That end of the semester feeling is usually crazier than you expect. With your grades on the line, maintaining your health is probably somewhere in the very back of your mind. Should this bother you?

This lack of attention for your health probably does bother you, because you clicked on this article. So, how can you manage the stress of the end of the semester and stay healthy? Let me suggest 3 extremely practical ways you can stay healthy.

1. Stay healthy at the end of the semester by getting good sleep!

What is the point of trying anymore? No matter how much you sleep, you are still exhausted. If you try to take a nap, you end up sleeping for hours rather than minutes. Is it even possible to get good sleep during the last month or so of the semester?

Yes! Even though you are incredibly sleep-deprived, you should do your best to get good sleep. Maybe you have tried to get sleep, but your busy schedule or your body will not let you. Don’t give up!

I’ve been in both of these situations before. At certain point during almost every semester, my exhausted body would not let me sleep in on the weekends or take a nap longer than 10 minutes. I learned from this experience about a few tips that can truly help you get good sleep.

How to Stay Healthy at the End of the Semester

First, stay active. I’ve heard every excuse in the book for not exercising and mostly from myself. You may be allowing yourself to make excuses and even lying to yourself about how you don’t have time to stay active. While you probably do not have hours to exercise, you do have more time than you think to prioritize your physical health.

Doing some basic 10-20 minute routines at least every other day can make a tremendous difference in your sleep. In college, your mind may feel exhausted, but your body is probably not. So, when you try to sleep, your body has not used up enough energy to be tired.

You don’t have to be a gym rat or a pre-olympic athlete to form a consistent habit. However, you do need to be disciplined. Make your physical health a priority, even when your grades seem far more important.

Second, take short naps. I can hear your protests already—“I can’t take naps,” “I’m not a nap person,” “I can never wake up after napping,” or “I always feel more tired after taking a nap.” In my personal experience, naps are a major source of energy. Without short naps, I would not have survived college.

However, many students struggle with taking short naps, because every person’s body handles sleep differently. You need to figure out what works for you, but you will not determine this without some experimenting. So, be open to giving naps a try!

The time at which you take your nap is important. If you choose a time too late in the day, you can completely throw off your sleep cycle at night. If you want to sleep well, you probably should choose a time at which your roommate is gone.

Your free periods in the late morning or early afternoon are the ideal times in which to grab a small nap. Your roommate is more likely to be in classes or at work, and the dorms are more likely to be quiet. Take advantage of the quiet!

The length of your nap is also important. Too often, students struggle with grogginess, disorientation, or mild insomnia because of how long their naps are. You should aim for your naps to be somewhere between 10-20 minutes, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Although 10-20 minutes may not seem like that much time, you will be amazed with how much better you feel after taking a short nap. You will have more energy, focus, and motivation to get stuff done.

You do need to be cautious about a few points. Be extremely strict with yourself about the length of your naps. If you enter a stage 3 of a sleep cycle (anywhere between 15-45 minutes) or a REM cycle (about 90 minutes into sleep), you will struggle to wake up.

Also be careful not to interfere with your sleep at night. You need to get quality sleep at night. If you are struggling with insomnia consistently, napping may make your sleeping problems worse. Take only short naps (5-10 minutes) earlier on in the day to avoid messing up your nighttime sleep cycle even more.

Third, slow down at night. Most of your socializing probably happens in the evening or at night. While there is nothing wrong with socializing, you need to be careful about how late at night you socialize.

Sometimes, you have no control over how busy you are late at night. However, most of the time you have some control over how active you are late at night. When you can control how much energy you’re spending at night, do control it.

For example, instead of going on a late night run to get Taco Bell, choose to go back to your room. When you arrive there, do a small task that needs to be done but is not taxing on your energy, like organizing your dresser drawer or picking up your shoes off of the ground and putting them away.

Listening to relaxing music can also help you slow down. Use headphones to block out dorm chatter and your roommate and his or her friends. You will find that you are ready for bed when it comes and sleep will probably come to you more quickly.

Fourth, learn to say “no.” Learning to say “no” is a skill, especially if you like being busy. After all, you are trying to take advantage of every opportunity to have the college experience. In no way is this tip meant to discourage you. Do take advantage of the unique opportunities in college, but be careful.

I went to a liberal arts school that pushed students to be involved in everything—musical performances, theatrical plays, sorority events, community outreaches, etc. None of these things were bad, but being engaged in every one of these often spread students too thinly.

