With next week being finals week, stress on campus and around IU apartments is at an all time high. Don’t fret – you’re not the only one! The pressure put on college students is immense; pressure from themselves, their families, and their friends to achieve success. As important as finals are to the success of students, they put students in a whole new level of stress. Cramming, staying up all night, downing can after can of Red Bull, finals are tough on the body and mind. The combination of mental and physical stress makes taking these comprehensive examinations MORE difficult, not less difficult. There are some things that students can do to limit this stress though. Here are some ideas:
Go Outside! Play/Exercise
Bloomington is a beautiful town to live in. Go outside and enjoy it. Whatever you like to do outside, carve out some time from studying and go do it. Throw the football, go for a run, play Frisbee golf, hike, anything! The beauty of physical activity is that will alter your thoughts from school. It will help take your mind off things for a short period of time. This will reduce your stress, and make it easier for you to remember things when studying. Not to mention it will help you get that beach bod going for the summer!
Cook a Good Meal
It’s very easy to get caught up in the craziness of finals week. Whether its breakfast, lunch, or dinner, try to spend 15-30 minutes preparing a healthy meal for yourself once a day during finals. Not only will the meal help fuel your physical energy and mental capacity, but the short time away from thinking about school can be soothing. Make a meal for your roommates too, if they’re around at the time. It’ll make you feel good about yourself. Confidence is the key to success.
Listen to Music/Sleep
There have been plenty of studies that show that music can relieve stress. Typically, it’s the slower, quieter music that demonstrates the best ability to relieve stress. Use the time when you’re walking from building to building, or walking home, to listen to some calming music. Here’s a great example of something to listen to, that will relax you:
It will help calm you down, and may actually encourage you to take a quick nap. Worried about napping too long? Check out the app “Power Nap” on your phone. It will track your sleep activity based on desired length, and wake you right back up when your body is most ready to awaken.
Try Not to Worry
I know it seems like a completely unreasonable thought process. From personal experience, though, you need to know that these exams are such a small part of your life. Whether you do great on every one, do mediocre on some, or you don’t do as well as you’d hoped, everything will be ok. Try to focus on the long term. Yeah, these exams are going to suck a little bit, as they always do, but in the grand scheme of things, they’re just a paper test. That’s it.
Keep these things in mind. Final exams are very important, and you should definitely focus a great deal of attention on them. However, keep your life in order when doing so. Don’t lose yourself in the midst. You’ll forget more information than you’ll remember. And you won’t remember that information for longer than a few days if you cram anyways. So just calm down, use these tips to help you relax, and go NAIL THOSE SUCKERS!
