The azaleas are blooming, people are sneezing and cars are covered in a thin yellow film of pollen. It can only mean one thing: Spring has sprung. Summer is around the corner and it is becoming perfectly clear that there has been an outbreak of Spring Fever. Do you think you might have it? Symptoms include wanting to be anywhere but where you are supposed to be and having a burning desire to do nothing at all. Sound familiar?

It’s not your fault if you do have this because it’s highly contagious and no one is immune. Naturally, we are likely reacting to the passing of Winter with a new found restlessness that two days off will probably not quench. Not even your professors, believe it or not, are immune to this primal calling (okay, maybe a few) as it is not just students who get impacted by better weather and the nearness of the crashing waves on the beach… Ah…oh, right back to typing. Help is at hand!

So, if you are having a hard time studying, sitting or paying attention, you have probably been struck by a severe case of spring fever. Don’t worry. It will pass and the semester will end, though the semester may end before it passes. That could be a problem for you and your grades. As a veteran who has had Spring Fever during this semester and in the past I wanted to offer some advice from the trenches.

1. There are lots of lobster-like creatures walking around campus. Yes, you can get sunburned in the spring in Florida. The painful lobster burn is truly an over enthused person greeting the delightful sun rays after a long and cold winter. Be careful about being exposed to the sun for too long at first or even at all. You will be in much pain and could get skin cancer in the future. Enough about that…I think you get the drift.
2. Study while the sun doesn’t shine. If you just can’t help it and you want to be outdoors, you have to get strategic. Study early in the morning or in the evening. Make sure you study at the first sign of rain. Reward yourself with free time when you get your work done. Better to study in a concentrated way than pretend you are studying at the pool or beach — no one’s buying that!
3. Schedule some fun time so you don’t go stir crazy. You are only human, so don’t try to ignore the urge to frolic in spring. Figure out when your tests and assignments are and schedule some fun time in between. The days are going to pass very quickly between now and the end of term so be very clear what you have to do and when you have to do it.
4. Take allergy medicine if you have too. All of you who keep coming to class and sneezing on other people and rubbing your noses…you know who you are…get some help. Allergies are a reality this time of year and find some help. We all thank you for that.
5. Plan a trip for summer. This will give you an incentive and something to look forward to when all this is over.
6. Slow down. Sit and just listen to the birds. Eat an ice cream with the enthusiasm of a small child. Take a nap. You are about to get crushed by final exams and papers, so prepare yourself.
7. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Laugh and have fun as often as you can. This is very important to ward off the Spring Fever blues that will happen if you don’t acknowledge this powerful reptilian brain reflex.

Hopefully these little tips will get you through. Remember, Spring fever is normal and can be managed. It is just a sign of your good health that you are restless!

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