Every year at precisely the same time students turn to sleep deprivation, Aderol, coffee, and junk food in an effort to make up for what they haven’t been doing all semester -learning. We all know that living like this isn’t good for us, but we do it anyway, which is why you may want to start paying attention now. The friendly folks at the health center were kind enough to sit down with me and help me get my life straight. Now it’s your turn to learn from my experience.
The first thing you’ll need to do is make yourself a list that tells you what you need to do and when you need to do it. This will save you a lot of stress.
“Block out your week on a calendar,” said Gaither Terrell, director of Guilford’s counseling services. Make sure to include the work you need to do as well as the rest of your daily routine.”
Once you have laid out your schedule for the next few days, you need to jump right in and start getting things done.
“Do the thing that you’re dreading the most first,” said Terrell. “That way your work will just get easier for you.”
But don’t beat yourself up. “As a rule of thumb you should try not to study for more than three hours without taking some kind of break,” said Terrell. “It’s best to try and get off campus periodically just to get away from the pressure of school and give your mind a break.”
Now that you’re following a calendar, taking breaks, and tackling your biggest projects first, you can start becoming aware of maintaining a healthy daily routine. This starts with sleep.
“Your body needs about eight hours of sleep every 24 hours,” said Anita Masterson, student health nurse. “You will do your best work when you don’t disrupt your sleep cycle with alertness aids.”
The use of alertness aids, from caffeine to Aderol, is common and may help you get big chunks of work done at the last minute, but the alertness you gain comes at a significant cost.
“Every year during finals we have students come to see us complaining of chest pain, panic attacks, and heart racing,” said Helen Rice, director of student health. “You need to know your limits, even with coffee. If your body is sensitive to caffeine, don’t drink a pot of coffee just to stay awake.”
“Aderol and Ritalin are a little different because they are so much more intense than coffee, and if you’re not prescribed them, they are illegal,” said Rice. “Lots of people use these drugs to get their work done and then use alcohol or some other downer to get to sleep. This kind of manipulation of your body’s rhythm makes you extremely susceptible to contagious illness like colds and the flu.”
Your sleep cycle isn’t the only thing you need to worry about, though. Eating right is just as important for your health and academic success.
“We tend to use food as a response to stress,” said Susan Smith, administrative assistant for counseling and student health. “This can lead to using vending machines as your primary source of sustenance during finals as they are located nearest to where most of your stress is encountered. Don’t succumb to the temptation. Get off campus, take a break and get yourself some real food.”
Finally, it is important not to put the rest of your life on hold in favor of academics. “Make sure and do one fun thing a day,” said Rice. “Get some exercise; you’ll come back and still have the work to do but being active will rejuvenate you.”
“I always like to work out when I get stressed during finals,” said Tyler Cope, senior philosophy major. “I keep in mind that home work is always optional. This helps me keep school in perspective.”
So, if you find yourself panicking about your academics, don’t turn to an unhealthy lifestyle; just be more intentional for a few weeks about time management. This way you just might get those A’s without giving yourself a heart attack in the process.