Iowa State students commonly bill the next couple weeks before Thanksgiving as collegiate hell.

A wave of pre-Thanksgiving break tests are coming up, and final papers and projects are looming on the not-so-distant horizon.

In addition to all of the extra schoolwork, students still have to deal with their normal schedules, including work, regular homework and some semblance of a social life.

Corey Vas, a counselor at the Wellness Center, said that while he hasn’t noticed more people complaining about stress, he has seen more people coming in because of stress-related suffering, like headaches and sleeping troubles.

And many students find that when their to-do lists start getting longer and longer, they feel stressed out in a major way. Since many students have jobs in order to ease those financial tensions, they have even less time to study.

For Chris Harmon, a sophomore in electrical engineering, the combination of school and his part-time job as a computer programmer make for a tough schedule. Harmon tries to combat the stress of his job by “trying to work harder to get things done,” he said.

For others, though, work can seem like a nice change of pace from school. Tim Widmer, a freshman in pre-business, works 15 to 20 hours a week at Hy-Vee. He works mostly evenings, and he said that balancing his class schedule with his job is not a problem.

“I like work,” Widmer said. “It’s a chance to get away from school.”

Vas said that there are “a number of things” that students can do to reduce their stress level. For one, they can “be better at planning their time,” he said.

For those people who already organize their time well, Vas recommended deep breathing and muscle relaxation, both of which students can do “while studying, every couple pages, during lecture or while riding home on Cy-Ride,” Vas said. Plus, he said, these are great sleeping aids.

Many students, though, said that pressure from classes often leads them down a not-so-healthy path. Widmer unwinds by engaging in activities that don’t require a lot of brain power. “I listen to music loudly, play video games,” he said, “something to get my mind off it.”

Jan Roden, a freshman in pre-business, said that next week, when she has a lot of tests, her eating habits will definitely take a turn for the worse. Not only does she eat more, she said, but she eats unhealthy food.

Unfortunately, Vas said, all that pizza and potato chips are doing more harm than good.

Caffeine is also a problem, Vas said. While it may give you an initial pulse of energy, the high won’t last, and you’ll feel even worse when the effect wears off.

As far as nutritional advice goes, Vas said to stick to what Moms have been telling us for years: “Stick to the four basic food groups,” he said. Some students, even those who might snarf more Twinkies and Doritos than usual when they feel pressured, try to de-stress via more healthy means, too. Roden said she also takes more naps and exercises more when she’s got a lot on her mind, both of which help to relieve her stress.

Vas said using exercise to shake off the pressure “is definitely healthy. My experience has been that people who exercise get an immediate high after exercise, but maybe an hour later, they can achieve deeper relaxation.”

And making room in your daily planner, while it might seem strange, is essential, Vas said.