Hey there Collegiettes!
It’s that time of year again…. finals. With so many Calculus review problems to go through and a 50 page study guide for history, it may seem like a good idea to put your health on the backburner. However, during this finals’ week, I encourage you all to still make your health and body one of your top priorities. Taking care of yourself and fueling your body right will only help during finals week. Here are some tips to have a successful and healthy finals week.
1. Keep lots of healthy snacks in your backpack.
Food is essential for your brain to function properly and to keep you energized while studying. Try to avoid sugary snacks because they typically tend to have minimal nutritional value and can lead to an energy crash shortly after they are consumed. Fruits like bananas, oranges and apples are easy to steal from the pit and keep in your backpack throughout the day. Nuts and dark chocolate are also known to have positive effects on memory, so trail mix is a great snack for studying as well.
2. Drink lots of water.
Don’t let coffee become your go-to drink during finals week. Staying hydrated is essential! Not drinking enough water can actually impede your memory retention and make you feel sluggish and tired.
3. Take a break to exercise.
Taking a break to work out is a great way to distress and reboot. Research at Columbia University found that exercise can actually boost brain power and help with memory and problem solving!
4. Don’t skimp on sleep.
Research shown by the National Institute of Health supports that sleep actually helps restore the brain by flushing out toxins. This improves brain cell communication and therefore increases memory retention. If your brain isn’t working right, how can you possibly be doing your best studying?
Hope these tips help! Wishing everyone a happy and healthy finals week!