Some students do not have any midterms, like graphic design freshman Emily Scott.
But some, like biochemistry senior Natasha Hess, have six midterms this week.
“I am very stressed out,” Hess said.
Midterm week is not the same week for every person. It varies according to students’ majors. But Wellness Center Coordinator Kim Munro said the major tool most people often overlook during midterm week is good time management.
“Early planning is the key to success,” she said.
Nevertheless, she said she generally does not see more people for stress management during midterm week.
While time management is the major deterrent of midterm stress, Munro said if students have neglected to manage their time properly, she suggests they map out their time for that week.
Set aside time slots to studying for different classes, make a “to do” list, remember to laugh — trying to find the lighter side of things — and breathe deeply to relax, she said.
Little things always seem bigger during times of stress, so remember to put things in perspective, she said.
Drink a lot of water and eat good nutritious food, such as fruits and vegetables for snacks, and cut back on caffeine, she said.
If students are up late, caffeine will throw off their sleep patterns and often will make the student more tired, reducing memory retention, she said.
“If you insist on taking caffeine, do it in moderation,” she said.
Mechanical engineering juniors Cameron Lim, Jeff Thompson, Rodney Joseph and Richard Dunn had most of their midterms last week.
“I only slept 15 hours total last week, three hours a night,” Lim said.
He said he thinks everyone in his own major has to cope with a certain amount of stress, but one way to deal with it is time management.
Munro discouraged using diet pills or stimulants because it would be healthier in the long run to eat healthy and manage time efficiently.
“There’s a lot of research that says disrupting the normal sleep cycle will affect learning,” otolaryngologist [ear, nose and throat] Dr. Lee Bruner said.
When people study under a certain state, for instance, while taking stimulants, they may not retain what they have studied once they come down from the stimulants.
In the long term, high doses of stimulants are hard on the cardiovascular system because they raise blood pressure.
Stimulants act like adrenaline, which affects the nervous and cardiovascular system, so long-term use can cause psychosis and paranoid delusions.
Lim said he takes hour naps every afternoon to get refreshed. But Joseph said, “whatever you do, don’t go for 30 minutes; it’ll end up being three or four hours.”
Jenny Segura, a general studies senior, said she tries to spread out her studying as much as possible, unlike her roommates, who close themselves up in the library and do not talk to people for an entire week, she said.
And, some students, like ISDS freshman Vicky Huang, realize waiting until the hour before something is due is not a proper method of managing stress.d time management is the key to staying stress-free during increased periods of stress like midterm week.
But others stay optimistic, like general studies senior Rob Guilliams.
“It’s just a grade,” he said. “You can always pull it up later.”
Wellness education week is next week. The Wellness Center will have many programs promoting healthy lifestyles.