College freshmen must carefully choose a limited number of groups to involve themselves. You cannot earn good grades, have a social life, work a part-time job, be extremely involved in extracurriculars, and be healthy. You must choose between these things. Your health should be your first priority, so say no to the extra things that keep you from being healthy.

Fifth, breathe deeply. This habit isn’t a new-age, religious routine. Breathing deeply throughout the day but especially before sleeping at night can truly help you.

This habit can be as a simple as breathing in for 10 seconds and slowly breathing out for 10 seconds. Not only can this slow down your heart rate, it can also help your mind relax. You can easily do this without the help of an app, but there are many apps that help.

If you struggle sleeping at night due to anxiety or stress, deep breathing can make a tremendous difference. Choosing to focus on simply breathing can help you relax your body and mind for sleeping. Give it a try!

2. Stay healthy at the end of the semester by eating well!

Eating well is incredibly important! You probably already knew this at least in the back of your mind. However, you may be surprised at the difference eating healthy can make in your energy level, nerves, and even your digestion (gross but true).

Most college freshmen do not think of their food as fuel, but food functions much like gasoline does in automobiles. If you are not careful to fill up on the right kind of fuel, you will not fill up your tank with the energy needed to function well.

Eating well in college can be a struggle, even if you truly want to eat well. The pitfalls are on either side: eating the wrong kinds of foods or forgetting/neglecting to eat at all. Both of these pitfalls will result in complete lack of energy.

While fast food and sugary foods and beverages are delicious, a regular diet filled with bad food can greatly impact your energy level. For example, while an energy drink may temporarily boost your energy levels, the long term effects include disrupting your regular sleep routine.

Try to make a habit of including at least 2 servings of vegetables and/or fruits at each meal. Depending on your food budget or dining hall at college, this may be difficult. Do your best. Avoid carbs and junk foods—hamburgers, pizza, etc. Eating these foods on occasion are fine, but a diet filled almost exclusively with these foods is not healthy.

Food is often social part of your college experience. Going to Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, Chipotle, or a coffee shop may be your way of spending time with friends. Try encouraging different, non-food-related activities, like hiking, watching movies, or attending concerts or plays. Not only can this help save you some money but it can also help you avoid fast food cravings.

If you struggle to find time to eat, remember that your health should be your priority, and you will always make time for things that matter to you. Even if you want health to be your priority, you may be still struggling. Let me suggest a few tips that helped me.

First, think ahead. In most situations where I did not have food to eat or time to eat it, these predicaments didn’t pop up out of nowhere. Instead, they resulted from being unprepared. I hadn’t really considered how I would get food, so when the time came when I did need food I was up a creek without a paddle.

Each college freshman is different. They require different amounts of food to energize them. You need to know what works for you. If you find that you struggle with hunger or low energy in the afternoons, consider bringing a small snack in your backpack. A handful of almonds or a small granola bar can fill your stomach enough to get you through until dinner.

If you’re the average college student, one of your biggest struggles may be the morning. You never wake up early enough to eat before classes, so by lunch you are ravenous. Some simple planning the night before can help you get something ready for breakfast.

For example, maybe a shake of some sort helps you to feel full. Consider making the shake the night before and putting it in the refrigerator. In the morning, you can grab it and go without having to wake up any earlier.

Maybe a serving of oatmeal helps you fill up. Gather all of the necessary things and place them out ready to be used for the next morning. You will be able to fix yourself a quick breakfast before rushing to class.

If you’re like me, you may want a breakfast food with even less work involved. Clif Energy Bars, KIND Breakfast bars, or other similar products are easy grab-and-go breakfast items.

All of these options require you to think ahead and anticipate your food needs for the day. To be safe, always bring a snack with you just in case. You may run into a situation where you don’t have time to eat a meal, and you will be glad you brought an emergency snack with you.

Carefully plan when you will eat, because it is important. Food is the fuel for your brain and body. Without proper eating, you will feel unmotivated, sluggish, and discouraged.

Second, plan meals with people. In busy semesters, eating meals can become an afterthought. You may come to a certain point in the day and realize you haven’t eaten anything yet. This is not a good place to be.

One way to help yourself eat regularly, even when you don’t feel hungry, is to plan meals with people. If you rarely have time to hang out with friends, your meal times can be a helpful way to plan for socializing and eating.

