5 Tips for Reducing Stress Around Finals
Dr. Christina Orozco Nevers, program coordinator for Iona’s new Health and Wellness program, advocates for self-care to reduce stress
With final exams just around the corner, it is important to keep one’s focus and motivation in the home stretch of the academic year.
Especially as deadlines loom, we should not neglect the needs of the mind, body and spirit. That means we must give ourselves time to breathe and refocus by pulling away from the race to the finish line by being available for self-care.
Here are five tips for reducing stress during the final stages of the year:
- Exercise: Take a daily 10-minute walk outside and ask a friend to accompany you.
- Nutrition: Focus on healthy snacks such as fruit or vegetables daily.
- Affirmation: Get into the habit of positive self-talk and surround yourself with people who lift you up, support you and encourage you.
- Kindness: Make a point to say something kind or show a random act of kindness to anyone, big or small; it may just be the one thing someone needs to feel appreciated and respected.
- Soulfulness: Even people who do not practice any faith can feel the power of the spirit. The Christian concept of “fruits of the spirit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control – are virtues everyone can practice and share to be more at peace in their life.
As members of the Iona University community, which upholds the teachings of the Christian Brothers and Blessed Edmund Rice, we can live by their principles to help guide our lives and support our motivation through finals week and beyond.
All we must do is re-examine how we can best nourish ourselves and those around us.
Dr. Christina Orozco Nevers is the program coordinator for the Bachelor of Science Health and Wellness program at the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences. You can learn more about the Health and Wellness program online here or by contacting Dr. Nevers at cnevers@iona.edu.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2025 national list of “The Best 390 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.