Well, well, well…. it’s about that time again. The time we all dread from day one but can’t wait to get to because that means SUMMER vacation. Yep, you guessed it, finals week. Whether your finals are exams, presentations or papers, they all suck just about the same. If you’re lucky it won’t be cumulative and you won’t be required to remember months’ worth of information all at one time. No matter what form your finals come in here are some dietary tips that will help you not only survive the week but thrive too.
When you are needing to improve your memory and concentration your body is telling you that you need vitamin B. A few good ways to get this is in milk, yogurt, oatmeal or kidney beans. Personally, I would stick more-so with the breakfast foods and start out the day with a glass of milk (chocolate of course) and either yogurt with granola or some oatmeal with brown sugar sprinkled on top. Along with those few combinations there are many other ways to spruce up your diet and add some vitamin B into your daily intake so you can recall more information and have the concentration you need to focus on several topics through your study session. All to often during finals week we are in need of energy. We run ourselves so thin with wanting to do it all that we simply just run out of energy. One way to help with this feeling is making sure you get a good amount of iron in your diet the weeks before and during your exams. To get iron in your diet try to consume a good amount of eggs, red meat, breakfast cereal or sardines. These could be eaten many different ways to insure your iron levels stay elevated along with your amounts of energy you have to crush all your upcoming exams.
As said before this is a time we all dread, but it is the light at the end of the tunnel in a way with summer only being days away when we reach that last week of classes. With the dread of exams, presentations and papers comes anxiety that can limit our brain function. One way you can make sure to reduce your anxiety is by adding in magnesium to what you are eating. You can get this by eating spinach, asparagus, broccoli or brussels sprouts. None of these make me go running to the cafeteria to chow down but add in some other vegetables and turn it into a killer salad with some dressing on top and then you have the perfect dose of magnesium coming your way. This week as well as other weeks our brain function and health are very important, but lucky us there are many ways to improve our brain function by adding some simple foods into our diet. For brain function we need to focus on eating foods that provide us with flavonoids or vitamin D. Flavonoids can be obtained by eating dark, bittersweet chocolate and cocoa. This will be very easy to increase, especially during finals week when I want to have chocolate for every meal. Vitamin D is in egg yolks, cheeses, and fatty fish such as tuna or salmon. Any of these foods can be eaten to help our brain be able to perform to the best of its ability during the trying times of finals week.
So, as finals week creeps closer and closer begin preparing your body for those long nights and hard days full of studying. With this knowledge of what to eat and why you should be able to make sure to keep your body ready for all that is ahead. Remember the better you feel the better you will do on. Study up and prepare for what is ahead before it becomes too late.