Finals period is a long stretch, sometimes with exams crammed back to back. This means even more sitting hunched over for a significant amount of time (as if we don’t do that enough already throughout the term).
Common wellness tips during exam season are making sure to get lots of sleep, not staying up too late, limiting caffeine, eating healthy, getting a moderate amount of exercise, and taking appropriate study breaks to refresh your mind (and get it ready for more absorption). These things are all important, but I thought a list on some things we can all do to relieve the tension in our bodies, whether during finals or not, might be helpful too.
1. Get up and (stretch)
This can be as simple as standing up, trying to touch the ceiling, then bending over and touching your toes. Try to hold it for 15-20 seconds. If you are in a public place and don’t want to touch your toes, you can either quickly pretend you are grabbing something off the floor (lol or drop something accidentally) to bend down or you can lean over the desk, try to press your forearms into the top surface of the desk and your shoulder blades back. If you have a stationary desk that won’t move, you can also put your hands palms facing up onto the front (as if you were pushing the desk away) while sitting.
2. Weak leg syndrome
Ever feel like you’ve been sitting so long that the back of your legs and butt must have lost all muscle and turned to jello? I do. What I do to relieve it: get the muscles working. Some simple squats (10-15), jump squats, or exercise bands will get you feeling a bit of activation in your hamstrings and glutes. It doesn’t need to be a workout and it can be literally 30 seconds before you sit down again. Wake up, legs!
3. Neck and shoulder relief
Personally my neck and shoulders are the worst thing to deal with. No matter how hard I try to not hunch over, with a bad chair it’s pretty hard to sit up straight, and my neck and shoulders never seem to loosen up.
A few things:
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Get a pillow you can put behind your back to support it while sitting.
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Every so often roll your shoulders back and down.
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Give your neck muscles some relief by doing chin tucks (tuck your chin straight in while looking ahead to give yourself a double chin [public spaces may be an issue depending on if you care] and hold for 15 seconds, then release. Repeat often – my physiotherapist suggested as many times a day as you can remember.
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Get a microwaveble bean/rice bag or hot pack. Heat it up and put it on your neck and shoulders.
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Once muscles are warm after a shower or from the heat pack, tilt your ear to your shoulder and slowly rotate your head inwards until you feel a stretch. Do other neck stretches. You can also use a neck massager or massage the knots in your neck when it is warm to relieve some of the tension. Try this before going to sleep.
4. Try studying standing up
QNC second floor has a long bench table that is good laptop height. It is good for trying to maintain posture if research or typing needs to be done. I find that I just slouch to reach my things if I’m studying through papers and doing calculations. Try different places and methods to study for different courses depending on what type of studying you are doing.
5. Give your mind a rest
When on your laptop or looking at things close up for a long time, your eyes may start to get tired. Take a break every so often and look into the distance or out a window for 30 seconds.
6. No time for exercise?
Sure there is. Maybe not like you normally would – not a full gym sesh – but there are exercises you can do without leaving your desk. I know what it’s like wanting to get to the gym or go on a run but knowing you don’t have half an hour to spend (cause you reaaally can’t spare the time). Instead, try this: when taking a break (every hour or so) try some simple bodyweight exercises to wake you up and get your brain power boosted (this works best if you’re at home). These exercises most likely won’t have you sweating up a storm but you can still feel like you got some muscle activation. If you have dumbells, there’s no need to change, just pick some up and do some bicep curls or overhead presses. If not, then the options below can also be done at home or in your room:
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Push-ups, on your knees or even against the wall
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Glute squeezes while sitting
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Glute bridges (lay on back)
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Bodyweight squats (slow)
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Single leg lunges
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Calf raises
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Plank (doesn’t have to be on your elbows)
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Side planks for 30 seconds each side
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V-crunches (lay on your back, lift your legs up to the ceiling so that you’re in a V shape and reach for your toes as a crunch)
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Dance to one song
I know reading these you might think, ‘I am so tired I can’t move, how am I supposed to do even a few pushups?’ I am feeling that at this moment, but I also know that when I do even 5 of just one thing on the list, I feel more awake and ready to go.
7. Music
Some people like to study with music on, others prefer silence. I find that I usually like silence, but I tend to zone-out. I found that putting on a youtube ‘study music’ playlist can help, either classical, no lyrics, no beats that I know, or zen-type music such as rainforest/nature sounds. Everyone is different!
8. When you zone-out, bring it back
An idea I saw recently was that if you zone-out or your thoughts tend to wander, use a specific image to bring you back. It may be the image of an exam room (as scary as that sounds) which may trigger you to say, ‘ok this is approaching faster than I know,’ or perhaps you think of a test tube for chemistry to get you back to doing the calculations. Find an image or a place that allows you to pull it back and focus. Open the window and take a few breaths of fresh air to clear your head.
9. Water doesn’t have to be boring
Drinking water is important… we know. Try to balance water consumption with caffeine. If you don’t like the taste of plain water, try putting cucumber/lemon/orange/lime/a cinnamon stick/herbal tea bag into it, or buy a bottle that allows for fruit infusions. Caffeine free tea is also an option!
10. Break time
Remember to take breaks and treat yourself. You’re working hard, so allow yourself that chocolate bar once you’ve accomplished what you needed to. Take a bath or hot shower, put cold/warm tea bags on your eyes before you go to sleep, or a hot washcloth over your face for a mini-steam. Sleep well and keep that motivation strong!