With finals coming up, the college is preparing to help students push through their last exams of the semester without losing their minds too much. The library will be open 24/7 with snacks each night; Bon Appetit is planning to keep us fueled with late night food. Movies will still be free at the Bohm and Bogar, and the CPO office will help us relax on the first reading day by sponsoring the Food, Fun and Finals event.
As helpful as all of this is, I often find myself still stressing during finals week. Sometimes, when my stress hits an all time high, the only way to relieve it is to go for a run. Finals week is code for “how much can we mess up your sleeping pattern?” So, I often find myself ready to go for that run around 2 a.m. Whether I had too much caffeine or just sat around studying for too long, sometimes I feel the need to take a break and move around. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many options for a place to go for a run at this time of night.t. Just like the library, the Dow should be open 24/7 during finals week.
There are numerous articles about how exercising is proven to reduce stress. An article on using exercise to manage stress from the Mayo Clinic discusses how the endorphins exercising releases can help you to feel happier, which can lower your anxiety and stress levels. This doesn’t mean that you need to go through a hard weight lifting session or a long run just to feel better. Picking any exercise you like will help just as much. Thirty minutes of swimming, yoga, racquet ball or even just a light jog can make a huge difference on how you feel.
In an article published by University of Minnesota, a study was referenced that said students who exercised frequently during finals had a GPA that was .4 higher than students who didn’t regularly break up studying with exercise. You can even be studying while working out. Record yourself saying your notes, and listen to it while working out. Exercising is known to help with memory too. You are more likely to retain the stuff you hear for a longer period of time if you learned it while working out.
Overall, exercise is one of many great ways to relieve stress, but at Albion, it is one stress relieving tool we have limited access to during one of the most intense weeks of the school year. Having 24/7 access to the Dow hopefully would help students relieve stress and study in a creative way that fits their final schedule.
Picture by Katie Boni
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