Uh-oh, exam week is looming near again. There’s a pile of books waiting for you on your desk or several megabites of PDF files to scroll through on your laptop. To make things a little easier, here are four simple tips to relieve some of that stress.
Have a Cuppa
While coffee is the choice of many a student for its invigorating effects that will keep you up and reading through the night if need be, coffee can also amp up stress. Try foraging your local grocery store or Punnitse & Säästä for never-before-tasted teas. Experience the traditional calming chamomile with a vanilla twist or spicy ginger with a dash of chili. Enjoy it either on a break or curl up with your cup and course book on the couch.
Exercise
When you start feeling like your brain has turned into cotton wool, you’ve still got pages to go, and the exam is only fifteen hours away, it might be best to take a break. A serious, no-nonsense, damn it all break. So slip into a pair of sneakers and head out into the crisp October air. Breathe deeply and feel the blood rush into your muscles, or, if jogging is not your thing, head to the gym to lift some iron. If you’ve really pushed your body, answering those pesky essay questions first thing in the morning will feel like a small effort in comparison to yesternight’s grueling zumba session.
Spend Time with Your Friends, Family, or That Special Someone
”I can’t now, I have a test coming up,” is a great excuse, but not always a great reason to turn down an invitation for a couple of beers or a chill-out evening with friends and Netflix. Loosen your pony tail, choose pants with an elastic waistline, and shoot the breeze in good company — who knows, maybe you’ll even have a heureka moment if you end up discussing your exam topics with your friends. Just make sure you don’t overdo it and find yourself chilling every night.
Meditate
Okay, your brain is about to reach breaking point and you feel like wall-banging what used to be a stack of A4s but which now feels like a musty tome written in some ancient dialect. It’s time to remove your consciousness from the physical world as completely as you can. There are many activities that can be meditative, so you don’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor with your eyes closed if that’s not your style. It can also be something that forces you to lose yourself in something simple but engaging: shredding a new scale on the guitar, releasing arrow after arrow from a bow, or following the step-by-step instructions of an origami swan. Just make sure you don’t bite more than you can chew. Keep it simple. Find the zen of focusing on that one task. I would also warn against using a TV series for meditative purposes: before you know it, it’s 3am and the only question you can answer in the morning is ”so were Dany’s dragons awesome or what?”
Good luck with your exams!