It’s the middle of term, it’s getting chilly and the work is piling up. There’s plenty in Cambridge that can stress you out, so here’s a reminder of a few little things you can do to stop that essay, lab report, grad scheme application (or even all three) from frazzling your nerves.

1. Music

It’s a scientific fact that music can affect your mood, helping to moderate your heart rate, breathing and blood pressure. I’m not personally a fan of your standard chill-out mix, but if that works for you then go for it. For me, anything fairly upbeat that I can sing and/or dance along to works pretty well for releasing pent-up stress – the cheesier the better – so I tend to go for a genre that can only really be described as ‘Cindies Music’. No, I’m not suggesting that a night out at Cindies will solve all your problems, and you should probably sometimes stay home and actually do the work you’re stressed over, but you can always bring Cindies to your bedroom (just without the alcohol, weird smell and excessive PDA).

2. Laughter

It’s the best medicine! There’s always plenty of great comedy on around Cambridge, so get some friends together and go to a stand-up or improv show. Having a good laugh can really lift your spirits and put you in a more positive frame of mind. And even if you don’t feel like going out, episodes of QI make great study breaks and there are plenty of them on Netflix.

3. Hugs!

A quick and easy way to reduce stress is to receive a little dose of affection, so be generous with your hugs if friends are looking stressed out. It’s not even just humans who have this power, so a cuddle with the college cat will also do you the world of good (if you’re lucky enough to have one).

4. Chocolate

It’s always good to have some comfort food around and chocolate is one of the best foods for bringing some calm to your life. It contains magnesium and anandamine which can boost relaxation and even raises your endorphin levels. If you ever get a judgemental look for making yet another trip to the vending machine, just smugly remember that you’re the one with the right idea.

5. A nice cup of tea

This is my go-to cure for stress (and pretty much everything else). The Brits’ standard reaction to anything remotely stressful or shocking is to put the kettle on, and it seems it really does work. A UCL study has shown that your standard cup of black tea can actually reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which I feel fully justifies the amount of tea I need to complete an essay. Herbal infusions are great too. Not only do many, like Camomile, have calming properties, but they also steam away so invitingly, like relaxing scented candles – perfect at the end of a busy day.