It might be your relaxed nature to grab a cold sausage roll, gobble it as you ride the bus reviewing notes and then with only five hours sleep, after a night of cramming, sit your big exam. However if you want a more organised approach, try following this 5-day plan.
5 Days Before: Forget Cramming
Operating in overdrive works well sometimes – such as when your parents are coming to visit and you have to clean up – however, studying for long periods at a time reduces your chances of remembering it all. Breaking up your studies into shorter periods gives your brain the time to store the information.
2 Days Before: Eat Right
Food is fuel – stock up on fibre rich fruit such as bananas, pears, raspberries and oranges. Fibre releases slowly into your system and helps you avoid those sugar crashes that lead to sudden tiredness that eating chocolate and crisps brings. And it’s not just fruits that are high in fibre, check out this list for other ideas.
Night Before: Lights Out
The phrase sleep on it isn’t just an old wives tale – research shows that our brains do a lot of processing as we sleep that helps us sort out complex problems, commit concepts to memory and improve recall. As you sleep your brain moves new concepts to long-term storage areas, allowing you to encode it permanently. In research studies, students who slept a full 8-10 hours the night before achieved on average 10% higher grades than those who didn’t.
2 Hours Before: Eat like an Athlete
Breakfast is a must for strong exam performance, but what you eat is just as important as the fact that you are eating. Eating both a protein-rich and slow-release carbohydrate meal will ensure you are full longer and your body is getting a consistent flow of energy.
1 Hour Before: Drink Water
Even mild dehydration can lead to tiredness and headaches, so swig back a full glass an hour ahead so you can make sure to nip to the loo before sitting the exam. Drop a lemon or some cucumber in if water alone is too boring for you.
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