Last week I walked past hundreds of students waiting to file into the gyms at Brock University to write their exams. I could feel the stress in the air…some students were chatting and nervously laughing, some were silent, and some looked simply miserable. It’s been a long time but I remember that anxiety, wondering if I studied enough or if my memory would go blank.

As many libraries do, we offered some resources and programming to help students through this challenging time of the academic year. It feels good to give a little bit of relief to students who are grappling with a lot of stress.

Programming

To help students relax, they could participate in:

• 2 candlelight yoga sessions
• 3 mindfulness meditations (new!)
• a Sip & Scent” workshop with coffee & essential oils (new!)

Library yoga is always fun to offer at this time of year; attendance can be fickle…there is usually a wait list, that tapers off to a small group and spontaneous walk ins. One nice piece of feedback from this year’s yoga:

“[I enjoyed] everything! My body felt like a feather afterwards!”

My colleague, Laurie Morrison, offered 3 mindfulness meditation sessions helping students to find their breath and bring themselves into the present moment.

Sip & Scent was a new workshop idea to create a sensory experience for students to incorporate into their study routines. My colleague, Vanja Stojanovic, is an expert coffee taster and led students through the experience and elements that go into coffee. I introduced students to essential oils that can help to ease anxiety and stress (lavender, bergamot, and frankincense). We discussed the benefits of building breaks into studying, the research behind mindfulness and improved memory and focus, and the complexities of coffee & essential oils (the ethics, chemistry, and effect on the body).

Students shared that they loved learning the artistry of coffee and didn’t know that scent can be used when studying to help with recalling information!

Our slides:

Resources

In terms of resources, our Outreach & Engagement team members, Evelyn & Amanda, set up an “unstudy” zone where students could destress with puzzles, colouring, and more. Giant Sudoku challenges were up on the whiteboard and the “exam fairy” also scattered little chocolates and motivational messages around the Library.

We also launched a “yoga kit” that can be signed out for 24 hours, containing a mat, yoga pose ideas, and a book of self-care tips.

Did you do anything new and exciting for exams this year? I would love to hear about it…