Your Finals Prescription: Eat Well, Get Some Rest and Move Your Body

Eat Well

In a perfect world, how should college-aged students eat and drink to remain healthy? Nothing is perfect, but Melanie Brede, a senior nutritionist in UVA’s Office of Health Promotion, suggested some strategies.

She says two keys to “support peak performance are balance and timing.”

“Balance is getting a mix of carbs from things like fruit, grains and starchy vegetables for energy, along with protein from foods like meat, beans and dairy, and fat from nuts and seeds, vegetable oils, avocados and olives for staying power,” she said.

To ensure balance, it’s good to try to include three food groups at each meal. “For example, making oatmeal with milk and topping it with nuts and dried fruit is a quick and balanced breakfast,” she said. “Bowl-style meals made up of grains, greens, beans and dressing are popular and make for a nutritious lunch or dinner.”

Timing is also key. She says having meals and snacks to match appetite cues throughout the day helps keep energy levels even. 

Having said that, Brede acknowledged that “College schedules are notoriously erratic, and taking time for balanced meals and snacks often takes a back seat to other tasks and priorities.”

To counteract that, she said having some simple-assembly or ready-to-eat meals and snacks is a great strategy for self-care when times are busy. “For example, a trail mix of dried fruit and nuts is a shelf-stable snack option that is easily carried in a backpack or stashed in a desk drawer,” she said. “Simple ramen can be enhanced by adding an egg and some frozen vegetables.”

For other ideas, at a less busy time Brede suggests students check out the UVA Teaching Kitchen in the Student Health and Wellness center. “It offers hands-on cooking classes for students weekly,” she said. “Check out our calendar of classes and sign up to come cook with us.”

Sleep Health

UVA has licensed doctors on staff in the Student Health and Wellness center who are dedicated to helping students get good sleep – not only during exam periods, but all the time.

One of them, Dr. James Thomson, said if students are not sleeping well, they should treat that the same way they would if they have strep throat or if they rolled their ankle; they should see a doctor like himself. “It should be seen as an issue and they should get some help,” he said.

“And the help may be that they’re just unaware. A lot of times you see students who are not sleeping simply because of misguided behavior,” he said. “They don’t realize that they are not sleeping because when they get in bed at night, they’re scrolling on TikTok for half an hour and the television on the wall is left on.”

Thomson said some students just don’t realize that those screens are their problem and that often “behavioral strategies will cure their sleep cycle problem quickly.”

Students, he said, should “learn what the good sleep rules are and, to the degree possible, try to follow them.”

Things to avoid are having caffeine in the afternoon; eating, drinking alcohol or consuming nicotine before bedtime; and napping during the day.

Thomson said if after applying these strategies, students continue to struggle to sleep, they should, with the help of a doctor, try to find the root cause. It is depression? Is it anxiety? Is there trouble with a romantic partner?

“I think every story is unique,” he said. “But if people are having trouble sleeping and they’re rigorously trying to use good sleep behavior, then we try to go after the additional causes.”

Thomson added: “There’s interesting research that if you treat somebody’s depression, and in another group of people you treat their depression and their sleep disturbance, that second group will do better, and do better sooner.”

Keep Your Body Moving

“Exercise benefits every aspect of our bodies,” said Erica Perkins, executive director of UVA Recreation and associate director of athletics. “Everything from your cardiorespiratory system to your musculoskeletal system, brain function, your nervous system – there are benefits to every system in the body.”

Not only that, added Senior Director of Fitness Jackie Lebeau; with all the stress that can come with finals, exercise is a terrific stress-buster. “When we move the body, we are alleviating stress,” she said.

“We’re increasing blood flow to the brain, which will make the periods of study much more effective if students will allow themselves to take a break and step back and move and engage in some sort of activity, whether it’s a healthy competition or dance or something they enjoy,” she said.

And taking a break and moving your body not only improves physical health. “There are benefits physiologically, there are benefits socially, and there are benefits psychologically to taking breaks and exercise,” Lebeau said.

Perkins and Lebeau also stressed that a person does not have to have had a longstanding exercise regime to reap the benefits of recreation. “I’m going to use the word ‘movement’ as opposed to ‘exercise,’ because sometimes people have this notion of or myth about exactly what exercise is,” Perkins said. It doesn’t have to mean hitting the gym four days a week or being on a sports team.

Everyone benefits from moving their bodies. “It can increase brain function,” Perkins said. “It helps stimulate and improve concentration, focus, memory” and juice a person’s “three Musketeers – your dopamine, your norepinephrine and your serotonin.”

So what are some practical things students can do in the midst of a study session to recenter and refocus if they’ve been cramming for a test in Clemons Library for several hours and their exam is at 8 the next morning?

“If students can simply take a walk around the block or a walk around the library or walk around their apartment, that will help reactivate and recharge the brain, as opposed to pushing through, which causes more anxiety and stress,” Perkins said.

Lebeau said her research shows students can also combine study and movement, “because there’s three learning types. You have your kinesthetic learners, your visual learners, and your auditory learners.”

She said people who are kinesthetic learners retain more information if they are moving. “Even bouncing a ball while you’re trying to memorize facts and figures will help retain that information,” she advised. Or a student could get on a stationary bike or a treadmill while reading their notes. Then, take a brain break, walk to get a meal and resume studying.

“It might feel like they’ve accomplished more in less time if they are not cramming in a library,” she said.

Finals Word

None of this expert advice is intended to add more panic and stress. In fact, it’s just the opposite. The experts say when students apply some of these strategies, they are really setting themselves up for success.

For more tips on ways for students can use movement to benefit their study sessions, UVA Recreation has created a helpful list, “Facing Finals,” with more “scientifically proven ways recreation can help you prepare for finals.” It includes information about local walking trails and free group fitness classes. UVA even has a Climbing Center to help burn off steam and get your brain back in the game.

Good luck Hoos! You’ve got this.