With exam season right around the corner for many of us, we might be experiencing anxiety-ridden thoughts, tense shoulders over that one class we’re especially worried about, the stress of getting four hours of sleep, or a lack of appetite. Personally, my procrastination at the beginning of November has led to me stressing over not one, but three classes. But if there’s one thing that brings me comfort while I’m trying to get through several chapters I just can not seem to enjoy, it’s tea. Besides the warmth it provides, it usually offers a plethora of benefits to our mind and body and therefore, we’re going to talk about five of these glorious beverages. Yes, they are glorious.
- Green Tea
-
That’s correct. Good ole’ green tea is my first recommendation since, during this time, our main focus is being productive and, because of the caffeine, amongst other properties, green tea enhances focus and memory. Buddha’s Blend from DavidsTea has been one of my favorites and I think some of it might have to be due to a placebo effect from the name. I mean, being as focused as Buddha when studying? Yes, please.
- Ginger Tea
-
For me, I tend to skip meals during a stressful period. Apparently, as I learned in my health psychology class, this is normal since our brain tends to neglect the digestive system during periods of stress, to focus on other parts of the body that will be more useful in addressing the situation or finding a solution to the stressful situation. When this happens for me, I usually become nauseous and I’ll have the worst migraines. The only thing which helps is ginger tea. No lie. It’s a miracle worker and my truest friend when I am nauseous, which, unfortunately, is too often because apparently, I cannot learn from some of my mistakes. Usually, I’ll boil pieces of ginger from a ginger root but a potent alternative is ginger turmeric tonic.
- Tulsi Tea (holy basil)
-
Growing up, my mom would make this quite often for us by boiling a few leaves from the plant in our home. It was something her mom did. Therefore, when I found a DavidsTea blend, Tulsi Tranquility, there was no way I couldn’t buy it, especially since tulsi is said to relieve stress. I think for me, it might also be the association of tulsi tea and a happy childhood back home, but I still recommend this one.
- Moringa Tea
-
Despite its peculiar taste, another favorite of my mom’s, which eventually became one of mine as well, is moringa tea. Some of us tend to neglect our health during exam season and if we’re not eating enough, we’re eating too much and, often, nothing healthy. But one of the most popular health benefits of moringa is that it is high in vitamin and mineral content. Therefore, this tea replenishes the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and protein we may be deprived of due to unhealthy eating habits during this time. My suggestion would be DavidsTea deep blue spirulina since it contains moringa and tastes better than moringa tea by itself. This blend is also blue which is always fun.
- Peppermint Tea
-
Besides its health benefits, which include it’s calming and energizing effects, both of which we need during exam season, my final recommendation is peppermint tea. This is mostly because peppermint also reminds us of candy canes and the holidays. Therefore, while we’re sipping on some of this as we go through those textbook chapters, the hope is that we’ll also feel a bit festive too! My suggestion here has a pretty festive name as well: Santa’s Secret.
Self-care might be furthest from our minds when preparing for finals, but with a warm, soothing cup of tea, our minds and bodies will surely feel the love and care they need to keep us going.