Diane L. Perry, a family nurse practitioner with Arizona State University Health Services, said finals week is an important time to take care of personal health because, “Stressing over tests opens the door to get sick.”
The last two weeks of the semester can be the busiest times for university students as they finish up last-minute assignments and review all the information they learned thus far.
Perry said that lack of sleep could create a lot of health issues.
“Students are really tired because they’re up late and then that just decreases their immunity so that it opens the door to get the flu,” Perry said.
ASU Health Services has seen anything from cough, fever, sore throat and gastrointestinal issues to flu symptoms.
“I think, right now, flu season is big,” Perry said. “I would say flu is one of the biggest things this time of year as well as, I think, we see a lot of anxiety during this time of year. Some depression too because, you know, the holiday seasons are changing. There is stress during finals, just high anxiety.”
Perry said it is important to get a lot of sleep. She recommended eight hours or more and to make sure to eat balanced meals throughout the day. This means not skipping out on breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Rachel Baumgartner, a sophomore criminology and criminal-justice student, said she has noticed that she has, “been feeling pretty bad in the last week,” adding, “I haven’t really wanted to eat as much and I haven’t been able to sleep a lot.”
Baumgartner said if she wants to pass her classes and get good grades then she has to stay up late and do it. She said she has slept a total of 20 hours this week.
“I’m not getting much sleep, I have been feeling pretty sick,” Baumgartner said. “Probably due to lack of sleep and being stressed about deadlines. I’ve been trying to manage it by drinking a lot of tea.”
Perry said increasing fluid intake is necessary. Increasing water intake should become a high priority for students during stressful periods.
“Your sleep, your good nutrition, as well as hydration are all important,” Perry said. “I think good sleep is the biggest thing. You know as long as you get plenty of rest and you have good nutrition in you, as well as hydration, that’s what the body requires.”
Exercise is also a quick, painless and efficient way to combat stress and sleep issues, Perry said.
Exercise stimulates the amount of oxygen flowing in the bloodstream, which helps the brain function better.
Perry said exercise is “one of the most important things you can do to help you.”
If exercise, sleep and hydration do not help reduce stress, anxiety and flu-like symptoms Perry suggested visiting ASU Counseling Services.
“Counseling probably sees more anxiety and depression this time of year,” Perry said. “Because we see primary care, we see a little bit of everything.”
Community assistant and nursing student Sarah Wolfus said she is always available as a support system for her student residents who feel anxious about final exams.
Wolfus said if students have severe anxiety she recommends talking to a counselor, community director or
community assistant.
“I just make sure that they know I am here if they need to talk about it because stress is something that people need to talk about sometimes,” Wolfus said. “I just recommend that they go to bed early and get plenty of sleep because that is the best way to cope with that.”
Contact the reporter at ellanna.koontz@asu.edu
