UNM Recreational Services

by Stacie Hecht and Sarah Haak, CAPS Online Writing Tutors

Finals will be here before you know it, and along with that comes the dreaded all-night study session.

While cramming for finals, you’ll need to make sure to stay alert, but most of us don’t have time to make elaborate meals during study sessions and end up ordering pizza and guzzling down energy drinks. STOP THE MADNESS!

Fun fact about the brain: 20% of our body’s energy is used by our brain! Isn’t that a crazy thought? Your brain needs glucose to think (glucose comes from carbs), but the typical study snacks give us energy for a little while, but cause us to crash shortly after. Foods packed with sugar cause us to feel tired too quickly, and pizza, chips, and salty foods full of preservatives just make us feel bloated, tired, and hungry again in just a few hours. A ton of insulin is released in response to simple carbs, and instead of those carbs making their way to your brain, they make their way to your butt or belly (or other fat storage container). 

So…what should you really be eating and drinking to keep your brain at 100% while studying for Math, Science, and English all at once? You’ve got the obvious choices: cheese, nuts, a turkey roll-up, and more, but we’ve got a few new ideas, as well…

Toss that old bag of chips, step away from the soda, and hang up on the pizza guy, because these snacks are exactly what you need! Check out this chart for the best study snacks that will give you a lift without packing on the pounds:

HAPPY (AND HEALTHY) STUDYING!

Sarah is a published writer of personal essays, and an undergrad at UNM, studying English and Interdisciplinary Studies through the Honors College. At CAPS, she is an embedded online tutor and a writing tutor for the Online Learning Center (OLC). She is a chef, an avid runner, and a CrossFit junkie: she deadlifts like a boss.

Stacie is in her fourth year of graduate studies in the Anthropology department at UNM. She is a first-year English instructor, as well as an embedded online tutor for CAPS. She received her master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology this past December for her thesis, entitled, Afro-Colombians and the Encroachment of Paramilitaries on the African Palm Oil Sector, which details the growing popularity of palm oil production in Colombia, the presence of illegal armed forces on the Pacific coast, and how it all directly affects Afro-Colombian groups.

Sources: Buzzfeed, LiveStrong, Fastweb

by Rachel Saladen and Hallie Simkins, CAPS Learning Strategists

As college students, we continually struggle to find the time to complete our homework, have a social life, and get a decent amount of sleep. Sometimes, we are even tempted to say that we don’t have enough time for all of these tasks. Here are some Time Management Tips that we have personally found helpful in making the most of our time.

Source: LookSharp

1. Know the difference between pushing yourself and burning out:

It’s very common to find yourself entangled in school and feeling like you never have a break. There are nights when sleep has to be sacrificed to meet a deadline or to study for an exam. While it is important to be driven and motivated when it comes to school work, it is also important to schedule time for self-care and relaxation. Pushing yourself too hard for too long can result in burnout, which will eventually result in less productivity. Stress management and time management can alleviate the feeling of burnout.

For additional resources on Stress Management, check out the Student Health and Counseling website (SHAC.unm.edu).

Source: Mind the Product

2. Remember that your schedule fills up faster than you think.

Planning is very important when it comes to managing school work and other activities. Using an agenda or printing out a calendar can be a useful method of time management. When planning, note that your schedule may fill up faster than you think, and buffer time is important to schedule. These buffer times account for unforeseeable plans in your schedule.One way to combat these daunting deadlines, and ginormous projects is by creating mini deadlines. These

Something that we have found helpful to begin planning your day, is to take one minute and write down everything you can think of that needs to get done. Then, put a star next to the three most important tasks that need to be done that day, and an arrow next to two other tasks that could get done if you have time left over. Then pick the easiest of the three starred tasks and begin! These tasks you write down don’t have to be monster tasks, but we recommend that they are mini-deadlines or goals that are realistically achievable that day. For example, if you have a six page research paper to write, a mini-deadline could be “Write the introductory paragraph”. This can include breaking down a paper into various sections and giving yourself mini deadlines before the deadline scheduled made by your professor.