The end of the semester is near, which means, our least favorite time of the school year is approaching. Finals season. This means, caffeine, late library nights, cramming, open textbooks and notes, and ultimately no sleep.
I get it, we all would like to pass and get a good score on our exams, I mean they’re like 20% of our final grade right? We need to do well, which means we have to do this immense amount of studying and take absurd measures to make sure we ace our test.
While I do appreciate and understand great work ethic, these habits may be more detrimental than helpful. These late, sleepless nights, and overworking our brains to the point to exhaustion is going to cause burnout. According to the Association for Psychological Science, burnout is defined as extreme exhaustion, feelings of doubt and detachment, and ineffectiveness of work and lack of accomplishments. So, while the abundance of studying may seem productive in the beginning, it eventually will lead to bigger consequences. By the time your finals come around, chances are that you’ll be so burnt out that you might not even perform as well as you could have if you had simply gotten some sleep.
So, how do I even prevent burnout? One word, boundaries. Set boundaries for yourself and stick to them and respect them. Set a bed time for yourself. The more sleep you lack, the less attentive you will be, not to mention it takes months to “catch up” on sleep. Next, make sure you’re eating. Sometimes when we study, time passes us by and we go hours without eating. Food is fuel, and our brains cannot work without something in our stomachs. Another tip is stay active. You’re sitting for hours at a time, take a 20 minute walk, go run an errand really quick, do something active while you’re going through your studying. It can also help clear your head to get rid of that brain fog you might be experiencing.
These of course are merely just suggestions. You know what is best for your mental health and wellness. What is most important during finals season is that you are taking care of ALL parts of you, not just school you!