Interruption

Preventing Stress

by Kristen Putch, beat blogger

Midterms are upon us, and that means most college students are experiencing added pressure and stress in the daily routine, at least until spring break. But luckily, we don’t all have to fall victim of stress. With are a few tips and tricks, you can ace your exams without causing premature wrinkles.

1)Eat a balanced, nutritious diet: General health and stress resistance can be enhanced by eating well. As difficult as it may seem, you should try to avoid intake of alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and junk food.

2) Exercise regularly: Exercise promotes emotional well-being as well as physical fitness.

3) Schedule your time: Using a diary and to-do lists to prioritize activities helps you effectively use you time and realize you can’t do everything.

4) Learn how to say no: Extra burdens and can wreak havoc on your day.

5) Get enough sleep: Pulling all-nighters tend to be synonymous with studying. However, if you get less that five hours of sleep before an exam, you risk losing a lot of the information you gained during studying.

6) Start your studying beforehand: If you wait until the night before an exam, you are very limited in the amount of time you have to store a lot of information in your brain. Starting four or five days ahead of time gives you more time to take in information, and helps you avoid the all-nighter.

7) Avoid interruptions: This seems like a no-brainer, but some of us still find ourselves in situations where we try to study in non-study-friendly environments. Sometimes the library isn’t the best place to head around midterms because everybody else on campus is there. Find another, less-crowded building to study in or, better yet, a quiet coffee shop where you can take a break and grab a cup of herbal tea. Remember, computers can serve as interruptions as well: if you have a computer with you or near you, the temptation to get on facebook/Myspace/twitter becomes unavoidable. If you can, avoid bringing your computer with you when you study or going somewhere where they are easily accessible. If you have to have a computer to write a paper, etc., don’t connect to the internet.

8) Have confidence!: If you freak yourself out about your exams, you are less likely to be successful. Study hard and early, and tell yourself that you know the information and you’ll be fine!

Kristen Putch is a senior newspaper and history major. She is the former editor-in-chief of The Student Voice and managing editor of 360 Degrees magazine. She has written for The Daily Orange and is currently a freelance writer for http://www.Suite101.com. Based on her personal experiences with balancing work and everything else, she is very familiar with the college student’s tendency to talk themselves out of doing what’s right: what’s healthy. She wants to encourage those to be proactive and prevent it with her column “Interruption.”

Her contact information is kristen.j.putch@gmail.com.

About these ads