Midterms or tests later in the semester are always difficult and stressful, especially when you have to deal with all of your classes at the same time. It is important to remember to take time to calm down so that your studying is effective. Taking the time to stop stressing about all your tests will allow you to use your time and brain power to actually learn the information and ease your mind.

1. Treat yourself

You should take a break and treat yourself to either a nice sit-down meal where you are not reviewing flashcards or staring at your notes. You can also treat yourself to a tv show or movie or maybe even a manicure or pedicure.

2. Furry friends

It has been proven that petting an animal will slow your heart rate and calm people down. Therefore take some time to love on a puppy or kitten at your local animal shelter or if you have one at home allow them to help you study.

3. Exercise

You should be taking an hour of your day to exercise anyways so you taking the time to exercise when you are stressed will hopefully make you sweat away those feelings.

4. Music

Music is something that people have an emotional connection to so listening to a song you love or one that makes you want to get up and dance will have you thinking about anything other than the tests that are ahead of you.

5. Take a nap

Power naps are the key to success. They give your eyes a time to rest instead after having stared at pages of notes and quizzes for hours. Just remember to set an alarm and to not oversleep.

6. Get some fresh air

Going for a walk or getting some sunlight can make a lot of difference. Taking the time to go outside for a little bit allows you to slow down.

7. Take some time for yourself

You probably use your free time to see your friends and that is great but allow yourself the time to do the things that you need to do alone such as clean your room or watch that show you have been meaning to watch on Netflix.

8. Sort out what you know and don’t know

Now, I will give you some studying advice. Take the time to before you even study quiz yourself. You will find out what you know and what you don’t know right at the beginning. After having done that, study and quiz yourself periodically. You won’t have to stress when you know you know all the material or at least know what it is that you do not know as well.

9. Breath

It sounds silly to remind yourself to breathe but taking a few yoga breaths will let your thoughts slow down and allow you to focus more on your studying.

10. Be creative

Paint, draw, color, decorate, write, basically do something that lets your mind have fun. Studying and learning material isn’t allows super fun so do something that is to treat your mind.

Lastly, stressing about tests does not help you do better on an exam and I wish everyone luck throughout their test and midterm season.