managing exam stress and insomnia

[Annaines]

hello everyone,
I'm currently 2 days into my exam session and I have the worst time of my life. I barely sleep and wake up exhausted. I'm shaky and feeling faint. I'm trying to eat healthily, but I'm still very nervous. I have a hard time sleeping, because of my racing thoughts, but I'm utterly EXHAUSTED. I've got a constant headache, which gets even worse after my exam is done. I have exams every day for two straight weeks! I don't know if I will feel better than this, but I need to. What can I do to sleep better? I tried to exercise today and we'll see how this works for my insomnia. Any other tips? I really want to revise a little bit each evening but I cannot do that while I'm in such state.

[.Poppy.]

Ugh, I've been there!

Try doing your studying in the morning/afternoon so that you have time to decompress before bedtime.

Quiet, gentle music and stretches before bed may help.

Another thing to try would be melatonin. It can be a natural sleep aide.

[poppadr3w]

hello everyone,
I'm currently 2 days into my exam session and I have the worst time of my life. I barely sleep and wake up exhausted. I'm shaky and feeling faint. I'm trying to eat healthily, but I'm still very nervous. I have a hard time sleeping, because of my racing thoughts, but I'm utterly EXHAUSTED. I've got a constant headache, which gets even worse after my exam is done. I have exams every day for two straight weeks! I don't know if I will feel better than this, but I need to. What can I do to sleep better? I tried to exercise today and we'll see how this works for my insomnia. Any other tips? I really want to revise a little bit each evening but I cannot do that while I'm in such state.

I've posted this already elsewhere, but I run/write a blog that is about fitness and is geared towards people with anxiety/depression. The URL is www.anxietypress.com. Hopefully that can help offer some help. Exercise has been paramount for me in helping treat my anxiety/depression over the years. Add in the fact that you'll look and feel better, as well as be healthier, and there's no reason to NOT exercise! Do what suits you, but what's most important is quality and consistency.

As for sleep, exercising later (around dinner) helps me. By this time I am a little fatigued already, so the exercise increases my heart rate during the exercise to keep me going. After finishing and taking a nice, warm shower, I am on the proper trajectory for Sleepville!

Otherwise, I'll sometimes take Melatonin. It's a pretty cheap supplement that can be purchased at health food stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, or at my favorite place ever to shop - Amazon. I take a half of a 3mg tablet around 30 minutes before bedtime and it definitely helps me out.