It's that dreaded time of the year again—finals week. Although for some, I suppose it may have happened last week, or it may not happen for another week. But either way, it's that time of the year that everyone is freaking out and running around with their heads cut off. And, honestly, I don't blame you. After this semester my stress levels are through the roof. So much so that I'll be finding myself taking a break next semester, further pushing back my graduation date. Which has me stressing even more. Oh, and I have to start thinking about getting a job when I've never even done that before...wow.

Anyway, just breathe with me. Deep breaths. We'll take one thing at a time—myself included. First, we have to get through finals week. It's the first day of that week already, and every college student across the globe probably feels like they're on the verge of death. While you've probably heard these all before, I'm going to give you some tips on how to de-stress and keep your sanity for the rest of this week. Hopefully. I know all too well how college students like to juggle everything from their schoolwork, jobs, and extracurricular while also defeating the Procrastination Monster. It doesn't work too well. So, keep this stuff in mind while you take one day at a time this week.

Create a study plan
Seriously, this is going to save your life, even if it sounds too overused by everyone from your friends to your family to your teachers. Just get a piece of paper and jot down a list of what you need to do, when it's due, and when you'd like to do it. Categorize these things into preferred time slots that you'd be okay doing them in. If you say you want to do something for an hour and it takes more than an hour, do not stress about it. Give yourself plenty of time and think about how long these things should take you to plan accordingly. Finally, make sure to squeeze in allotted times for both sanity breaks and food breaks. You don't need a fancy planner or anything of the like to accomplish creating a study plan. Lists on paper pads or whiteboards will work perfectly.

Exercise
Believe it or not, exercise is extremely helpful during this stressful time. I know, just the word exercise popping up when you have mounds of papers to write, last minute projects to finish, and textbooks piled all around to review sounds revolting. Hell, you probably don't even want to leave your bed to study, let alone exercise. However, exercise actually reduces stress hormones and stimulates the production of endorphins. So, in fact, exercising will actually improve your mood radically and will also clear your mind to help you focus.

Seriously, just breathe
On the topic of clearing your mind and exercising to do so—it's also important to breathe. Take deep breaths and relax. Putting in some effort to be conscious of your breathing and breathing patterns is actually quite helpful, considering tension is stored in the body when stressed. So, if exercising doesn't help release this tension at all, yoga and meditation can be considered as alternative methods. Whether it's your thing to do or not, breathing deeply can help reduce tension and anxiety in the body when stressed and will also help clear your mind just like exercising.

Get enough sleep
Your teachers tell you this. Your friends tell you this. Your parents tell you this. Even you yourself tell you this. But do you actually do it? Considering all that has to be done and the amount of stress you're probably feeling during finals week, and the need to keep studying to ensure you know everything—and even the temptations to pull an all-nighter in order to achieve this—my guess is, probably not. But sleep is extremely important. Especially in times of extreme stress and during periods when information needs to be retained. As I said, sleeping helps you to retain information, which means it's actually a lot better to just sleep your normal amount of hours that you would any other night if it weren't finals week. Not only will you remember more, you'll feel a lot calmer and probably do better on your exams. Still thinking of cutting back on the sleep? Don't, because if it weren't already obvious, lack of sleep makes it harder to concentrate and recall information, and will also make you anxious.

Take a break from technology
Unplug those electronic devices and set aside your phone. Technology is a great study tool, but it can also add to stress. Unless you really, absolutely need your phone to study—I recommend setting it aside and turning it off completely, or putting it on silent. Not seeing social media updates and text messages will help you focus. Even if you decide to take a break, it still may be a good idea to set aside the phone and focus on yourself rather than the outside world.

Set aside some time for yourself
Go hang out with friends and do something fun. Make sure to laugh, because it helps to boost endorphins. But also learn when to say "No" to anyone who is bugging you to do something you may not feel like doing. Making too many commitments will only add to your stress. Also try taking a relaxing, warm shower or bath, go exercise, or do your laundry. Maintaining normalcy will give you a bit of a mental break even though many things like cleaning might feel like a chore. And, of course, there's always the option to just take a nap or snuggle up in bed with a movie or book.

Cut back on the caffeine
Believe it or not, I practically live off of Monster Energy Drinks. So me telling someone to cut back on the caffeine is quite a serious deal. But I am completely and utterly serious. Use your caffeine, whether it be energy drinks or coffee, as a reward pick-me-up when you're starting to feel the effects of long hours of studying. Don't use caffeine as something to keep you awake and going. Micromanage napping for that sort of thing. In fact, naps also help to boost memorization, so you really should consider that over caffeine to keep you awake and going. Caffeine not only boosts your energy levels, but it can also boost your anxiety and stress levels, and can cause headaches and upset stomachs. If you really need caffeine in your life, try a healthy tea alternative.

Cope with your testing anxiety
Last but not least—one of the most important things on my list. At least, it's important to me. Not only do I deal with anxiety, but I also deal with testing anxiety. It doesn't matter how much I know the material, I still pull up a blank when important moments such as exams come along. I'm still learning to cope with my testing anxiety. But I've found a guide created by the University College London that's spot on with testing anxiety as a whole, and how to manage it. Basically, you want to figure out your type of panic: Night-Before Panic, During Exam Panic, or Normal Panic. Depending on the type, cope accordingly. This UCL guide is extremely helpful, and I recommend reading thoroughly.

Last, but not least...good luck, everyone, and happy studying!