It’s finals week at many Iowa colleges and universities, and crunch time for many a student. Iowa State University counselor Wade Leuwerke says it’s still not the busiest time for students to come seeking some help. Busy times are around midterms and a month or two into the term, for first-year students who are adjusting to homesickness and the stress of classes. Leuwerke recommends common-sense tactics for students to give their brains — and bodies — a break. He encourages people to develop time-management skills and effective study habits so they’re not cramming the night before a test. And he tells students to get exercise, eat a healthy diet, and get normal amounts of sleep even though it can be tough with the heavy schedule of class finals or midterms. In fact, he encourages students to make the studying manageable and after an hour hitting the books to take 20 minutes to talk with friends, listen to music, play a video game or go out and get some exercise. A lot of the counselor’s stress-management advice for students sounds like simple common sense, but Leuwerke says the strategies for balancing work and leisure will be valuable throughout their adult life.
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