breaks, hydrate, and eat. Mental activities consume energy in a similar fashion that physical activity consumes energy. Therefore, when studying you must replenish this energy with food and water; just like you cannot continue exercising without breaks, you cannot continue to exhaust your brain without breaks! Mental activity is definitely not as strenuous, so the breaks do not need to be as long as they are for physical activity. Just remember to make your breaks meaningful and truly relax your brain :) This will re-engerize your mind and mood to take on the overwhelming task of… MIDTERMS.
C. If possible, try to study surrounded by nature (or as close as possible). Whether it’s reading or solving a new math problem or drawing a new concept, working with nature nearby, even if nature means a couple plants, will help keep a peace of mind and feel more relaxed. Nature and animals remind us of the carefree liberation found in the world, and in them, we find ourselves free and relaxed.
D. Remember you are doing the best possible, you are human, you are perfectly imperfect. Do not push yourself past your boundaries. You are wonderful!
XOXO