Project POTS · Jul 29, 2021

PROJECT POTS - Episode 10: Finals Season When You Have POTS - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

EPISODE 10

Finals Season When You Have POTS - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

Hello NormaLyte community and welcome back to another episode of Project POTS. Now that the spring break is over, it is that dreaded time for a college student, the time of final season.

This can be a really stressful time just for the average college student so I want to share my tips on making this time a little bit more manageable.

The biggest thing that has helped me last year and this year as well is making sure that I have accommodations for my final exam scheduling. I know I talked a lot about having extended time on exams for brain fog and that obviously still applies but I think what's really the biggest benefit to me right now for final season is making sure that I never have more than one final per day.

This way I can focus on one exam at a time and I don't have to worry about being too brain foggy not just through one exam but through two.

I also make sure that my final exams are at a time that is convenient for me and my brain energy level. For me, I met my peak functioning in the morning so I make sure that all of my exams start either at 9:00 a.m. or at noon, not at the three o'clock or five o'clock times. This may be the opposite for you but scheduling your times and making sure that your exams are spread out can really help conserve the energy and brain power that you have.

Also making sure that you're spending enough time to get rest is really helpful. I know during finals it's just kind of the mass tendency for everyone to just stay up all night cramming but I found that even if I don't know the material that well I'm going to do a lot better after a full night's sleep rather than cramming.

I know that kind of sounds like cliche advice but trust me it is so much better to just go to bed. You can maybe get up early and study for thirty minutes in the morning or however long you need but doing things when you're fresh is so much better than doing things when you're crashing.

Also make sure that you're eating right. Again I know there's this tendency to just stick your nose in a book and neglect meals and things like that, but make sure you're keeping your salt up and all of your vitamins and fluids and electrolytes and things like that just to make sure that your body's functioning as well to give your brain enough power to get through finals and always remember that no matter what, your grades don't define you.

I know in a perfect world we'd all love to do perfect scores on everything but the fact that you are a POTS warrior, and in college, is huge and however you do, I promise it is good enough.

I hope this helps y'all and I'd love to hear what some of the things that you do are to stay sane during finals. Good luck everyone and I'll see you next week