With the end of the semester approaching and report card grades coming due, 31% of students report feeling stressed during finals week. How can we relieve this stress for students? 

Performing self-care, practicing mindfulness, exercising, finding peer support, and breathing can help. 

Take a few moments in your day or study time to do something for yourself that you enjoy. Devote a good 30 minutes to self-care, whether it’s watching your favorite tv show, reading your favorite book, exercising, relaxing, or playing some video games. Self-care during these stressful times are important for your daily happiness. Doing self-care activities increases energy and reduces stress. Performing small acts of self care at least once a day will help improve your physical and mental well being during our last push through the semester. 

Practicing mindfulness and exercise during the week of finals will enhance your physical and mental health, creating  better academic performance. Exercise is important after hours of reading, writing, and studying because exercising releases dopamine, which will help you stay more concentrated and motivated.

Did you know that doing even as little of 5 minutes of exercise daily reduces fatigue and enhances cognitive activity? Even just taking a fresh walk outside and letting your mind wander and appreciating what’s around, practicing that mindfulness while releasing yourself from technology, phones, and computers will help you better prepare for finals and create more energy in the studying process. 

Getting enough sleep during finals will help reduce the stress and anxiety, and practicing breathing will help your body regulate its stress and calm itself down. As most people already know, everyone needs at least  8 hours of sleep to function. During finals week, eight hours of sleep should be the bare minimum to help you be well rested. 

My favorite form of practicing stress relief during finals is listening to music, exercising, and taking a few breaks in between subjects! I encourage you to take care of yourself too!