Healthy body, healthy mind: Dealing with exam stress

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/exams07.jpg” caption=”Getting enough sleep and a well-balanced diet can help students cope with exam stress. File photo.”]December can be a stressful month for students as they prepare for exams, but there are services available to help make exam time as stress-free as possible.

“I was extremely nervous,” said Zoya Alam, a second-year life sciences student, recalling her first set of university exams. “At the time, it felt like it would make or break my grade.”

She definitely was not alone. Each year as the end of the term approaches, students of all ages enter panic-mode in anticipation of final exams.

“The medical clinic sees a lot of students about stress; there are waiting lists,” said Debra Earl, manager of the Health and Wellness Centre.

First-year students are especially vulnerable since they are faced with the extra stress of adjusting to university life. Still, Earl finds that first-years are more reluctant to seek help, or are not even aware of the resources available to them on campus.

McMaster's own Student Centre basement is home to a variety of services designed to help students out.

The Centre for Student Development provides one-on-one counseling for personal and school-related issues, the medical clinic offers testing, and the Health and Wellness Centre dispenses a wealth of information on how to deal with health-related problems.

In fact, the Health and Wellness Centre has created a series of helpful pamphlets outlining what they call “strategies to effectively prevent stress” (STEPS). Workshops and lectures on STEPS are offered to students during the school year.

“Everyone has different coping strategies to compensate for feelings of stress, but the key is that good health helps you manage stress better,” said Earl. She emphasized the importance of sleep, proper nutrition, exercise and leisure time.

The “healthy body, healthy mind” mantra may sound cliche, but when it's put into practice, it really works. People can't function when their food and sleep needs are being neglected.

“I didn't see any sunlight for a week,” said Alam of the time she spent preparing for last year's exams. “I was going to bed at 5 a.m. and waking up at 3 in the afternoon.” She put a stop to that pattern as soon as she realized the toll it was taking on her health.

Alam started a new study system based on advice she received at the Health and Wellness Centre.

“I set myself a study goal, and [once I accomplished it], I would reward myself with something,” she said. Whether that reward was a favourite food, some time with friends, or a trip to the gym, Alam found that the incentive improved the quality of her studying, and the study-break helped her cut down on unnecessary stress.

Holing yourself up in your room for hours at a time will not make exams any easier. It can deteriorate your health and exhaust your brain.

Stress will not disappear, and sadly, neither will exams, but like Earl said, “If your body is in good shape and well-prepped,” exam season will be a whole lot easier to handle.