Even the word "finals" makes me cringe; no one wants to even think about them. I immediately think of all the notecards and sleepless nights required to take exams on content I swear I'd never seen before. Studying for finals isn't the only way to fully prepare. We have to take care of ourselves and get all of our ducks in a row before we can get ready for one of the scariest weeks of the school year. Here are five of the ways I destress for exams. These tips can be used for finals, midterms, or even regular tests!

1. Use a planner:

The best way to start studying is to know exactly what material to study. Some professors give cumulative exams, but not all of them do (they are the true heroes). Get the syllabi for the classes you are going to have exams in and see what chapters are going to be covered and write them out. This way you can get your notes tin order and start preparing.

2. Make some snacks and meals ahead of time:

Studying is clearly not the most fun, and usually there isn't a lot of time in between to make food. We all enjoy some fast food, but eating it for every meal can really send our bodies on a strike. If you make meals and snacks before, you can easily grab them when needed and keep hitting the books.

3. Find a space you work best in:

Some people enjoy working with others, and some like studying alone. Either way is beneficial, and finding the way that works the best for you will really help you study. If you work with a group but work better alone, you may not get as much done, and same can be said if you study alone. Finding which way suits you best will give you a head start on what is to come this week.

4. Give yourself a break:

Even though it may seem like if you take a single second to breathe, you'll fail your exams, you need to step away. Taking study breaks will actually let you study better and retain more of the information you're reading. After a certain point, your brain will get too strained, so don't feel bad f you get up for a few minutes and walk around to let everything you have done sink in.

5. Make time to sleep: We all long for more sleep than we think we can have during finals week, but the truth is, staying up late into the night to study isn't always the best choice. We all pull all-nighters, but pulling multiple in a row or only sleeping a few hours in between studying doesn't give our bodies any time to rest and may even be why we don't do as well on our exams as we would like to.