By Carlos Rodriguez, Vice President of Internal Affairs
Hey all you brainiacs,
My name is Carlos, and I am a third-year Cognitive Science major concentrating in Neuroscience. Before we dive into the meat of this post, I want to start off by saying congratulations! It has definitely been difficult at times, but you all managed to make it through of one of the toughest semesters UVA has had to offer. Whether you overloaded on credits or took a reduced schedule, the fact that you're still here today is a feat you should be proud of. And not a second too soon, the moment we've been waiting for all semester is finally in sight: the end of fall classes. The only thing standing between us and 12-hour binge sessions with Netflix are the dreaded finals.
Finals season is notorious for negatively impacting the mental health of many students. In the blink of an eye, two weeks of study time turns into 48 hours with little to no sleep and a whole bunch of coffee. Needless to say, that kind of approach is not encouraged for a number of reasons. Aside from the established benefits of learning over a wide range of time as opposed to in concentrated sessions, cramming is a sure-fire way to increase levels of stress and anxiety, which has significant neurological impacts.
Continuous exposure to stressors leads to compensatory short- and long-term changes in physiology. Some red flags of increased stress include serious impairment of metabolic and immune function (enough said). Even more critical to exams, however, is the impact anxiety and stress have on memory. The amygdala, found in the temporal lobe of the brain, is responsible for initiating the famous fight-or-flight response to stressors. Under levels of heightened anxiety, the amygdala is hyperactivated, preventing certain sensory information from accessing the memories associated with it. This means states of stress and anxiety create periods in which students are considerably worse at learning and storing new information. Worse learning leads to more stress, which leads to worse learning and so on, so to help avoid this viscous cycle, I wanted to share some useful tips to keep in mind as we round off the semester.
Tip 1: Work to minimize stressors. This one may seem like a moot point since for many, the stressor is an unavoidable final exam. However, spending less dense study time over a wider timeframe can help avoid sudden and dangerous spikes in anxiety levels.
Tip 2: Become the Health Nut. I know some people are tired of hearing the same advice about exercising and eating healthy to increase mental health, but there's a reason it's so popular. It's because science says it works, and here at Nu Rho Psi we're all about the science.
Tip 3: Practice mental relaxation exercises like mindfulness or yoga. These are calming methods that help effectively lower stress as the demand on your brain increases with more and more exams.
Tip 4: Enjoy some leisure time. If meditating isn't your cup of tea, you should still make sure to take a mental pause from schoolwork by doing things you enjoy. Even better if these hobbies still activate the mind in some way (swap the Netflix binge for some light video games).
Tip 5: Talk to people. Please, if you feel that the stress levels become too much, find family, friends, or other resources to talk through it. The act of sharing alone can help reduce levels of stress.
Bonus Tip: Stay away from coffee. If you've taken Cell Biology with Professor Wormington, you know how seriously caffeine can impact cognitive capabilities. It's bad news.
Picture Credit: Sachi Thomsen