Rylie Horrall | Lifestyle Editor
Finals are fast approaching, and with finals usually comes stress for most students. For many classes, the final project or exam can be a deciding factor for grades, so here’s some helpful tips to keep the stress down during prep and finals week.
- Try drinking a warm beverage of some sort — such as tea, hot chocolate, cider or coffee — if an energy boost is needed, especially. For some, a warm beverage can really relax both the body and mind, and could be largely helpful during study breaks.
- Continuing from the previous point, be sure to take breaks while studying. While it’s nice to finish homework all at once in the span of four hours, study breaks should be taken every hour or so. Smaller breaks — 10 to 15 minutes — should be taken every hour, or about a 30 minute break every two hours. It gives the mind a chance to rest without overloading it with information.
- Take naps during the day to fully rest the mind as well as the body. After a nap, students can be left feeling refreshed and ready to take on more studying.
- Additionally, yoga and meditation are the perfect chance for relaxation; yoga is a good way to get in some exercise as well. Even just taking the time to take some deep breaths can help someone calm down and ease the stress they could be feeling.
- Try going for a walk — or jog or run, whichever works best for each individual person. By getting outside, it can help clear a student’s head if studying becomes overwhelming. The fresh air can feel nice and revitalizing during a study break.
- If baking is relaxing, try baking brownies; the prepping process can busy the mind so it isn’t focused on schoolwork for a short amount of time, and a sweet treat will be waiting after all the studying is done. Try adding in something to make the brownies special as well, such as chunks of peppermint.
- If frustrations need to be taken out physically, go to the dollar store and buy some cheap plates. Cover a wall with a tarp and chuck them at the wall and floor. The tarp will make for an easy cleanup, and the shards from the destroyed plates can be used for an art project, like a mosaic.
- Take a hot bath with bubbles, a bath bomb or bath salts — or all three if desired. A hot shower or a foot soak with epsom salts both work as alternatives.
- Take a moment to write something; venting stresses from the past days, weeks or months by writing them down can help relax those tense shoulders. If jotting down stressful happenings doesn’t help, try writing a short story or designing a character.
- Blast loud music and sing to distract the mind from all the chaos swirling around. Do it in the house, or take a drive with the windows down and stereo turned all the way up.
- Simply watching TV serves as a good break from schoolwork. Find a TV show on some streaming service — Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc. — and just let autoplay do the rest.
- Find a Humane Society that’s nearby or within driving distance and pet dogs. The pets will have a fun time and the body won’t feel so tense.
- Finally, going in hand with study breaks, find time to partake in hobbies — like painting, reading, drawing, knitting or baking. Students may lessen their stress levels by setting time aside for themselves instead of constantly worrying about exams and finals.
Contact the author at rhorrall17@wou.edu
Photo by Rylie Horrall
