Final exams and tests for Quarter Three are right around the corner. Eight classes are a lot to deal with, especially when adding extracurriculars and family and friends on top of it. To help deal with stress and keep yourself mostly sane, here are ten ways you can de-stress.

10) Meditate

Meditating isn’t sitting around and staring at your knees-  it’s a way to calm your thoughts and organize yourself, even when you aren’t sure exactly what you needed to organize in the first place. It’s a way to stop a hectic life and breathe, even if it’s just for a short time. 

9) Go somewhere new

Sitting in one place all the time gets stale after a while, and even if you’re trying your hardest, sometimes your mind wanders to all the little things in the space around you. Going somewhere new can provide your brain with something new to contemplate and mull over in the background instead of taking over the forefront of your mind with the random dent on the wall because you’re sure it wasn’t there just a few moments ago.

8) Doodle

It doesn’t even have to be good. Scribbling random drawings and letters and things you’ve seen on walls and posters can help declutter your brain and make room for other things that might come up instead of being shoved to the side. 

7) Spend some time talking with family and friends

Even if it’s just a few minutes, talking with people you like and maybe haven’t seen in a while can help to improve your mood. It doesn’t have to be anything specific, deep, or heavy- it can just be a lighthearted ‘Hey, how was your day’ chat. 

6) Write a list

Having a list can help you organize what you need to do today and what you could probably leave until tomorrow, instead of scrambling through your thoughts and figuring out what class assigned what and which assignment is due before the other one. Besides that, sometimes, it’s fun to check off what you’ve already completed. 

5) Spend time around plants, or get a plant

 Plants aren’t just a little air purifier- they can give you some semblance of routine. For example, instead of waking up hours before school or oversleeping, having a plant could make it, so there is a specific time you have to wake up to open the blinds for the plant. 

4) Sigh, or hum, or scream into a pillow

 Just the act of being somewhat annoyed, like sighing, can release physical stress (people tend to relax their shoulders when they sigh) and emotional stress. Screaming into a pillow tends to do the same. Humming your favorite song releases happy chemicals in your brain because the song has at least temporarily become something associated with good feelings.

3) Sleep

 Sleeping is your body’s way of decluttering your brain, nerves, emotions, and feelings. Even if you can’t sleep all that well at night, taking naps during lunch or after getting home from school can help declutter just a little bit at a time. 

2) Get rid of things you don’t need anymore

 Things like old assignments and little scraps of paper and wrappers and junk that don’t matter anymore take up space. Recycling them or putting them in the trash can gives you time to organize what you need and get rid of what you don’t.

1) Smile and laugh

 The act of smiling, whether you mean it or not, can send signals to your brain to release happy chemicals. It doesn’t work as well as genuine smiles or laughter, but it can help to relax you a little more.