With midterms wrapping up, Drexel’s students are getting ready to switch gears and begin preparing for finals week, which will be here before we know it. Although studying is a priority, practicing mindfulness and taking care of ourselves is just as important in order to do well. When we don’t take care of our bodies, we can’t expect our minds to be able to focus while revising 10 weeks-worth of notes for every class we take. Before I experienced my first round of finals week as a freshman, I read up on ways to perform well⁠ — not with study tips, but with mindfulness tips. Ever since then, I have made it a point to include these practices in my daily routine because I have seen myself perform and feel good, even when I’m really stressed out. I hope these tips help you practice mindfulness, whether it’s the start or end of the term!

Many students choose to listen to music while studying; however, when the lyrics get in the way of studying, we may find ourselves remembering the words to the latest Beyonce song instead of the functions of organelles. White noise has become increasingly popular and is described to be a collection of random frequencies of sounds. The original intent was to create background noise so that when babies are sleeping and something emits a large sound, it blends into the white noise and the baby doesn’t wake up.

Basically, the background noise protects you from being disturbed or, in a student’s case, distracted by other noises around you. White noise helps students stay focused on the task instead of being distracted by people talking a few tables over in the library or roommates watching TV in the other room. Sometimes, doctors recommend patients diagnosed with ADD or ADHD listen to white noise as a way of tuning out their surroundings and focusing at the task at hand. However, this tool can benefit everyone. White noise tends to be the sound of rain or leaves rustling. Natural noises are common as they are soothing but will help improve concentration instead of making you feel drowsy. Consistently listening to white noise may help create a brain pattern where once you start listening, your brain automatically begins to focus.

What you put into your body is just as important as being able to memorize all the definitions from chapter or practicing your final presentation. There are special foods that help us best when studying and are named “brain food” for that specific reason. While we may be tempted to make microwave ramen or order junk food, eating healthy during finals week is just as important as revising your notes before the exam. When spending long hours at the library, it may be tempting to eat snacks as a meal replacement, especially when it feels like you can’t waste time preparing something to eat. But finals week is the time when you need to take care of your health, and in order to study and perform better, it is essential that you feed yourself properly.

Foods rich in protein and omega 3 help brain development, so consider adding fish into your meals. Eggs also contain a lot of protein as well as vitamin B12. This vitamin is what converts glucose into energy, which can help you work harder, fight off drowsiness and improve overall productivity. Lastly, dark leafy greens are one of the most important foods to include in your diet but tend to be the hardest for some. Vitamin K, found in these vegetables, improves memory and mental focus. It also slows down the process of cognitive decline, which means it will keep your brain working at a high pace and preventing you from losing momentum. Green smoothies are the best way to go, especially as a quick and easy breakfast. You can blend up a mix of berries and spinach, and while the smoothie may be green, all you’ll taste is berry!

We’ve all been told that yoga and meditation are some of the best ways to feel calm and clear our minds from any stress we may feel. However, sometimes attending in-person or structured classes is difficult as a student. If you do have the time, Drexel’s recreation center offers yoga classes in the early morning and evening that I highly recommend.

What I feel is the best part of these practices is that you can do it from the comfort of your room. You can easily close your laptop and notebook for just five minutes and follow a deep breathing exercise from YouTube or do a few quick stretches. I’m prone to neck and back aches after hunching over my laptop for long periods of time, and by adding quick stretches to my routine, I can help improve posture and minimize the strain I put on my upper body. We all know that after hours of studying, there’s a point where no matter how many times we try to push forward, we end up having to reread the same section over and over because we simply can’t concentrate. By practicing mindfulness, we are able to remove ourselves mentally from the situation and come back with a clearer head, which helps us recenter our focus.

I understand that the days leading up to finals week tend to be overwhelming, exhausting and stressful, but by implementing some of these strategies into your routine, I hope you are able to ease some of the tension off your shoulders. I know from experience it is much easier to study when your mind is in the right headspace to hit the books. However, when your mind begins to wander, hopefully these mindfulness skills help you recenter and bring your focus back.

Social media receives so much backlash for creating false images of people we idolize, quickly becoming a tool for cyberbullying and turning into a mindless distraction. While I’m guilty of spending more time than I would like to admit absentmindedly scrolling through photos on my Instagram feed, I’ve recently discovered a wide variety of pages that actually benefit my well-being and help me de-stress as I spend hours studying for exams. When there is a meaningful purpose to an Instagram page, whether it’s to make you smile or encourage a positive outlook on life, social media becomes less of a place of hatred and more of a place that students can turn to when they need a little brightness in their day.

