It’s 3 a.m. You have listened to two full Jessie McCartney albums. Your best friends from school, home, camp, and that one week trip you took to Canada when you were 11 to see the Niagara Falls are all asleep. And now, it’s just you – the lone studying ranger. You raise your hands to the sky and scream WHY (a silent scream of course, of the inward variety that no one hears yet somehow is 100x more intense). Here are some tips to keep you from reaching this heightened state of pure womanhood.
1. TWO WATERS FOR EVERY COFFEE
Contrary to popular belief, your blood stream cannot actually turn into caffeine, and you shouldn’t try. Take a study break by googling “benefits of drinking water” and watch your entire life unfold before you. Boom, roasted.
2. TAKE A NAP
But a smart nap. We all took Psych 101 and there’s no excuse for not understanding your own REM cycle at this point in your emerging adulthood. Remember to either pick a 10-20 minute energizer or a full REM cycle of an hour and a half. Those 30-60 minute naps will just leave you feeling groggy and more hungover than you actually are.
3. TAKE A BUBBLE BATH/SHOWER
Now I realize this may seem ridiculous for our on campus residences, but for our older, more mature readers, take a bath if you can. It’s a huge destressors and can help you refocus. For our Sharp/Monroe readers, either clog the drains and finally turn your communal bathroom into the swimming pool you’ve always dreamed of, or just spend some time in the shower actually meditating instead of drinking a glass of wine and sobbing about not remembering what a REM cycle is for your Psych exam.
4. GO FOR A RUN
Or go to Reily. Or start sprinting up and down the stairs in Howie T after sitting in your cube for 6 hours, it really doesn’t matter as long as you’re getting that heart pumping. The benefits of exercise on a studying mind are almost comperable to those of water – better mood, less stress, improves attention, speed of processing, and the ability to perform cognitive tasks (ty Psych 101). Strong body, even more strong body builderesque mind.
5. MAKE A STUDY SCHEDULE
Remember that planner you spent 3 months deliberating on with the stickers and amble space for planning? Use it. Start writing down everything you need to do and slowly start crossing things off. It may seem overwhelming at first, but the satisfaction of all of those checks at the end of finals is almost as good as how those As are going to feel.