Right now, one thing is on students’ minds: finals. Students dread this time of year. They talk about how much stress they have, how hard it will be to study and how many hours they will have to work. Little do they know, finals week will be something they can think back on in 15 years and be thankful for. They will be thankful for learning how to manage their time, manage work with other activities and organize their activities, because they experienced all of this when they were students, cramming for finals.

There is no denying that finals week is stressful. Students do experience stress during finals week, but it is important that they do so, so that they are better prepared for bigger obstacles they may face when they have a job, getting interviewed or any other high-pressure situation one could face.

According to Psychology Today, experiencing the stresses of finals is important for learning time management and stress management skills. In the heat of the moment, it is important for students not to break down or freeze; they must be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Finals week helps students make decisions and learn from their mistakes. If friends are hanging out together but a student has a final the next day, finals week teaches students to make sacrifices.

Finals week also provides students with the opportunity to understand how they learn and work best. Some students need the pressure of a deadline to start working. Others need a set, structured time days or weeks before something is due.

Despite how hard and frustrating finals week is for students, it is necessary and important to understand how to succeed and learn from its benefits. Remember, pressure makes diamonds.

Schools across the globe face the familiar challenge of “finals week” or exam periods once or twice a year. This structure is extremely common, starting in high school and continuing into higher education, such as college and graduate school. It is also a period strongly associated with increased levels of stress, anxiety and unhealthy behavioral patterns among students.

Finals are designed to evaluate learning, but the pressure surrounding them often leads students to adopt harmful coping strategies that make it harder for them to perform to the best of their abilities in exams. As most finals are worth 15 to 20% of the class grade, they have significant sway over the final grade, which adds a lot of pressure for students.

During finals, it is common for students to alter their regular routines. Unhealthy habits begin to emerge as exams approach, when students want to maximize their study time. Many students leave studying to the last minute, relying on “cramming” tactics to prepare for those exams.

These unhealthy habits include drinking exorbitant amounts of caffeine, especially energy drinks, pulling all-nighters to study or getting very limited hours of sleep. Students also may begin to skip essential activities that are part of their basic routine, such as exercise, regular eating and social interactions with friends and family, which is almost certain to take a toll on their well-being.

Scientific studies consistently show that academic stress spikes during exam periods. A 2022 study in Frontiers in Psychology supports these findings, showing that academic stress is strongly correlated with poorer mental health in university students.

In addition to high stress levels, finals week has also been linked to unhealthy coping mechanisms. A study published in Addictive Behaviors found that during high-stress periods during the school year, like midterms and finals, some students increase their use of psychostimulants. In an attempt to enhance focus and productivity, this reckless behavior includes the misuse of prescription drugs like Adderall, demonstrating how academic pressure can push students towards risky habits.

While it’s not necessarily possible to end finals weeks, there are ways to mitigate their effects on personal well-being. Schools could consider spreading out assessments more evenly or offering structured periods during the time leading up to the exams to reduce last-minute cramming. On an individual level, students should consider the downsides of leaving studying to the last minute and the major disadvantages of disrupting one’s normal routine on such a large scale.

Even though finals week remains a standard part of academic systems worldwide, research clearly shows its negative effects, such as heightened stress and unhealthy behaviors. Recognizing the scale of these effects is an important step towards creating school environments that evaluate learning without taking a toll on student well-being.