6 Tips To Stay Alive During Finals Week

By Andrea Loaiza on April 24, 2017

Finals are coming, and so are many headaches. We all know that dealing with finals week is the worst. This is the time when you are reading your syllabus over and over again to make sure that attendance wasn’t mandatory. It’s the time where you start doing the necessary math to see how much you need for your final exam to get a C+ (or if you are a perfectionist like me, an A). This is also the “extra-credit” week, the most hated time for the professors, when the only thing you are practicing is how you will ask them to improve your final grade.

I’m here to remind you that grades don’t mean anything when you are treating your body as a trash can.

It’s no surprise that mental illness is widely common among college students. In a survey by Healthy Minds in 2015, they found that at least 23 percent of college students have felt depression and 17 percent anxiety. These two are the most common and are manifested as a reaction to stress.

Even though finals week isn’t probably the least stressful time for us, we should understand that this stress shouldn’t take over our health. Health comes before grades. Never forget that self-care is most important, even more now. You are intelligent. You can do this.

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Get enough sleep

I know this is a tricky one. Finals week forces us to live by a certain amount of sleep (maybe like 30 minutes?) but this is not a good way to treat your body. You will mostly remember everything that you have studied if you had a good amount of sleep. It’s most likely that if you go to your exam with three minutes of sleep in your system, you will probably not even remember your name. I know. It has happened to me.

However, if you don’t find time to really sleep because of the materials, then naps are going to be your best friend. It’s been said that a 30-minute nap is enough for you to recharge your batteries. They help “to improve mood, alertness, and performance.”

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Don’t skip meals!

BREAKFAST. LUNCH. DINNER. Guys! There’s a reason why these three meals are the main meals of a day. It doesn’t matter if you have 18 chapters for tomorrow. Skipping meals may give you time, but it won’t give you the necessary energy to concentrate.

If you don’t have the time to go to your house and eat a regular meal, don’t be afraid of spending money on good food. Food machines can be as much your salvation as your ruin. Don’t spend $5 for Doritos that will just make you feel more tired and weaker when you can spend $6 to $8 on a better meal that will maintain your body full of energy. Also, if you need something to munch on while studying, remember that there are healthier solutions than just some chips. You could try a pack of almonds or just any type of nuts, yogurt, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and even protein bars.

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Search for healthier alternative meals

In an interview with Fitbela, an FSU food lover, she gave us some tips for keeping yourself energized and healthy at the same time.

“Don’t believe that sugary drinks or foods are going to make you feel more energized for a study session,” Isabela said. “Get yourself an almond milk latte or a cup of black coffee with an apple and I personally assure you that you’ll do better than with a Frappuccino and a doughnut.”

You don’t have to starve yourself with a salad while studying, but it also shouldn’t be an excuse to just eat fast food.

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Keep yourself hydrated!

Studying for finals is a synonym for caffeine overdoses. We are so focused on reading and making summaries, that we forget that drinking coffee won’t hydrate us. I would 100 percent recommend having a bottle of water with you at any moment. Having your bottle of water right beside you may remind your body how much it really needs it, and you can always fill it with your closest water fountain.

If eight cups of water are the regular amount of water that a human being should drink per day, you shouldn’t be drinking just a sip. Also, if you decide to drink lots of coffee, I’ll recommend you have something in your stomach. Coffee in an empty stomach may make you feel bad.

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Take Breaks

This doesn’t mean you should procrastinate going to the library and watch all the new episodes of a Netflix original. However, reading and studying for 10+ hours can overwhelm you to the point that you will need to read the same page five times because you can’t retain any more information. If you are studying, doesn’t matter if it’s by PowerPoints or a book, take a small break from each chapter. You can decide how much you think you need to keep yourself relaxed. I usually take between 15-20 minutes of break after every chapter.

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Reward yourself! You are doing a good job.

These rewards should be given after finishing something. Going through your Instagram feed for 50 minutes is no reward when you have only read one page, having another 200 left. You can decide what kind of reward you want. Maybe an overall break to sleep. Maybe a treat (coffee, chocolate, popcorn, Skittles, etc.)? You may also reward yourself with a little bit of social media time.

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