The spring semester is drawing to a close, and finals are creeping up. The end of the semester often marks a stressful time for students because they are dealing with final assignments and exams, and many are also packing up to move back home for the summer. Stress can have a variety of impacts including anxiety, trouble sleeping, fluctuations in mood, difficulty concentrating and an overall worse performance on assignments.
According to Dryw Dworsky, the Director of the Psychological Services Center, a few ways to alleviate stress are to exercise, practice meditation and mindfulness, participate in recreational activities or anything that people perceive as self-care.
“Trying to do things on a day-to-day basis to lower your overall stress level so that when those things [final assignments] hit, it doesn’t have quite the impact…” said Dworsky. “It’s not the kind of thing that you just do once at the end of the semester when things get really bad – you try to be consistent and work that stuff into your daily routine… It might be something as simple as a five-minute deep breathing exercise.”
According to Kelsey Hammitt, the Coordinator of Student Engagement and Belonging for the College of Education and Human Development, another way to alleviate stress is managing time well through things like study schedules, balancing between work, personal and school life, and not taking on too much. Social support can also be helpful, whether it be with friends and family or with the Counseling Center on campus.
Teresa Mercer, the Interim Assistant Director of Tutoring Services and the Tutoring Coordinator for the Learning Commons, suggested that students should utilize a calendar or planner to keep track of deadlines or to set aside a specific time to study, focus on one class, or go to the Learning Commons. Making a plan at the beginning of the semester, reading class syllabi and going to office hours can also prepare students throughout the semester for final assignments and for how to be successful in that class. To help relax, students can also schedule time to do something they would enjoy like taking a walk around campus or downtown BG.
Additionally, students can alleviate their stress through study habits that they find uniquely effective. According to Hammitt, students usually learn best by using study methods that fit their personal learning style: auditory, visual or kinesthetic. For students who do not know their learning style, many quizzes are available online.
Visual learners often learn best with methods like flashcards, highlighting key words, color-coding notes and creating mind maps or diagrams. Auditory learners utilize reviewing recorded lectures, reading aloud when studying and forming study groups to discuss topics. Lastly, kinesthetic learners find it effective to roleplay concepts or move around while studying.
Hammitt also said that study methods best for retention are active recall habits like flashcards, self-testing, consistently reviewing over a longer period of time and the elaborative interrogation method, where students gain a deeper understanding of the material by asking “why” questions.
Mercer said that working in collaborative situations, whether that be with peers or tutors, can help with effective studying. Additionally, simply rewriting notes, reorganizing old notes and teaching others are also helpful study methods.
According to Dworsky, when students manage their stress, cognitive abilities improve, they have better recall abilities and often less anxious thoughts.
“Stress and stressful thoughts are distracting. So the better you are able to manage those, the better you are able to be effective academically, socially and pretty much across the board,” said Dworsky.
In addition to the stress-reducing strategies previously mentioned, there are multiple on-campus options for students to turn to at the end of the semester if they are looking for a little break or help.
The PAWS Therapy Dog team is hosting Pump Up with PAWS on Mondays from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Rec. Center, Barks at Bowen-Thompson on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at BTSU, and Doggie Study Hours on Wednesdays from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Market at Jerome Library.
On Wednesday, April 23, Campus Activities is hosting a Sunset Movie at the Doyt with a fan-selected movie, free snacks and games. Pizza and games begin at 7 p.m. and the movie at 8 p.m.
The Office of Health and Wellness is hosting Mindful Moments events where students, faculty and staff can participate in free, 15-minute drop-in mindfulness sessions on Mondays from 8:30 to 9 a.m. and Thursdays from 12 to 12:30 p.m. This event must be registered online.
There are many more upcoming events on campus that students can utilize as a break from studying and a way to relieve stress. Visit the BGSU events calendar for more.
For academic help, the Learning Commons has virtual and in-person services like the Writing Center, the Math and Stats Lab, and the Tutoring Lab
