With a week to go until spring break and midterm papers and exams stacking up, this can be one of the most stressful weeks of the entire school year. Most are just wishing they were on the beach or enjoying time with friends and family back home, instead of bundling up to brave the cold and study at Mugar.
If you have been experiencing more headaches, aches and pains, changes in weight or your immune system, or sleep issues, they are probably symptoms of this pre-spring break stress, which you can relieve with the following Dos and Don’ts:
DO:
1) Exercise: I know you are probably thinking that with all you have to do you can barely find time to eat, never mind make a trip to Fitrec. But taking an extra hour to work out will really make a difference. Plus, along with eating healthy foods (another way to relieve stress symptoms), this is a great way to work on getting in shape for that vacation – the light at the end of the tunnel that can get you through the next crazy 7 days.
2) Sleep: Although it is nearly impossible, try to organize your schedule so that you can get a full 8 hours of sleep. If there really is no way you can physically pull that off, then luckily the power nap exists! Studies show that a 20-minute nap in the afternoon provides better rest. Overall, try to get as much sleep as you possibly can and avoid staying up all night, because another study showed that students who regularly did that had lower GPAs.
3) Minimize Caffeine Consumption: Ok, at first this may sound insane. How can any of us get through midterms without our coffee fixes? But recent studies show that caffeine stays in your system longer than you would expect, interfering with sleep and causing you to be even more tired in the morning (the caffeine crash). It is just a self-perpetuating cycle you don’t want to get involved with. Also, caffeine can cause headaches and heart palpitations, which are definitely not conducive study conditions.
4) Relax: Of course we all know to stop stressing we need to relax, but what does that really mean and how can we reach that state of nirvana? A quick and easy way to relax anywhere is through a breathing exercise. It may sound silly, but it works! Slowly inhale through your nose for 5 seconds and let the air out of your mouth for 8. Another common method is PMR, or progressive muscle relaxation, which is the practice of tensing and relaxing all of your muscles over and over until the tension in your body disappears. One of my favorite ways, however, is to use music – classical to stimulate your brain when you study and something mellow to wind down before you go to bed.
DON’T:
1) Attend Study Parties: Although they can be fun, they run a high risk of turning into a waste of valuable study time.
2) Procrastinate: We all do it, and with just a week left, we are pretty much at the final countdown. Still, try to give yourself a deadline earlier than the real due date so that you feel a little motivated earlier and avoid a stressful night of cramming.
3) Think Negatively: Stop getting down on yourself about how important the outcomes of your midterms are – that’s a lot of pressure! Instead, try positive affirmations (making repeated statements of what you would like to see manifested) and visualizations (imaging yourself in a relaxing place, like spring break, or doing well on your exam). Think the book and movie, The Secret. Optimists experience better circumstances because they create better circumstances for themselves. Being overly anxious for a midterm has been proven to cause lower test scores, something we are all trying to avoid.
For more information on stress relief, try Googling it! There is a ton of information out there on stress and I found a lot of the above suggestions at About.com. Also, on Tuesday March 8th at 5 p.m. in room 315 of the GSU, an event called Shatter Stress will be held to answer your questions and teach 3 different relaxation strategies.