Stress a mess for some students

‘ ‘ ‘ Mountains of paper coat tables in the Hillman Library, teeth marks decorate pencils and… ‘ ‘ ‘ Mountains of paper coat tables in the Hillman Library, teeth marks decorate pencils and pens,and bleary-eyed students trudge like zombies through freshly fallen snow. ‘ ‘ ‘ Stress never takes a more visible toll on students than it does during finals week.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Carl Johnson, a Pitt professor focusing on the psychology of education, said that moderate stress can actually help students. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘If there’s not enough stress, you won’t be motivated to get anything done,’ said Johnson.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ But for freshmen like Alex Chung, stress in any form is difficult to handle.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Workloads are about the same for me as in high school, but I’m a lot more freaked out about finals,’ said Chung.’ ‘In high school, we didn’t have to have half a textbook crammed into our heads.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Alex and his friend Matt Baker, another freshman, chose to handle the stress of their science finals by reading everything in the book and doing assigned problems. ‘ ‘ ‘ But freshman Katie Ly said she doesn’t study. ‘That’s my problem,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ James Cox, a psychologist at Pitt’s counseling center, suggested finding a balance between the two. ‘ ‘ ‘ Around this time of year, Cox sees many students for whom the stresses of finals become too much to bear without a little help.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The first thing I ask them is what they do to relax,’ said Cox.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ He said that handling stress is different for every individual and may take the form of hanging out with friends, exercising or simply taking a walk. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I also tell them to take control of the things they can control and don’t worry about the rest,’ said Cox.’ ‘If they say they can’t do anything except study and work, that doesn’t work.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt junior Nathan Shiner found a plan that works for him.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I try to exercise more during finals week, try to get as much sleep as possible, take a movie break here or there,’ said Shiner.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ But he still sets study goals for himself, locking himself up in Hillman Library until he has finished what he planned to study. ‘ ‘ ‘ In terms of noise level, Nathan has found a balance, too. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I like it to be quiet, but not completely quiet,’ he said.’ ‘A little bit of soft music works, some easy alternative rock.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Lucy Scalise, a first-year graduate student in Pitt’s School of Nursing, has years of experience in discovering what works for her.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ She uses a grid format to write out her schedule for the rest of the week. ‘ ‘ ‘ Besides making schedules and taking breaks, students can avoid the biological effects of stress by eating right and getting enough sleep, said Dr. Elizabeth Wettick, director of Pitt’s Student Health Services.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘People need to get at least seven hours of sleep,’ said Wettick.’ ‘Studying efficiency goes down as you get tired.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ She also recommended eating lots of protein-packed foods instead of junk food and to not go overboard on coffee.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Caffeine is a great drug, but don’t overdo it,’ said Wettick.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ For students with little time to think about their diets, this medical advice is difficult to apply to real life.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I’m on the liquid coffee diet,’ said first-year nursing student Jessica Burns. ‘Any caffeinated beverage works.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ But Burns and her study partner, Scalise, chose to snack on cheese and peanuts, two foods high in protein and good for brain function. ‘ ‘ ‘ Others, like Shiner, don’t eat so healthily.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I eat very poorly during finals week,’ he said. ‘I usually end up ordering out during finals week.’