Stress from finals approaches

You can learn how not to falter under the stress of finals with a few simple techniques.

The first method for stress management includes studying ahead of time. Experts agree finals should be a time for review and not cramming. The Student Counseling Services advises to begin studying in advance for finals.

"I advise freshman to study at least two weeks before finals to have enough time to review all necessary materials," said senior biology major Mayra Martinez.

"It can be stressful, but at the end it will be worth it. Your grade will reflect your hard work," she said.

The counseling services offers various tips and techniques to manage stress not only during finals time, but all year.

"If you have good time management, especially with your studies, then that will really help with reducing your stress and anxiety," said Student Counseling Services Counselor Sarah Ou-Young.

Counselors advise not to study all night for exams since students can be left with fatigue the next day or the rest of the week.

Ou-Young recommends students keep a general schedule as much as possible in terms of sleep and study patterns.

"As a grad student, I have found that setting a specific day or time in my weekly routine to do things have allowed me to manage stress a lot better," said Tereso Herrera, a human resource management graduate student. "I try not to schedule anything on Saturdays and leave that time to relax."

Counselors said eating fruits and drinking juices during long nights of studying are much more effective than eating fatty and sugary foods that may cause sleepiness and loss of concentration.

"Refrain from excessive use of caffeine or alcohol because those things will make you more jittery and will actually contribute to your stress level," Ou-Young said.

Exercise to relax during finals is also recommended as it can give your mind a boost of energy to refocus.

"During finals, I would either go for a jog, workout at the Rec or play basketball," Herrera said. "One time I put together a flag football game with a few of my friends during dead week. This enabled us to get away from the books and have a little fun together."

Studying in a quiet environment instead of an apartment with noisy roommates also will help minimize test anxiety. Keeping your calm and not being around too much chaos will allow for an environment that is both stress free and beneficial to learning, Martinez said."What I did one semester that really worked was I spent the entire week before finals practically living in the library," Martinez said.

"I studied as much as I could for all my classes. I tried not to stress over it, because it's pointless thinking about it, when I can do something about it. You waste time stressing when you could be learning and studying your material," she said.

Ou-Young said students should find their peak performance times during the day and study then. For most people those are later in the morning or afternoon and not too early or late at night.

Counselors advise setting realistic goals for studying. Try to study for two hours, and then schedule a 10 to 15 minute break and not try to study for six hours straight. Changing subjects between studying also helps prevent fatigue.

The Student Counseling Services office offers workshops to help manage stress and conquer finals.

Visit www.scs.tamu.edu and register online for a workshop.