Right now is a stressful time for students at Creighton due to finals being close by and many of us are coping with it in different ways.

There are different ways that we cope with stress, but plenty of these methods are healthier than others.

While some students create study schedules and exercise to cope with stress, other students might partake in unsafe activities such as ignoring the stress, poor eating habits and even substance abuse.

Engaging in the latter of the activities suggested might seem like it can temporarily fix the problem of being stressed out, but in the long run it will just delay the inevitable, (finals), and make for even more problems in the future.

As stated, creating a laid out plan is an extremely effective way of managing time during finals week. If you can manage your time and study in 45-minute blocks with a 10-minute break in between, one can cover plenty of information in an extremely effective and efficient way.

It’s essential that a student does not overfill their time in order to prevent lack of motivation/burn-out. With a study schedule, a lot of stress will be taken off your shoulders and it will feel like you can actually do the entire task that was planned.

Another way to get everything covered in the least stressful way is to do the hardest topics first. Think of it this way: If a few hours are spent chemistry and you only review the easiest material, when it comes time to study the harder information you are going to feel burned-out and will have a much harder time learning the more difficult topics.

One method that should be avoided is comfort eating. While the idea of “eating your problems away” might sound appealing, what is eaten can have a heavy impact on how well the studying goes and, subsequently, how well finals go.

Not eating enough can fatigue you and make a burn out can occur just as quickly as eating too much of a fatty food.

Another problem among students during finals week is the intake of caffeine. According to Columbia Spectator- Columbia University student paper- the average college student consumes 850 mg of caffeine per day, with a standard deviation of 1,266 mg. The US recommended daily allowance is 200-300 mg.

While this intake of caffeine might seem ideal to students in order to help them power through and study hard for their upcoming finals, too much caffeine, (Yes, 850 mg is too much), can have negative effects on both the body and mind such as irritability and restlessness among other things.

With finals coming up, be sure to use all the time effectively and keep up with your good habits. It’s amazing how a few simple changes can make or break finals week.