Students brain — Illustration by Ashley Swanson.
1. Sleep is your friend. Although there are a lot of last minute projects to do, it is more important to keep healthy during the week of finals. Don’t run yourself into the ground. Try to find time to get some sleep before your brain shrivels up like a raisin.
2. Use a planner. Staying organized is important. Using a planner will help keep track of your final papers and tests, so you don’t miss any deadlines, or sleep through an important final.
3. Eat healthy foods. Believe it or not, there are foods that will help you think better. Fish, blueberries, peanut butter, and eggs are just a few on the long list of great brain food. And yes, chocolate is on that list. To learn more about brain foods check out 4mind4life.com
4. Exercise. It does take up time, but a few minutes of exercise will not only keep you healthy, it will also relieve a lot of stress.
5. Get some fresh air. When you have a short break, leave the room for a little bit and get away from the books. Visit a friend, watch some TV in the lobby, or get a massage in the Student Center. Otherwise you’ll start to feel cooped up and a little crazy.
6. Stay off Facebook! You don’t necessarily have to delete the account, but hitting the log off button for a few hours rather than having it constantly up will eliminate distractions. Your friends will still be there after finals, don’t worry.
7. Study the way you will take the test. Sit quietly at your desk to study, like you are actually taking a test in class. Your situational memory will kick in when you’re under stress in a final.
8. Study in groups. Other people studying with you might bring up new ideas that you may have never thought of. Even better, it can be really fun. Sometimes, the goofy things your friends say when you’re studying will help you remember difficult questions.
9. Manage your time. Split up your time to work on projects evenly. Sometimes working on one project for two hours can make you brain muddled, and can get tedious. If you have a big essay due for your humanities class, but you also have a study guide to finish for your biology class, work a half hour on one and a half hour on the other. It will get both of them done, but also will allow your brain to take breaks from difficult tasks.
10. Take advantage of the tutoring center. It’s never too late to use your resources. The tutoring center can help you with your last-minute papers and projects, help you get organized, and help you study what you’ve found difficult and confusing.