When students are in a stressful situation, one of the most common solutions is to take a break and come back with a clear head. However, you may be in a place where getting up and excusing yourself is not the appropriate solution, especially when you’re at work or in class. This is when Instagram becomes a helpful aide. The Instagram page, @alongdustyroads, posts images from all over the world.

The colors are neutral which is proven to be calming, as bold colors tend to overstimulate the mind. You might not be able to step away from where you are, but you can visualize yourself being somewhere far away before coming back to reality. Because we are so confined to indoor spaces most of our lives, we don’t realize how much we crave adventure in the great outdoors. Seeing photos of outdoor landscapes  is soothing and reminds us to slow down and appreciate the beauty around us.

Personally, talking to people and expressing my worries about the situation out loud helps me calm down and start to think clearly again. However, there are many times we can’t reach out to certain people or don’t feel as though we are ready to share what’s been stressing us. Though I think words are powerful, spoken and written, I never really like poetry until a friend recommended me to look at Morgan Harper Nichols’ Instagram page.

On @morganharpernichols you can find art and poems comprised of a couple of words. It felt like someone clearly understood  what I was going through and managed to offer comfort through soothing words. Now, I have her poems hung above my desk to encourage and inspire me to push through any obstacles I may be facing. Her poems are thought-provoking and force you to reflect on the deeper meaning behind her words. She writes poems about every emotion possible, ranging from grief to joy and bravery. The concept may be broad, but you are immediately able to connect personal feelings with her words, which makes it seem like the poem was written to help you calm your mind.

Laughter is always the best medicine, especially on days when we feel completely out of it and could use a pick-me-up. It’s scientifically proven that petting animals helps lower your heart rate and make you more comfortable with your surroundings.

Drexel students are especially lucky given the university’s therapy dogs that make their rounds all over campus, usually during midterms and finals week. But when you’re cramped up in a tiny dorm and there is no dog in sight, @boopmynose comes to the rescue. About four times a day, this Instagram page posts adorable pictures of the furriest of friends with the occasional cat, horse and even duck! The page also posts nightly highlights of the dogs they posted through their Instagram stories, which is always a pleasant surprise after a long day of work or classes. It might seem weird scrolling through hundreds of dog noses, but any animal lover can relate to the joy of “booping” a dog’s cute nose. This page will be sure to bring you joy every time you come across their posts.

Instagram doesn’t need to be a mind-numbing distraction that takes away hours of your time. When you follow pages that inspire you or help lift you up, you are practicing mindfulness and relieving stress at the same time. While there are plenty more Instagram pages that can provide a change from your normal news-feed. I hope these three pages help you find peace within the chaos you may be facing as we head into Week Eight.

Admit it. Everyone loves their fair share of drama, usually on the big screen or on Netflix, but I believe in the power of books. Specifically, rom-coms bound in hardcover that keep you flipping through the pages way past your bedtime, which I prefer over movies. Whether you prefer the more traditional style or a fun, modern twist on a classic love story, it’s easy to let yourself indulge in the heart-tingling storyline of a cliche fairy tale ending. So step aside Nicholas Sparks movies; you’ve got some serious competition when it comes to my favorite romance novels that’ll leave you feeling fluttery on Valentine’s Day!

Most students can barely remember the last time they picked up a novel for fun. It’s understandable, considering that we are in the middle of winter term and barely have time to complete our assignments, study for midterms and find room for eating and sleeping. But the next time you decide to scroll through Netflix’s recommendations, consider picking up a book instead. What better genre than romance for this time of year?

When I’m not on co-op, I’m guilty of going months without even thinking of reading a book during my downtime, especially after all that time I spend reading my biology textbook. This is when I dive into “beach-reads”: books that are short, sweet and can easily be finished over the course of a week. These novels tend to follow the same romantic theme of two people falling in love, yet something keeps them apart for a while, and in the end, they live happily ever after. They may be predictable, but “beach-reads” are the kind of books that make you lovingly sigh and want to keep reading. My current favorite, “The Royal We” by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, is a spin on Kate Middleton and Prince William’s love story, this time featuring an American falling head over heels for the British prince. From the moment you meet the characters, you feel yourself slip into their shoes and within minutes, you’re transported to the dorms of Oxford University.

This is where most people tell me “you can feel those exact same emotions while watching a movie!” and question why I’m wasting all this time reading when I could be enjoying something onscreen instead. Personally, I have to be in a specific mindset before watching a movie, or else I have trouble paying attention and can’t follow the storyline. Usually, if I’m preoccupied by something, I won’t find the movie as enjoyable, which defeats the purpose of having a movie night in the first place. Romance movies tend to be longer to make up for all the character development a book contains in just a couple of chapters. This means that when watching a movie, it takes a longer time before emotions are evoked.

