October is the season to be spooky and enjoy the cooler temperatures with scary movies and pumpkin-patch pictures. But another horror approaches University of Saskatchewan students as we enter this month — midterms.

While some people may actually be able to enjoy this time of year — if they’ve convinced themselves that they’ve retained and learned everything taught in class — there’s a big difference between learning concepts and memorizing answers, especially when it comes to cramming in content the night before.

Yes, if you are a diligent student, you may be prepping a week or even two weeks in advance of a midterm, but how much of this information could you say you’ll remember in say, five years?

Midterm season is a time where all the material from class piles up. Suddenly, you don’t have a chance to fully learn and understand it all. Week after week, exam after exam, you can really only hope that your attempts are enough to get the grade you want. Left with little choice, all you can do is memorize.

The nightmare does not end here, either, folks — it’s widely known that, once midterms start, the entire semester is filled with endless studying until the end of the term. All we can hope for is that we somehow survive the rest of the year with the occasional coffee and Spotify jam session.

Thankfully, there are a couple of ways to relieve that midterm stress and catch some relaxation, even if it is just for a few minutes.

Know that your health comes first even though, sometimes, you can’t help but stay up all night to get that assignment done. Instead of depending on coffee to stay up, why not choose healthier options? Green tea is a great alternative for those seeking a caffeine rush. It has a lower caffeine content than coffee but enough to give you a boost.

Having an option to give you that energy without becoming dependent on coffee is great, as coffee dependency can become a problem. It’s a better option for people who deal with anxiety,  too, as higher caffeine consumption can cause you to become more anxious.

How about a snack to help get you through it? Stress can influence our eating in different ways. It can cause us to eat more or to not eat at all. It may be a struggle, but eating something healthy will give you the energy to pull through.

It can be something simple, like peanut butter on toast, crunchy carrots, or yogurt and granola — even some Halloween candy is better than nothing! All of these snacks have different benefits and are another way to stay healthy, or at least, as healthy as you can when you’re in university.

Lastly, let’s all get up and move around a bit. Studies recommend that, after about 30 minutes of studying, one should get up and stretch, move around and be active — even if it is just for five minutes.

We all know from experience that, when you are stuck stationary for a long time, you start to feel sleepy, so moving around is a good way to kickstart your brain. However, if you do need some sleep, don’t deny yourself  a quick nap. Lack of sleep can have huge impacts on your health and performance in school, meaning denying yourself can impact that midterm grade. Midterms don’t have to be a struggle. Hopefully, these tips and tricks can help you thrive this exam season. 

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Yashica Bither

Graphic: Yashica Bither