It's 2:41 a.m., and you're sitting alone in a local coffee shop armed with a large French roast cup of java. The notes that you spent hours organizing for that agonizing class are scattered pell-mell across the table, which is littered with empty paper cups once filled with coffee.

Your exam is in exactly five hours and 19 minutes.

Sound familiar?

It's that time of year again when many students cram the key terms the professor blabbed on about all semester into their brains, drink entirely too much caffeine, practice unhealthy sleeping patterns and generally wobble on the brink of insanity.

The dreaded finals, with their beady little Scantron eyes, are peeking around the corner. You can't escape them, so you think of the best ways to face them head-on and prevail.

And while the initial temptation may be to drown your taste buds with that sweet java, psychology Professor Gary Stollak said it's not the smartest thing to do if you're trying to keep your brain a sponge for all of the material you're trying to soak up.

"You need to have available a series of what we call coping mechanisms," he said. "Being able to meditate or being able to breathe deep are certain coping mechanisms that many of us have not yet developed."

Stollak said when these coping strategies fail or are not used, the body begins to feel distressed.

When that happens, people turn to drugs such as caffeine, which doesn't tend to facilitate learning.

But Stollak said stress is a good thing when you're writing a final paper or preparing to take a final exam.

"You're supposed to be slightly agitated because this will help focus your attention," he said. "You should hopefully not be distracted by other things while you're studying and preparing - and you have to be alert and aware when you prepare."

Stollak said that distress, however, is the feeling that plagues many students come exam time. During times of distress, student can experience feelings of failure.

"Students think, 'If I don't do well on this I might as well commit suicide,' or 'I'm a total failure to my parents,'" he said. "It's not getting the low grade that does this; it's the experience during the study period that one feels worthless."

History senior Michael Siegel said he forces himself to have a set schedule and organization is the key to his success when exam week arrives.

"I try and not wait until the last minute," he said. "I try to always take breaks and relax by listening to music or taking a shower - I always listen to music when I'm stressed out anyway."

Siegel said he tries to get a good night's sleep before exams and makes a point to study anywhere but his apartment because of the distractions.

"I go somewhere for four or five hours, then take a break, and go somewhere else," he said. "I don't sit in the same place for too long, and I like a little noise in the background - it can't be dead quiet like the library."

Other students, like elementary education sophomore Angie Quick, said she can't study with music, which is why she frequents coffee shops to review.

"I just try to get enough sleep, go to bed early and make sure I study somewhere quiet," she said.

Kinesiology senior Steve Porosky said he likes to unwind and listen to jazz music while hitting the books.

"I like to have a relaxing weekend before the exam where I just go out and treat myself," he said.

Stollak said students need to be able to turn away from their studying or computer screens for 10 or 15 minute periods, take some deep breaths or even exercise.

"Students need some set of psychological coping skills that lower stress so when it's moving toward distress, the stress is reduced so that one can be optimally focused," he said.

"It's this issue of moderation that facilitates learning and obviously what we have found out in many studies is that college students ingest too much caffeine and performance decreases."

Stollak said with certain dosages of caffeine, some students can focus better, but he questions if students can be masters at moderating their caffeine intake so they don't overdo it.

"We'd like to believe so, but on the other hand we have students who can't manage their Visa card," he said. "Too much caffeine does not facilitate learning."

And Quick said the ingestion of caffeine is a problem for college students.

"You could just drink way too much coffee the night before while you're studying and not be able to focus the next morning," she said.

Stollak said the real problem that leads to distress is the feeling that performance on a test is a reflection of what he likes to call "worth on Earth."

"Obviously if you feel your whole life is flashing before you and your worth on earth is being threatened by a low score on this exam, you're moving into distress," he said. "If you reach that point, you should be reaching out to a counseling center or a confident friend who can calm you down so you can focus.

"It's sort of sad that so many courses have finals where students feel that their 'worth on earth' is challenged, which is not our goal. The goal is how to confirm what we learn to the world we live in."