The mental and physical health of a person is vital. To achieve wellness or good health in the long term, you must make positive choices and keep your life in balance.
Usually, when you’re in the middle or end of an exam, or on study leave, or revising time, your attention is very much on your work.
It can seem like a wasteful use of time and energy to shop for food, cook, or sleep, let alone see friends.
Being healthy does not only mean better academic performance. You can avoid logistical issues caused by illness.
A bad cold can cause you to miss several midterms and finals. You may need to rest for the whole week if you have the flu.
Let’s suppose you have five exams scheduled every day and would normally be able to take them all in a week. You find that you have only two days available for makeup exams after becoming too sick to take your scheduled exams. You might find yourself taking three exams instead of the one you were expecting to take. You would have less time to study between exams due to the makeup schedule.
However, it is a mistake to ignore yourself.
Stress, such as it is around exams, can make your body less able to fight infections and manage normal activities. It is important to offer it the best possible support.
7 tips to keep healthy and well in the exam season.
Stress Management
Exam stress can lead to sleep disruptions, headaches, poor concentration and excessive consumption of junk food, all of which can affect test performance. If you are prone to test anxiety, this is even more true.
Stress can also affect your immune system. Some stress is inevitable. However, it is important to find the right ways to manage stress to stay healthy during exams. Journaling, meditation and quiet time with friends are all positive ways to manage stress.
Take Proper Nutrition and Diet
You will need to eat right in order to manage your exams.
This does not necessarily mean “a lot”, but rather a healthy, well-balanced diet. Don’t be tempted to skip meals or live on chips and pizza for a week. It will be a waste of your body and mind, and it will make it more difficult to work. You may even make yourself ill.
Douglas Labs products, which are a global leader in the production and development of science-based dietary supplement products, have been uniquely designed to meet your health and dietary needs. Douglas labs vitamins can be used by students as supplements if they require nutrition or a proper diet.
Living with your parents or living in university halls or a canteen may make it easier. Someone else will be able to cook for you. There are still ways to manage even without these.
Take, for example:
- Every time you cook, make sure to double or triple the amount. Reheat what you’ve cooked the previous day. This means that you only need to cook once a week.
- Share shopping and cooking duties with your friends if you live together.
Good Night’s Rest
Even if you are trying to get more sleep, sacrifice your sleep to study for the exam. If you are having trouble staying awake, it is unlikely you will do your best studying. Also, this is a bad habit for some people.
Keep your lungs open
Mindfulness techniques such as UCL’s 10-Minute Mind or breathing exercises can help you calm your stress response and bring your attention back into the present moment. This gives you the time to think rationally about your anxieties, eliminate unhelpful thoughts patterns, and allows you to manage a lot of exams.
Regular physical activity
It is important to exercise regularly in order to reduce stress and its negative effects. Stress management isn’t the only benefit of exercise. Your brain will benefit from moderate aerobic exercise, which improves blood flow and cardiovascular fitness. Exercise improves mental concentration, memory and recall which are crucial for getting high test scores.
Study with a friend
It’s a great way to socialize and study with your friends. You may even find that you work better when you have friends to help motivate you and guide you through difficult concepts. Sometimes, your friend gives answers to the same questions which are yet to come in the exam. And that time is much enjoyable when you spend it with your friend.
Realistic goals
You can put things in perspective by setting realistic goals. Accepting your situation and working within your limits maximizes productivity without putting yourself at risk.
Experiment with fun techniques
Boring and repetitive studying from the same textbook every day can lead to boredom. It is not surprising that this can cause undue stress. It’s easy to find new ways to deal with stress, such as flashcards and joining a study group. This will encourage learning, re-energize your mind, and help you manage stress.
Do not self-bully
There will always be others around you who will put pressure on your shoulders. There is nothing worse than the pressure that we place on ourselves. Unrealistic expectations can lead to negative feelings. You may feel like you are failing and criticize yourself constantly.
Negativity can cause a lot of damage, not only in the short-term but also over time. Instead, encourage yourself to celebrate small victories and be your cheerleader.
Get help
Reach out to someone for help if you have tried to manage stress by yourself. Talk to your parents, older siblings, or a trusted teacher about how you feel. Be open. If you need to speak with a doctor, ask for their assistance.
Let’s conclude…
It is crucial to be well during exam time as well as study time.
It is important to take care of yourself by cooking, shopping, exercising, and eating well.
These things can make your entire period seem like a struggle. If you do these things correctly, revision, study, exams, and finals will be much easier. This is the time for wrapping up. Hope your readers will find this article helpful regarding stress management and keeping good health.