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Simple but Effective Ways to De-Stress During Finals

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Lauren Gierla Student Contributor, Xavier University
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Brittany Dillard Student Contributor, Xavier University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Xavier chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Yes, finals week can be overwhelming. However, it is important to not let yourself get too stressed out! Being too stressed can take away from your studying and make finals week harder than it needs to be! Here’s six simple ways to help you de-stress during finals.

1. Work Out

Don’t let the craziness of finals take away from your workout schedule. Working out is a great way to relieve stress, and will give you more energy throughout exam week! Plus, it’s a great study break.

2. Sleep

Sleep is always important but even more so during finals week. While pulling an all-nighter might seem like the best solution at the time, it will probably hurt you more than it will help you. A good night’s sleep will help you focus better during test time and remember more things for your exam. Plus, the more rested you are, the less tired you will be to move onto your next test!

3. Color

When you feel completely overwhelmed and cannot focus because you feel so stressed, take a few minutes and color. Adult stress relieving coloring books are all the rage right now, but if you don’t want to order one you can always print coloring sheets off the Internet. Coloring books were lots of fun when you were a kid, and can still be fun and relaxing now.

4. Try Yoga

Yoga is a great stress reliever! O’Conner has yoga classes that you can try, or, if the times don’t fit your schedule, try some stress relieving yoga poses in your dorm. Even a few poses can center yourself. Here’s some ideas to get you started. 

5. Tidy Up

If your dorm is messy, odds are you will feel more overwhelmed… especially if you are spending time looking for things in the pile of stuff building up on your desk. Taking a few minutes to tidy up your space can make all the difference.

6. Take Deep Breaths and Focus on Reality

You’re in the middle of studying for your big anatomy final and you begin to freak out. You feel like you can’t remember anything and you think you’re going to fail. Take a minute, step back from your work, take some deep breaths to calm yourself down and refocus. Think: how likely is it that you will actually fail? You’ve been studying this material all year, so odds are you will probably do fine! Remind yourself that you are way more capable than you give yourself credit for. 

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Lauren Gierla

Xavier '19

Lauren is a senior Marketing major, with minors in Economics and Gender & Diversity Studies at Xavier University. She calls Nashville, Tennessee home, and is the Campus Correspondent and President of HCXU. When she is not writing, she is planning events on the Student Activities Council, building her resume with her brothers in Delta Sigma Pi, or making random Spotify playlists. She is a Diet Coke enthusiast, and wishes she could spend every day hiking or playing with her dog. 
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Brittany Dillard

Xavier

Brittany is a senior accounting major from Saint Louis, Missouri and is a Campus Correspondent for Xavier University. When not organizing Her Campus Xavier, she can be found working with Tedx Xavier University or Xavier Women in Business. She  wishes she could spend all of her free time with puppies.