The rigorous academics of college provide many opportunities and challenges.

On one hand, it presents the opportunities to learn more about the world and oneself, but it also comes with the challenge of dealing with the responsibility of coursework and the stresses that result from it.

While we are approaching the end of the semester, stress among college students begins to rise. This is due to anxieties about upcoming exams. The final drive to improve or maintain grades can be a precarious situation for many students. Late night cram sessions and high-scale nervousness are some of the evidence that exams are coming soon.

However, it is vital to stay above these clouds of panic in order to avoid the potential damages of too much stress before and during finals week.

It is a fallacy that one can learn a semester’s worth of coursework in the short span of one night. Cramming does not work. It has two significant consequences: the crammer will waste the time they used to study because they will not retain the material, and they will lose sleep.

Sleeping is the most useful ‘activity’ one can do for their body; it reinvigorates it. Students should get at least eight hours of sleep per night to function optimally.

In the case of college students, this does not occur for various reasons. Often, people find that they are too busy to do everything that they have scheduled: work, activities, and course assignments.

Without sleep, one’s body will not function well. Staying in the library until four in the morning to study aggressively may look like a beneficial strategy, but it eats away at one’s body very quickly. Therefore, the best strategy before an exam is to get a sufficient night of sleep instead of futilely trying to cram course material into one’s brain.

In order to relieve stress, one should start studying for exams now. Spending only 15 or 30 minutes studying per day is much more beneficial than waiting until the last minute. Not only will one retain more of it, but one will also avoid the anxieties that come with not properly planning ahead.

As a college student, it is essential that one develops and enhances their time management skills. Time is the most valuable currency of one’s life. The further along humans go in their lifespans, the less they have of it.

Stress is a normal part of life. Without stress, life would be boring.

For instance, imagine a roller coaster that followed a circular path, but with no change in speed or elevation. That would be life without stress; it would be bland and unappealing. The enjoyments in life stem from the peaks and the valleys, the twists and turns, the acceleration and deceleration. One gets an adrenaline rush from it.

When exam week approaches, do not get overly worried about it. It is not a measure of one’s worth; it is a measure of the work one has put into learning the material of the course. Before the night of an exam, watch an early movie or spend the early night with friends.

Just make sure to get a good night’s sleep and it will work out.