5 Tips to Keep Your Mental Health in Check this Exam Season
With exam season right around the corner, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when you realize you have to balance your friends, a healthy lifestyle and five final exams.
This is usually the time when people forget to take care of themselves while they’re stressing to remember 12 chapters of Psychology 101.
While getting good grades is an important aspect of doing well in university, it is always important to remember how to protect your mental health.
Check out these five tips to ensure you’re taking care of your mental health while also achieving the grades you want.
1. Start Early
While we’ve all heard how bad it is to cram before exams, many forget that it affects more than just your grade. Cramming for exams hurts your mental functioning as you are not able to retain as much information which results in anxiety and stress in students.
In addition, cramming is also related to sleep deprivation, unhealthy eating habits and increased blood pressure levels. When most people cram for exams, they tend to pull the infamous all-nighter or get a reduced amount of sleep.
Susan Redline, an expert in sleep medicine, found that sleep deprivation is connected to an increase in anxiety and bipolar disorders. By starting your studying early, you’re more likely to do well on your exams and take care of your mental health.
2. Make Time for Yourself
While it might feel like exams are your main priority during this busy season, it is important to remember to take care of yourself as well. Ensure you’re taking time out of your studying schedule to keep doing activities that make you happy.
Whether this is taking 15 minutes out of your day to meditate, read a book, or go to the gym, making time for yourself will allow your brain to rest and better process the information you’re learning.
3. Study in the Right Place
Finding the right place to study can help improve the way you study and process information efficiently. Whether you enjoy studying in absolute silence or studying in a café, find the right place that gets you motivated to want to study and do well.
By studying in an area that you don’t enjoy, you might be easily distracted or agitated. Being in a negative environment can increase stress and frustration in your studies if you’re unable to concentrate.
Overall, having a good study space increases organizational skills, good study habits and positivity.
4. Eat Healthily
While you might feel more motivated to throw a pizza pocket into the oven rather than make yourself a salad, keeping healthy snacks near you will help ensure you’re still keeping yourself physically healthy.
It’s true, no one ever stress eats carrots. However, your physical health is just as important as your mental health during the exam period. Your diet is a crucial element to how we feel. The food-mood connection explains how unhealthy eating habits can contribute to mood swings.
In addition, more research is coming out to explain how food can develop, prevent and manage mental health conditions. Although it’s easier to eat unhealthy and greasy food when you’re stressed, try to keep easy-to-grab foods such as fruit or nuts around you to ensure you’re eating a healthy diet.
5. Ask for Help
Your mental health should be your number one priority, especially during exam season. Talking to a friend or a family member can help remind you that there is more to life than how you do on exams.
Talking through your problems has been scientifically proven to decrease stress, strengthen our immune system and reduce distress. If you’re not comfortable talking to someone close to you, consult a counsellor or a therapist can help you deal with the anxiety and stress you feel during this busy time of the year.
They will be able to help you talk through methods that will help you handle any symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.
Struggling to balance life as a student? Check out this video about the 5 best apps to help you stay organized!
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