We can all admit that sitting exams is far from a fun time. You can get so wound up leading up to them with studying and stressing and late nights caused by anxiety. It can be a LOT.
It can be hard to actually allow yourself to let go of all that built-up pressure and stress once you’ve finished. You are told to enjoy the amazing feeling you get when you put that pen down, but a lot of the time it can be very underwhelming and you can nearly feel the exact same before you sat the exam.
There are ways to allow yourself to relax and de-stress in between and at the end of your exams. So here are some tips on how to relax and decompress post-exam season.
Have something planned
When you finish exams, you want to be able to celebrate, especially if you finish at the same time as your friends. But a lot of the time, the stress of the exams can stop you from thinking of a time that you won’t be studying.
The best thing you can do is to make sure you and your friends have something you guys can do to try de-stress together. Even if it’s just you and your besties getting together for a study sleepover on the weekend in between your exams.
Or if a sleepover isn’t suited to you, maybe going for a nice walk and a coffee or hot chocolate after the exam would be a great way to chat and decompress before the next round of exams.
Put away everything
It’s hard to just pack everything up when exam season is over, but it’s what you need to do to decompress and avoid staying wound up about the papers. And yes, when I say everything, I mean everything.
When one subject is done and dusted pack away all of your notes and books belonging to it. Doing this is important because it means that you won’t be tempted to look back over your notes and analyse the things you may have done right or wrong. What’s now done is done and it’s time to look ahead and not behind.
Catch up on sleep
There’s no doubt that during exam season there were many late nights of study and stress. So when exams come to an end take it as an opportunity to catch up on all those missed nights of sleep.
Once you finish up with exams, the best thing you can do for yourself is try to get your sleep back on track. You will definitely thank yourself when it’s back to normal because you don’t realise how much it affects your everyday life until you go back to normal. Exams put your body under a lot of stress so make sure you’re looking after it as much as you can outside of the exam hall.
Do the things you’ve been missing out on
We all know that everything else in your life gets put on the back burner once exam season approaches. Any hobbies or interests you have usually are forgotten about because ‘study study study’ is the only thing on your mind. But once you’ve finished up your exams, it’s the perfect time to get back into the things that bring you joy.
If you’re behind on your reading, treat yourself to a book you’ve wanted for a while. Catch up on the tv show you’ve been missing out on or get back to training for the sport you play. Do all the things that make you feel happy.
Written by Sadhbh O’Hara