1. Stop what you’re doing right now and breathe
At the start of every semester, everyone organizes their agendas accordingly, attends every class on time, and promises to achieve goals by summer break. Don’t deny it, we’ve all been there. However, with midterms suddenly approaching and the snowpocalypse ensuing, your glorified semester seems to have fallen to pieces right before your very own eyes. So before you start stressing out and hyperventilating, stop whatever you’re doing and take a deep breath. It’s important to realize that you need to take everything day-by-day, and don’t need to do everything at once.
2. Exercise & Sleep
Working out is more important than you would think. Not only should you work out for your physical health, but you should also take the time to exercise for your mental health. The more you work out, the happier you’ll be. Plus, you’ll sleep better at night. To motivate yourself to go to the gym more often, you should go with your friends to group fitness programs at the gym. You can do anything from kickboxing to yoga to tabata. To finish it all off, be sure to relax after your workout by sitting in the sauna for a few minutes.
3. Take breaks
It’s not healthy for your body to be constantly studying or stressing out. In fact, if you take breaks in between studying, you’ll be more likely to perform better on a test. You should either organize “you” time by painting your nails or indulging on the latest Cosmo issue. Or, put aside time to hang out with your friends by getting some fresh air and walking downtown to get coffee or Sweet Frog. Everyone needs to spend some time away from the books, so go catch up with that friend you’ve been meaning to text or go watch a Gossip Girl episode on Netflix!
4. Stop being negative
It might be easy to talk about who has the worst schedule, and it might seem like fun to gossip about what happened this past weekend, but remember that it’s important to remain positive. If you’re negative, you’ll influence the people around you to be negative. This could bounce back to you and increase your stress level, so ditch the negativity and embrace the positive.
5. Smile!
It might sound cliché, but don’t forget to smile. The more you show off your pearly whites, the more relaxed you’ll become. It’s well known that people who smile more often have lower heart rates and feel less stressed out. So before you start freaking out about next week’s exam, just calm yourself down with these simple tips and you should feel relaxed and renewed in no time!