That time of year has come again. No, not the Holiday Season. Finals. Finals week is kind of similar to the holiday craze; people are running around completely stressed out trying to get things done in time for the big day. However, the reference to this “big day” is not a holiday. For most students, it is their final exam day, for others, it is graduation day. During this time of the semester, most students are spending long hours at the library, cramming all the information they can possibly get. This is not exactly a healthy tactic to get ready for exams. There are many helpful ways students can go about getting ready for finals week in an orderly and reasonable fashion.
First and foremost, do not wait until the last minute. If students say that they are going to start early this year, follow through with this. The sooner a student starts their work load in the semester, the better. People have said this repeatedly and it really helps to just sit down for two hours every night. Then, on the night before the exams, students can take a 15 minute review, and have the rest of the night to do as they please.
Two hours can be enough study time. Do not sit at the library for seven straight hours trying to cram information into ones own brain, all in one sitting. The best way to study is to review information for two hours, then take a break. Go get a bite to eat, or take a coffee break. When returning from a break, one can review what they learned so far, and move onto more information. A person’s brain needs a break; otherwise it won’t retain any new information.
Another important part of a healthy finals week is getting sleep. A good night’s sleep can do wonders to the body and mind. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can impair performance on exams. If students think pulling an all-nighter before the big exam is going to help a student, this is a mistake. One can actually do worse on an exam because of sleep deprivation. Try to get eight hours of sleep every night, and keep the same sleep routine going throughout the week.
Maintaining balance is an important key to managing stress. Remember the four pillars: diet, exercise, sleep, and mental fitness. Mental fitness is very important to maintaining balance because if a persons mind is not ready, than the other three pillars are useless. During these last couple of weeks and during finals, students need to keep cool and take a break when needed.
One interesting way to cool off and calm down when one is in a stress-rut is an exercise that has been taught in a stress management class. It is an “awareness of breath” exercise, and it helps to ease ones mind and take a breather.
First, find a quiet place where one can concentrate. Find a place, even if it means sitting in a car away from roommates or classmates, it is easier to do this exercise alone. Once one is comfortable, close your eyes and clear your mind.
Every breath one takes, concentrate on how it feels to breathe out and in, and how ones body moves to it. If ones mind starts to wander, just bring it back to ones breath. This meditation exercise should usually last 15 minutes, and it really helps to completely relax your body and mind.
Most importantly, when managing stress for finals, try to manage ones time better. Make a chart of all the things ones need to do and start prioritizing. Circle the things that are crucial to ones daily schedule, and the things that need to be done sooner. Leave the things that can be done tomorrow, for tomorrow. For example doing laundry or cleaning ones car can be done at a later time.
Some advice for those who procrastinate: try starting to maintain balance right at the beginning of the semester next time, and see how much it helps.
Allison Snyder is a fifth-year student majoring in Professional Studies with a minor in Journalism. She can be reached at AS613905 @wcupa.edu.