Ways to relieve stress while studying 📚

By Priyanka & Ayesha, @latelymed

Studying can be quite stressful, especially when you have to do it for long hours before finals. While it’s important to take breaks outside of studying, it’s also important to relieve stress while studying. Here are our tips to read and relax.

📚 Handheld massage stick: We tend to carry stress in our neck, shoulder, and back muscles. The Body Back Buddy can help relieve this pain and is an absolute favorite of ours. You can use the tool to massage trigger points in your back while sitting and studying so you don’t have to compromise on time.

📚 Studying over Zoom with others: Studying with friends can be a way to make studying more fun and less stressful. It’s also a great way to keep each other accountable. You can use the Pomodoro technique to test out different ways to break down an hour, such as studying for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break or studying for 50 minutes and then taking a 10-minute break. During your breaks, you can talk, play a quick online game, or watch a funny video!

📚 Moving around and stretching: Sometimes our muscles can tense up while we study. Even just standing up, walking around, and stretching once every hour is a quick and easy way to relieve tension and keep a healthy perspective on your work.

📚 Changing study location: Especially when studying for long hours, we’ve found that staying in the same exact place for a really long period of time can induce stress. If you can’t leave your home, try moving to a different part of it, such as from your desk to the floor or from the living room to the kitchen.

📚 Stress ball: Squeezing a stress ball can certainly relieve tension while studying. Or perhaps you’d like to toss it in your hands while reviewing. Stress balls can help you relax and focus.

What do you like to do to relieve stress while studying? Let us know!

Much love,

Ayesha and Priyanka

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Ayesha and Priyanka are both 2-year medical students at two separate medical schools who are sharing their journey through school on Instagram.

Ayesha is an osteopathic medical student in rural, southwestern Virginia. She took a 2-year gap between college and medical school.

Priyanka is an allopathic medical student in urban Philadelphia. She finished college in 3 years and headed to medical school directly after.

Follow them on Instagram as they share (and compare!) their experiences in getting to medical school, their journeys now, and helpful tips for pre-medical students and medical students.

A version of this blog first appeared on the @latelymed Instagram. It is reproduced here with the permission of the author.