The scariest part of the semester is fast approaching and the student body is already mentally drained because of a year of online learning. These are some tips I have for staying healthy during the exam season that will also help with your overall performance on the examsÂ
- Plan and Manage your Time
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This is an important step for students to stay healthy during exam season because it relieves a lot of stress they have. One tip I have is to approach the overwhelming dates with a plan. I always start by writing out all of the important dates in my calendar and then chronologically to my to do list. Once you have the exam dates, work backwards from there to plan how many hours per day or week you need to succeed. Make sure to prioritize the class where your performance is weaker than others or where the material is harder to study. One tip you would want to remember is to space out the time you spend studying. The results you want will not be achieved by staying up the night before the exam and cramming 12 weeks worth of content. Another tip is to give your brain a change of content often. If you have five courses, spend one hour a day studying each course, rather than one day per course.
- Eating Habits
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As much as students don’t think about it, the food they eat has an impact on brain function. Students tend to prefer convenient meals during exam season making them highly dependent on take-out and microwavable meals. Water intake is another habit that students need to be aware of because of the impact it has on brain function. Students often turn to coffee, energy drinks and other caffeinated beverages to help them stay alert while studying, this is fine as long as there is a balance with water as well. This is because the beverages that are high in caffeine also dehydrate your body which impacts the way your brain functions. A well-balanced diet is important during this season and for students to be successful they should try to meal prep some things like breakfast and dinners or smoothie packs so that they don’t have to take a lot of time to cook during exams.
- Sleeping Habits
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Sleep is one of the most important things for brain function and it is also the factor that suffers the most during exam season. Students often think that they should pull all-nighters and cram as much information as they can for the best results. The best for students is to still aim to get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep, especially on the days they have to write exams to ensure they are well-rested and have a clear mind.
- Make Sure to Take Breaks
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There is a lot of stress during exams and people want to spend all their time studying but that is what leads to burn outs. If students are ensured to take a break, go get a coffee or even go for a walk for some fresh air and change of environment, it will improve results. If it makes you stress less, plan the breaks in advance and stick to the schedule put in place.
With all of these tips, exam season may go a little bit less painfully. Of course, any of the points I made can be adjusted to whatever works for you and your lifestyle. I wish everyone the best of luck and remember to just give it your all, and the results will show.