An Oxymoron: Midterm Season and My Health

Written by: Daniela Eichner

The struggle of maintaining your health during the midterm season is one that I am all too familiar with. Before I begin giving some advice on how to prioritize your health, I would like to tell you of a time where I let the stress of the season consume me. I had just spent two weeks straight preparing and writing midterms, quizzes, attending meetings and participating in extracurricular activities. I let the stress of those activities come before my health, which caused me to not just blackout, but to do so whilst giving a presentation. I would love to say that this happened years ago and that I have now mastered time management to ensure my well-being is put above all my responsibilities; however, that would be lie, this happened last week. 

Stress on its own is very overwhelming, but stress as a university student is taken to whole new level. It is a constant struggle to try and balance school, a social life, our health, extracurriculars, jobs and regular everyday stress. And the first thing to usually go is the activities that keep us sane: hanging out with friends, taking an evening to simply read a book or watch a movie, or the time we set aside to exercise. The tips down below are ones that I have used in the past, ones that have helped me prioritize my health. However, don’t be deceived, it is a conscious decision to prioritize your health, one that you will have to make every time the midterm season rolls around. It involves organization, planning, and most importantly, time management. And there will be times where you slip, and you let the stress overwhelm you, just as I had done last week, but it is important to take some downtime and get back on track. 

1.    Taking Breaks

Breaks. They are crucial to not only ensuring that your mental health stays intact, but it has been proven that taking breaks improves your ability to stay focused. Something that I like to do is study in intervals of 30 to 5. In other words, I will set a timer and work efficiently for 30 minutes, and then I will set a timer for 5 minutes and take a break. The breaks are times when you can get a snack, read some poetry (a recent joy of mine), or reply to a few text messages. Once the 5 minutes run out, I will work efficiently again for 30 minutes, and then take another break. I set these intervals every time I study because the breaks give your brain time to absorb all the information you have been studying, while also giving you a chance to relax and do something that brings you some joy, whether that be food or walking a few laps around your house. Rather than studying for 3 straight hours, which leave you mentally and physically exhausted, the breaks will ensure that you still have some energy left at the end of the day.

2.    Down Time

As a student, the only motivation during the gloomy midterm season is the anticipation for a night off. For example, after a week of midterms and hard work, you treat yourself to wings at your favourite restaurant followed by a movie with friends. It is so important to have nights off to do something that does not involve school. However, if you are like me and your scheduled down time rolls around, but rather than doing something you enjoy, you decide to catch up on homework or get ahead of your readings. You convince yourself that by spending your downtime doing more work, you are going to relieve some of the stress from the next few days. However, you are harming your mental health by doing so. You cannot wear yourself out, because as cliché as it is, school is a marathon, not a sprint. You cannot constantly do schoolwork because you will drain yourself of all your motivation and energy. By taking one night off every week, you will feel refreshed and ready to face any new challenges!  

3.    Exercise

Next, I would like to talk about the importance of exercise and getting your body moving. Take a walk, do a 10-minute ab workout, skip some rope, or even do some burpees. Any movement not only relieves some of the stress that has been building up within you, but let’s you challenge yourself and think about something other than school. I go for a 30-minute walk every day. I usually put on a podcast, listen to some music, or call a friend to catch up. It does not have to be a 1-hour dedicated work out session, but if you are able to do so, good on you! It can be anything from walking to the grocery store to taking your dogs on a walk. Anything that gets you up and out of your chair.

4.    Planning, Planning, Planning

A day-planner has been my number one item on my school supply list for as long as I can remember. If I do not plan my days, I will not be as productive as I could be. I would suggest utilizing a planner, whether on your laptop or phone or a physical copy, planning is never underrated. In addition to a daily planner, I also use excel or sticky notes on my laptop as reminders of what I planned to accomplish. The reason that planning is so critical is if you know what needs to be done and have a realistic and active plan on achieving those goals, your stress is less likely to consume you. It shows that your goals are attainable and that, with the right planning, you can accomplish all the things you set out to.  

5.    Routine

To decrease your stress, you must increase your productivity, and this is done by having a routine. I cannot stress this enough, especially during the online course delivery. Routines will ensure that you stay on top of your schoolwork. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, take breaks at the same time, and use the times when your classes are scheduled to work on your classes, even if the lectures are pre-recorded. This will make sure that you will not get behind in your schoolwork and it will keep your stress at a manageable level, without compromising your health. 

6.    Sleep 

Sleep is important for your mental health, your physical health and your overall productivity. Getting 8 hours of sleep is vital to being able to handle any level of stress you experience. It will energize you, improve your ability to focus, your attention span, and your ability to write midterms. In addition to your 8-hours, taking naps can also be very beneficial. By naps, I refer to 15 to 20-minute power naps that you have throughout the day. Power naps can improve your memory, cognitive skills, creativity and overall energy level. It is important not to take naps longer than 1-hour because the longer you sleep, the deeper into sleep you fall, and this increases the likelihood of your feeling groggy and unenergized when you wake up. Rather, set a time for 15 to 20-minutes and lay down. Sometimes you will fall asleep, other times you may just lay there with your eyes closed, but either way, it really relaxes you and keeps your stress at bay. 

Overall, I would recommend prioritizing your health. School is temporary and although you should always try your best, it should come second to your health. In addition, by taking care of yourself, you will be able to enjoy school fully and make these years at university ones to remember!

Photo Credit: https://weheartit.com/entry/341887608