Taking care of yourself this exam season

With June a.k.a. finals season right around the corner, exam preparations and final assignment deadlines begin to consume our every being. 

It’s easy to get sucked into your busy schedules and feel stressed out but let’s not neglect our mental and physical wellbeing. To help you with that, I’ve made a guide on how I identify exhaustion and compiled a list of things I like to do to destress.

Knowing when exhaustion is about to kick in differs for everybody. The way your body tells you it’s time to stop and relax might differ from mine. 

For me, losing focus (and I mean, really lose focus) is a sure-fire sign that it’s time for me to step away from my laptop and rest for a moment. It’s even more obvious that I need to stop when I’m reading the same pages of my notes/textbooks over and over again, yet nothing is making sense to me. It’s like my eyes are merely glossing over the words with no comprehension going on in my head at all. 

Another sign telling me I need a break is when my body starts aching and my head feels heavy. That’s right, covid and this weird superflu that has apparently been going around isn’t the only thing that can make you sick. Exhaustion and stress can too, so be sure to hit the pause button when you feel like you’re about to fall sick – and run a RAT test just to be sure. 

I also become very withdrawn and quiet because there’s nothing more that I want to do than just doze off when I’m feeling super tired. Even going to fun social events can feel like a chore when my battery has run out. 

The first thing I do to make me feel better is of course click command S on my files and shut my laptop down. If my eyelids are feeling particularly heavy that day, I’ll take a nap or go to bed early. I think getting enough sleep is crucial to curbing exhaustion.

I also like to cook myself a hearty meal, preferably a traditional dish as it often reminds me of the good carefree days I spent as a kid. I find that cooking helps me forget about the things that are stressing me out as I’m only focused on preparing the meal before me.

Oh, and I make sure I always stay hydrated – with plain water! As tempting as boba is to me, I still force myself to drink plain water regularly so that I don’t risk catching a cold or going through dehydration.

Catching up with my family and friends helps a lot too. I know it’s easy to turn into a hermit crab this time around and cease human contact until further notice, but I think talking to someone is still super important, especially when I know I’m not holding up so well. It’s okay to reach out.

Finally, I allow myself to be lazy after studying for long periods of time. I’ll tell myself that it’s ok to scroll mindlessly through social media and not feel guilty about it or that it’s fine to just sit on my bed and watch Netflix. I’ve done so much so I deserve to laze around.

I hope my guide has been helpful to you. Do look out for yourself and your friends this winter and exam season. All the best!