Study Tips for Finals!

Finals are here again! You might be running on overdrive in an effort to get everything accomplished. Here are some helpful things to remember this week:

Time management & prioritizing. While you are studying, apply quality of attention control. Do not do the semi-study with one eye on your phone and the other on Facebook. When it comes to final exams, the major source of stress is feeling ill-prepared and worrying about whether you had time to study enough. Don’t waste your energy worrying. Plan your study time and trust yourself to focus. (Hint: FOCUS!)

Take study breaks. When you are digesting information at a rapid pace, it’s important to take breaks! Your brain requires a re-fresh: get up, stretch, or stare off into space. One of the most efficient ways to relax your mind muscle is to bring your attention into your body, breathing with awareness. It’s reasonable to think of spending approximately ten minutes on break for every hour of study.

Eat plenty of health snacks. If you want to maximize your mental efforts, avoid refined sugars and processed food. Instead, stock up on whole foods: complete grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy protein sources. Foods that are high in healthy omega fats—nuts, avocado, fish—are thought to grease your gears. What’s good for the body is good for the brain.

Utilize study sheets and study groups. Make study guides and read them first thing in the morning when you wake up, before other impressions have a chance to settle in. Study groups are also very effective, especially if you have a tendency to fall asleep when studying alone. Just be mindful that the group stays on task.

Get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep at night is a real pickler when it comes to performance. Sleep deprivation decreases motivation, concentration, attention, and coherent reasoning. It decreases memory, self-control, and speed of thinking. This is the last thing you want to do to yourself before a big test—so put a good night’s sleep first on your list.

Exercise. One of the best ways to increase the flow of oxygen to your neurons after staring at a screen or book for many hours is to get up and move around. Cardiovascular exercise such as walking, running, or biking, will restore brain function. Enhance your educational endurance with exercise!

Ask your professor for help. If you aren’t sure about a particular point, don’t wait until the last minute—your study group partners might not understand it either. Approach your professor or TA ahead of time and ask for clarification.

Keep things in perspective. In all likelihood, this final is not going to be the defining moment of your life, or even your academic career. If you don’t get the score you hoped for, don’t lose your head over it.