The Daily OrangeToback: An open mind and four easy steps can relieve stress
By Rebecca Toback
Posted: 10/22/09, 2:49 AM EST Section: Feature
It's midnight during midterm week and you're slumped over your desk trying to study.
You are thinking more about finally getting sleep, and less about what you need to know for your calculus exam. The more you sit trying to remember everything you learned during the last two months, the more your brain becomes overwhelmed.
Midterm week is the ultimate stress overload. Not only are students worrying about upcoming tests, but they are also bogged down with other tasks and responsibilities.
"Multitasking, anticipation and extreme amounts of reading are all things that make students stressed," said Ann Bair, a social worker and psychoanalytic psychotherapist. "The brain becomes overloaded, especially in addition to social activities that students want to get involved with."
According to www.stress.org, the No. 1 health problem in the United States is: stress. It manifests itself in a person's emotions, mood and behavior. If you find your friends snapping at you this week, realize it's probably because they're stressed out.
Effects of stress include insomnia, difficulty learning new information, overreaction to annoyances, obsessive behavior, biting nails, headaches and more.
There are things you can do to manage your stress and avoid freaking out throughout midterm week. One of the best things to do when you get an assignment, or as soon as you know you are going to have a test, is put it on a calendar. Plan out days that you have time to study or work on that assignment in advance. Since you will then know the workload you have to look forward to, you may be less stressed since it will not come as a surprise.
"You have to make sure to follow your plan, though," Bair said. "If another opportunity comes along, you have to weigh your options and balance the things you want to and have to do."
Also, when you have a calendar in front of you it will be clear which days you have free to spend more time to study and which days you will be cramming until dawn. When you find you have free time, you can reorganize your workload. Study earlier for tests and spread out the work when you are going to be having rough nights. That way you won't be staying up till 3 a.m., four nights in a row.
You are thinking more about finally getting sleep, and less about what you need to know for your calculus exam. The more you sit trying to remember everything you learned during the last two months, the more your brain becomes overwhelmed.
Midterm week is the ultimate stress overload. Not only are students worrying about upcoming tests, but they are also bogged down with other tasks and responsibilities.
"Multitasking, anticipation and extreme amounts of reading are all things that make students stressed," said Ann Bair, a social worker and psychoanalytic psychotherapist. "The brain becomes overloaded, especially in addition to social activities that students want to get involved with."
According to www.stress.org, the No. 1 health problem in the United States is: stress. It manifests itself in a person's emotions, mood and behavior. If you find your friends snapping at you this week, realize it's probably because they're stressed out.
Effects of stress include insomnia, difficulty learning new information, overreaction to annoyances, obsessive behavior, biting nails, headaches and more.
There are things you can do to manage your stress and avoid freaking out throughout midterm week. One of the best things to do when you get an assignment, or as soon as you know you are going to have a test, is put it on a calendar. Plan out days that you have time to study or work on that assignment in advance. Since you will then know the workload you have to look forward to, you may be less stressed since it will not come as a surprise.
"You have to make sure to follow your plan, though," Bair said. "If another opportunity comes along, you have to weigh your options and balance the things you want to and have to do."
Also, when you have a calendar in front of you it will be clear which days you have free to spend more time to study and which days you will be cramming until dawn. When you find you have free time, you can reorganize your workload. Study earlier for tests and spread out the work when you are going to be having rough nights. That way you won't be staying up till 3 a.m., four nights in a row.
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