The end of the semester is a really hard period for students, even the most experienced ones. The exam week is a cause of total stress, which is a risk of serious mental and physical health problems. Trying to get the missed lectures, spending days in the library and labs, writing history essays, looking for nursing research paper writing service, and finishing the important scientific projects, students get totally focused on their finals and forget about everything else. Indeed, spending time for gym, shopping for food, cooking, and even sleeping or eating seems a total waste of precious study time that could be invested in intensive learning and preparation.
Student health, however, is a very important factor of success in your exams. Thus, it cannot be neglected under any circumstances. If you do not get the necessary amount of nutrients, rest, and positive emotions, your body and brain get exhausted and unable to cope with possible infections and stress associated with the exams. As a result, your abilities to adequately prepare and successfully sit for the finals are diminished. Thus, to have a positive and successful exam week, you need not only to study but to maintain a healthy lifestyle as well. Here are some useful tips on how to do this.
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Sleep Well
All-nighters are a common thing during the exam week. However, sleep deprivation is very harmful for your physical and mental health, which also leads to diminished cognitive abilities in the first place. During the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep needed for an adult for adequate functioning, the body and the brain get recharged and filled with the necessary elements, normalizing metabolism and enhancing clarity of mind. It is especially important to get good rest before the exam; so, it is inadvisable to stay late overnight, trying to cram more information into your brain. Last-minute revision will not do you good, but a sleepless night will lead to the exhaustion and reduced cognitive abilities at an exam. Instead, restful sleep will make you energized and ready for the challenge with improved attention, memory, and problem-solving skills.
Eat Right
The time-consuming and effort-intensive exam preparation process leaves no time for shopping, cooking, or taking a normal meal. However, poor nutrition based on fast snacks rich in salts, sugar, and fats, which are harmful for the organism in any circumstances, only slow you down, making it harder to concentrate and diminishing your cognitive abilities. To stay energized during the entire exam week, you need to maintain a healthy and well-balanced diet. Here are some useful pieces of advice how to manage it:
- Make sure to keep some healthy snacks available all the time in case there is no time or opportunity for an adequate meal. Carrots and hummus, fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens, nuts and seeds, avocados, berries, and dark chocolate will help to fuel your brain and stimulate your memory.
- Do not depend fully on fast snacks but make sure to eat full nutritious meals regularly. It will also provide you with a necessary break in your study process.
- Opt for smaller but more frequent meals. They will ensure steady energy throughout the day.
- Cook enough food for several days so that you could reheat it later and save the time for studying instead of wasting it on cooking from scratch every day.
- If you are living with other students, take turns to shop and cook for everyone so that all of you could get enough of time for preparation.
Drink Properly
Staying hydrated is important for the adequate functioning of your organism. Dehydration causes fatigue, loss of concentration, and headaches, not to mention a lot of other unpleasant issues like unhealthy look and problems with your skin, hair, nails, kidneys, and other organs. An adult is recommended to drink about eight glasses of water each day. Thus, having a bottle of water with you at all times is a very good idea.
Students often believe that caffeinated drinks will help them stay energized and assist in studies. However, coffee and energy beverages only cause crashing, making you feel more tired and increasing the chances of getting sick. These drinks are not a good alternative for water rich in useful and valuable nutrients and vitamins.
Exercise Regularly
Exam week is a perfect excuse to skip a visit to the gym, isn’t it? Well… actually, not! The research has shown that physical activity helps the blood flow faster around the body, including the brain, promoting its functioning, and boosts your energy when it is hard to concentrate. In addition, exercise relieves stress, which is especially useful during the difficult period of intensive studying, releasing endorphins in the brain and helping to relax.
Besides, exercise can get you outdoors, which has a twofold benefit: it allows you to breath in some fresh air necessary for the brain and gives you a break from the tiresome preparation process. To save some precious time for studying, you can replace long hours in the gym with walking, cycling, or stairs climbing. Just keep moving each day to let your brain function properly.
Take Breaks and Socialize
Studying for ten to twelve hours running is very strenuous and totally unproductive. It will only cause a substantial burnout and tire out your ability to comprehend and imbibe any information you are trying to read. Therefore, it is extremely essential to take a break every 50-90 minutes. Use these breaks to take a walk around the block or perform some simple workout, cook dinner or eat it, take a 20-minute health nap, or drop in a nearby pub with your friends for short socialization.
Locking up yourself in the room crammed with textbooks and manuals is also a bad option. You need some down time every now and then to get distracted from your studies and refresh your brain. Thus, take some breaks to meet and socialize with friends and family. By the way, it is a good idea to find a friend to study with. Firstly, collective work facilitates preparation by providing the needed motivation as well as possible assistance with difficult subject matter. Secondly, a company will, to some extent, relieve the brain-intensive study process offering some breaks for distracted socializing while still remaining productive.
Reduce Stress
Some stress can be good if it provides a little of adrenaline to keep you motivated and going along the preparation path. Too much stress, though, may be very detrimental for your psychological health and even lead to physical impairments. However, managing it requires considerable efforts sometimes. Try to find out what works personally for you as a stress reliever and distraction from the brain-intensive activity and apply it whenever you feel tense and overwhelmed. Your body will be grateful to you for such pleasures.
In addition, do not create extra stressful conditions to aggravate the situation. Here are some tips:
- Do not procrastinate, start studying and revision early, and stay organized. Any delay on your side will only pile up stress in you.
- Never compare yourself with the peers. If you chance to find them more prepared than you, it can instill a feeling of inferiority and cause panic, which is totally unnecessary before the exam.
- Get totally distracted from the studies from time to time. While taking breaks, make sure to do something not connected with the exams or spend time with people outside your college circle of friends. Even if you choose to socialize with your classmates, you are sure to start discussing exams at some point. Instead, you need to divert your attention to absolutely different things to get re-started and unwind.
- Do not hesitate to turn for professional help or just talk to someone if you feel that stress is starting to build up.
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Intense focus on studying during the exam week is very detrimental for your physical and mental health. Too much pressure will exhaust the organism and make you more prone to catching up an infection during this period or right after it. That is why, managing your wellbeing while preparing for the finals is a very important issue to consider. Stay safe and healthy!
