Finish Strong: How to Prioritize Wellness During Finals
Posted: April 09, 2026 | Author: Ali Maynard | Read Time: 3 minutes
While it’s important to take proper care of your body, it can be hard to do so in high-pressure situations. With finals week coming up, Southern Utah University kinesiology professor Abigail Larsen shared several tips on how to eat healthy during stressful times.
Avoid Stress Snacking
“Be aware of what you consume and how much you consume,” Larsen said. During tedious tasks, we often munch on food, as it gives the body a dopamine boost that makes the task more bearable. However, too much of this habit can lead to unhealthy food consumption.
There are several ways to break this habit, such as taking consistent brain breaks. Often, forcing your way through an unpleasant task won’t get you anywhere. Instead, try going outside, reading a book, or completing a creative project to give your mind a rest so you can return to the task with more energy. Even when life is really busy, it’s important to schedule time to do something other than work or school to keep our bodies and minds healthy. Making time for just one hobby can help relieve stress and lessen the need to stress eat.
Exercise
Another way to keep your body healthy is to do some meditation or light exercise. Moving the body releases dopamine, which can help improve mood, memory, and energy. It can also reduce stress, which can help prevent stress snacking. It also has other benefits, such as reducing the risk for disease, strengthening the immune system, and improves sleep. Overall, exercise can keep both your body and mind in good condition to achieve great things.
Hydrate
It can be easy to use caffeinated drinks as a crutch on long days, but it’s important to stay hydrated with water as well. Carrying a water bottle, scheduling drink breaks into study sessions, and alternating between caffeine and water throughout the day can help students stay hydrated.
Drinking caffeine late in the day can also disrupt sleep schedules. While it can be tempting to get a boost to finish that pressing assignment, it can lead to lost sleep and lowered mental retention. When someone pulls an all-nighter, their brain is too exhausted to retain the facts or the material they were studying. This means that it’s better to get some rest than chug some caffeine and stay up all night studying.
Plan Ahead
Take the time to plan meals beforehand. After deciding on how, when, and what to study, it can be hard to make important decisions, such as what to eat for meals. Often, students will resort to the easiest and unhealthiest option.
To counteract this, have a meal plan set in place. Choose the meals you would like to eat throughout the week, then list out all the ingredients you need before going shopping. Just this little bit of preplanning before going to the store can save money, time, and health.
It’s also important to stock up on good alternatives you can default to in a time crunch, such as nuts, trail mix, and dried fruit. Filling snacks can limit overconsumption or mindless munching, as well as give your mind the fuel it actually needs to learn.
Sleep
“But, above all,” Larsen said, “My number one tip is to eat well and get good sleep.”
It’s not only hard to make good decisions when you're running on three hours of sleep, but it also keeps students from performing the best they can on finals. Getting at least eight hours a night can ensure that students can do their very best.
By taking proper care of their body, students will be able to endure finals week and finish the semester strong!
Southern Utah University’s Kinesiology program supports students in their journey to learn about the human body and how to properly take care of it.
