Stay Hydrated!

Drinking water or tea is a great way to maintain maximum brain functionality. Since 85% of the brain is water your brain depends on it.  Water transfers electrical energy to your brain allowing for greater memory, focus, clarity, and creativity.    Are you feeling thirsty yet? Hot tea is calming and has relaxing effects especially after a long stressfrul day.  It’s also calorie-free and contains antioxidants Hot tea can help you wind down after a long and stressful day, as it has multiple calming effects. In addition, it is calorie-free and contains antioxidants which help to boost your immune system.

Make a Fresh Start

Having trouble getting yourself to study?  Try taking a shower or bath to refresh yourself.  It’s a great way to clear your mind especially if you’re feeling tired.  Invigorate yourself by finishing your shower with cool water.  Over stimulated and need to relax?  You can add lavender bath salts or oil to the tub as you soak and relax. Girls, you can try shaving your legs or painting your toenails to focus your mind on one thing for a minute to help take your mind off of all the unfinished work left to complete.

Treat Yourself

First let’s differentiate between stress eating and light snacking to keep you going through a long study session.  Drowning yourself in bags of potato chips, soda, and other junk food is high in unhealthy fats and calories only hurting you in the end.  However, having a snack on hand while you read or write can help break up the monotony.  What you choose to eat makes all the difference. Trail mix is easy to snack on.  Choose something with lots of nuts for brain power,  dried fruit for some sweetness, and throw some dark chocolate nuggets in there to make it fun and give you a little caffeine boost.  Small doses of dark chocolate are a great way to raise your morale and give you an extra boost.  The tryptophan and serotonin found in chocolate help induce feelings of relaxation and well-being.  So, reward yourself here and there as you hit your studying goals.

Create a to do list

There’s no better feeling than crossing things off the list you’ve made to keep yourself on track.  The feeling of accomplishment as you cross tasks off will motivate you to tackle the next item on your list. You can even have multiple lists for each assignment and a master list for everything.  It will keep you on track by helping you remember everything you need to do and give you a guide for what order to do them in so you work more efficiently.

Get up and move

Don’t forget to get up from your books and computer and move around in between tasks.  Set a timer to remind yourself to get up and walk around, jog in place, dance, jump around whatever you like to do.  Especially, if you’re working on a computer! Your eyes need to rest from the screen so they don’t get overtired. Try any or all of these simple suggestions and keep reminding yourself that finals week means you’re almost there and will have a much deserved break soon! Hang in there.