By Timothy Nguyen ‘23
With the recent end of midterms, a rush of relief is to be expected. The experience of the exam week was undoubtedly a very stressful event that I am sure no one wants to go through again. And so, here are some ways to help deal with, and prevent this almost inevitable stress from being as unpleasant in the future.
1). Get a Sufficient Amount of Sleep
Sleep is a very important factor on whether a person has a healthy lifestyle or not. High school life is obviously very stressful with homework, studying for tests, and the numerous extracurricular activities that require a lot of commitment. However, it is vital to have enough sleep, so that you can be fully recharged for the next day.
2). Take a Couple Minutes to Meditate
Stress can affect your productivity and level of focus by making you have erratic thoughts. And so, by taking a couple of minutes to do some simple breathing exercises, you can naturally lower your stress levels and your anxiety in preparation for stressful situations, such as taking tests or presenting a project in front of a class.
3). Listen to Music
Music can help increase the time we can work by putting us in better moods. So the next time you have a long study session or try to finish up some homework, open another tab on your computer, and play your favourite songs. Songs with lyrics can cause distractions, so ideally, songs similar to instrumental music from a game’s original soundtrack or lofi beats should be used when you are working.
4). Work in an Organized and Clean Environment
Like the expression, “we eat with our eyes first”, when we see a cluttered and messy environment, it can cause us to feel unproductive and stressed before we even start doing work. This is why it is often promoted to keep your room clean. Furthermore, an organized study environment can help you know where all of your study materials are, so you won’t need to go digging through your folders to find a certain paper.
With about 5 months left until the end of the school year, there are still many tests, homework/project assignments, and social challenges to experience. But hopefully, these four tips will help make it a little easier, more enjoyable, and a lot less stressful.
The Salesian Spectator 