You need to eat at some point and you want to spend time with your friend. Planning meals with friends can be a way to do both things. However, I will provide you with one caution. Losing track of time at a meal with friends is easy, and sometimes friends are less conscious of using too much of your time. Planning your mealtime with a definite end time can help.

For example, if you have a free period between your noon and two two o’clock classes. You have a definite end time. While you probably don’t have time for a 2-hour lunch, you probably do have time for a 30-45 minute lunch. Ask your friend to meet you at 1:10 at the dining hall and also tell him or her that you have to leave at 1:45 to get to your class. Informing your friend beforehand helps your friend know your time limitations.

If, however, you do not have a group of close college friends from which to choose, use meal times to get to know new people. These situations are a low-level commitment but allow you to spend some time with people.

3. Stay healthy at the end of the semester by staying active!

Exercising while in college may seem like a luxury more than a necessity. In reality, exercise is incredibly important. It helps fight off stress, give your mind a break, boost your immune system, and prepare your body for a good night’s rest.

In my personal experience, exercise is the key to fighting off anxiety and stress. You have many unknowns in your life, and sometimes the “what if” parts of your daily life can cause physical problems (like regular headaches).

You also experience stressful events in your life. Speeches, presentations, papers, tests, etc. are a routine part of your schedule. Academic pressures, especially if they’re tied to your tuition costs, can be overwhelming. Roommate, friend, and family drama can be a great source of stress. The financial pressure can also be tremendous, especially if you have no idea how you will pay your remaining bills.

Exercise is a cheap, easily available resource you have to deal with anxiety and stress. If your campus requires a decent amount of walking, you may be tempted to count that as your exercise for the day. However, you probably need to do more than walking to stay truly active.

The first thing you need to consider is what time of day works for you. Not only should you consider your class and work schedule but you should also think about times that you prefer. You want to choose a time of the day that will make it easy for you to form the habit of exercising.

For example, if you have classes from 8-4 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, getting up to exercise before leaving for your earliest class is probably not realistic. Exercising directly after your 4 o’clock class may help make exercising a part of your daily routine.

You want to pick a time of the day that helps exercising seem like a required part of your weekly schedule. Exercising between classes may be difficult, because it requires you to get ready more than one time a day. Exercising directly before or after your required events for the day usually works best.

Also consider what kind of a person you are. If you are not a morning person, waking up and immediately exercising will probably result in maybe one week of consistent exercise and nothing more. However, if you are a morning person, this time of the day may be perfect. Make it as easy as possible for you to exercise, because when your schedule is busy you don’t want exercise to be the first thing to go.

The second thing you need to consider is what exercise routines will work best for you. Ideally, you would have 30-60 minutes to exercise every day, but this is not always the case. Sometimes you need to do a 15-20 workout that doesn’t drain all of your energy.

I don’t have any life-altering routines to share with you, but I can recommend a few resources based on location. If you want to exercise in your dorm room, let me make a few suggestions.

First, consider your roommate. Try to exercise when he or she is not in the room or will not need the room. If that is not possible, be sure your workout is not too loud. Your dorm room is home for your roommate too.

Second, use routines that cater to a small space. I regularly exercise in my room, even though I’m not in college anymore. I have found a few resources for exercising in small spaces.

One resource is the Youtube channel Fitness Blender. Their routines allow you to choose whether or not you want to use equipment, whether you want a male or female instructor, and even more options. I always feel like I get a good workout, and I really like the countdown in the top corner to help you keep track of your time.

Another resource that I use regularly is Pinterest. I find infographics or links to workouts that work well for the dorm room. I have created a Pinterest board, “Health and Fitness,” to share these workouts with you all. Click here to view some dorm workouts I enjoy!

If you prefer exercising in a gym, take advantage of the resources your college provides. Your college campus has free resources just for college students. Usually your campus provides a gym, a track, a pool, and sometimes other resources specifically for you. In addition, sometimes you can volunteer be client for a health or fitness major.

Your campus gym often has good exercise equipment and weights. Take advantage of your access to these! Click here to view some gym workouts I enjoy.

Your college campus probably has well-lit areas for you to exercise outside. These places are good places to go to be by yourself. Enjoy this! There are very few places on campus you can go and truly be alone.

Staying healthy at the end of your semester is possible, but you have to take action! Think through your options, make a plan, and then stick to it. Please share any other ways to stay active that work for you in the comments.