Books, on the other hand, can easily be picked up. From the beginning, you feel that tugging at your heartstrings. In general, romance movies tend to create plots which require a lot of concentration from the viewer to grasp the whole experience. There also tends to be an unnatural amount of rain and disaster that can turn a cute storyline to cringe-inducing one.

When a movie intensifies the simple love story for dramatic effect, it loses the light-heartedness a book is able to perfectly capture. It’s reading about this care-free love that has people coming back for more. Romance novels have the magical ability to use just the right words to pull the reader in, instead of relying on visual content. You are instantly whisked away into a different world, where you can imagine what is around you. Reading in general also provides you with cultural knowledge that you can’t find on Hulu, which is surprisingly true for romance novels as well. Whether the characters are falling in love on the cobblestone streets of Paris or exploring the wildlife of the Australia’s outback, you are exposed to new lifestyles and experiences.

When it comes to books, romance has a wide collection of books that can be selected based on how much time a reader can devote to the it. There are the “beach-reads,” traditional style, romance combined with sci-fi, mystery and even adventure, if that’s more like your cup of tea.

You don’t have to be a die-hard lover of books to enjoy what romance novels have to offer, especially when there are so many different subgenres to choose from. Though dinner and a movie is one of the most popular date ideas, maybe you’ll consider picking up a book instead this season. There are many romance novels out there on the shelves, and I hope you find one that is able to fill your heart this Valentine’s day. Happy reading!

By now, the “Winter Term Blues” have settled in as we reach the halfway point of the term. The clouded, dreary days seem endless, especially when most of us are dreaming of summer nights. Seasonal Affective Disorder has made its presence well-known on most college campuses around the country. My RA freshman year even created a bulletin board on how to tackle the “Winter Term Blues” to help lift our spirits and establish a healthy mindset during these chilly times. Remember to reach out to Drexel’s Office of Counseling and Health Services if you are in need of help! I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to dealing with SAD, but here are a few ways I maintain a positive attitude during most students’ least favorite term of the year.

Sunlight is just as important to us as it is to plants. We may not go through the process of photosynthesis, but natural light helps improve mood, reduce drowsiness and increase overall productivity. As students, we spend a majority of our time indoors studying or working, and we don’t have time to spend hours on end sitting outside trying to soak up sunlight.

However, because of the already limited amount of daylight during the winter months, just opening up the blinds in your room can do wonders! There are also many places on campus that receive a ton of natural light, whether you want to hit the books or just hang out with friends. The Korman Center and lower level of PISB are two more commonly known locations, but at the end of the hallway on PISB’s second floor is a great study nook that looks out onto Chestnut Street. The sets of high tables and chairs that line the windows of the Daskalakis Athletic Center have become increasingly popular, too. It’s obviously more difficult to spend time outdoors when it’s so cold outside, but any amount of natural light is beneficial for our physical and mental health.

A common symptom of SAD is social withdrawal, which is an easy hole to fall into if you aren’t proactive about fighting it. I’m guilty of spending my night curled up under a blanket and watching Netflix after a long day. However, sometimes you just have to force yourself out the door. Whether it’s a quick trip to the grocery store with your roommates or finishing math homework at the library with friends, it’s important to surround yourself with others to fight off feelings of isolation. When it becomes too cold to even think about going outside, baking or having movie nights in the comfort of your dorm or apartment are great alternatives. When you spend time socializing with friends, a chemical reaction, known as the dopamine reaction, takes place in the brain, making us feel happier. The term is stressful enough as it is, but, by taking the time to connect with people, we can lessen the tension and help ourselves to relax.

Weather has a major impact on how active we feel, and in the winter, the cooler weather tends to make people feel sleepier earlier and feel a general desire to hibernate. This is when it is most important to keep your blood flowing and your heart rate up. For some, this may mean heading to the gym and using the machines or lifting weights. I prefer the exercise classes, since I get to see my friends and get an upbeat work-out in at the same time.

But exercising comes in all forms! The DAC offers lap swim time, or you could shoot some hoops in a pick-up game, or you can walk the track while listening to your favorite tunes. While sleep is important for us to function properly on a day-to-day basis, too much sleep is not good for the body either. By staying active, our mind is given a much deserved break, and a new activity is added to our day, which can change up the mundane daily routine some of us fall into. This also can increase our quality of sleep and help us feel refreshed and awake, even if we didn’t get to sleep in for very long.

Winter is in full force, but that doesn’t mean we have to catch those blues. While maintaining a positive outlook may be difficult with the never-ending midterms and frosty weather, there are many ways we can improve our day, even if it’s simply by catching up with a friend or spending some time outside. In some cases, a change of scenery can make a big difference as it helps us break a cycle we feel locked into. Try to implement some of these tips into your day when you begin to feel the “Winter Term Blues” coming through.