A lot of your classmates and peers may cram or stay up all night studying – with a healthy dose of partying in between. However, if you are trying to survive finals week, this is not the way to do it. In fact, studies show that students that cram or pull all-nighters get lower grades on average. Plus, all that procrastinating will create a terribly negative cycle. This is why you want to enter finals week prepared to take on the stress. This involves meditation, breathing, stretching and making sure you are hitting the reset button with a healthy dose of sleep each night. Here are five tips to help you survive finals week in college.
- Have a Schedule or Menu for a Full Week of Healthy Food
When you are studying for finals, it can be difficult to have time to eat. The truth is, though, that you do have time to eat. In fact, you must make time to eat. This is why you want to layout a weekly menu with lots of greens and vegetables to boost your nutrient levels. The idea is to feed your brain during finals week.
- Practice Mindful Meditation and Stretch in the Morning and Evening
Stress is one of the main factors that puts people through the ringer during finals week. In fact, there is a good chance that you couldn’t find one student who isn’t ready to blow a gasket. This is why you want to breathe and mediate – at least twice a day. Breathing and meditation – with a little stretching thrown in – will make you a lot more relaxed and it will significantly reduce your stress levels.
- Don’t Cram All of Your Study Information
On top of breathing and meditating, you also want to be sure to avoid cramming. Cramming can lead to feeling insecure when it comes to how much information you actually remember. The idea is to spread out your studying, so that you don’t feel like you have to pack it in last minute. The more you compartmentalize, the more data you will retain. For instance, if you are getting USC’s online masters in communication, you want to look over your notes and break everything down into a daily study regimen.
- Take Breaks when You Need to Take Breaks, but Don’t Procrastinate
When you want to take a break, you should take a break, but only if you really feel like a break is necessary. A break could really be disguised as an unconscious attempt to avoid studying, which is called procrastinating. All in all, though, breaks can be good for your mental faculties, but only if they are doled out intermittently, and in ten to fifteen minute increments.
- Get Plenty of Rest and at Least Seven Hours of Sleep Each Night
On top of everything, you want to be sure that you get at least seven hours of sleep every single night. Sleep is like a reset button and it washes all that static in your brain away. Plus, the more sleep you get, the easier it will be for you to remember all the information you need to remember for a finals exam, especially the night before the big day.
