Dead week shows signs of life

As the lull of "dead week" slowly culminates into the frenzy of finals week, students are beginning to take drastic measures to absorb large quantities of information. Through unhealthy study habits, students run the danger of weakening their immune system, said Hugh Jessop, director of the IU Health Center.\n"When you take lots of stimulants, coffee or medications to stay awake, you deplete your energy for lack of sleep," Jessop said. "You'd be bordering on exhaustion. The likelihood is that it would suppress the immune system, and any little bug that's going around, you could catch."\nJessop said this semester, within the week of midterms, the number of people at the clinic increased 5 to 10 percent. Jessop said he expects the number to rise for finals week as well.\nHe said healthy studying for a final is similar to preparing for a game.\n"It's the same as for an athletics event," he said. "You need adequate sleep beforehand. If the person is someone who usually exercises, don't change your pattern. If you don't exercise, now is the not the time to start a program. The big thing is getting enough sleep."\nJessop said recognizing stress when experiencing it also helps, and any method of relieving that stress helps.\n"If a person gets stressed to the point where they are impaired or experience a difficulty in concentrating, the counseling center is available," he said. "They have a walk-in clinic, and they are never too busy not to help anyone in need."\nJournalism professor Michael Evans has been teaching fulltime at IU for five years. He recommends going over old notes and readings from the beginning of the semester if the final is cumulative and said this is vital to a good performance on the test.\n"If a certain subject is distant in the student's mind, go over it," Evans said. "The main thing is to look for terms, ideas, concepts that they don't feel confident they can describe."\nEvans said there is a strong correlation between going to class, doing homework and getting good grades on a test.\n"Students who do the reading intelligently (and) students who show up for classes seem to care -- they almost always get good final grades in the class."\nKari Prideaux, a senior majoring in elementary education, said she often takes advantage of study sessions offered by professors.\n"Sometimes, I study with people," she said. "For example, on Thursday, I am studying with a friend from my biology class."\nPrideaux said the best way to prepare for an early final is to make sure students have a plan for waking up. \n"My sophomore year I accidentally slept all the way through my final," she said. "That wasn't a good experience."\nPrideaux advised setting one alarm is often not enough, and students must have a backup plan for waking up.\nFor help in coping with stress-related problems, the IU Counseling and Psychological Services Center is available by calling 855-1711.\n-- Contact staff writer Andrew Welfle at awelfle@indiana.edu.