As the first week of exams approaches for NCSU students, there is a lot of stress in the air. It is difficult to balance everything in our lives during these times, so making sure to take care of yourself is crucial to your success. As college students, we deal with many things day-to-day, making our routines lose their consistency. Here are some tips to make studying and exam season a little bit easier on your mental and physical health!
The most commonly overlooked habit is a consistent sleep schedule. We often hear of our peers and friends pulling all-nighters to cram before a big exam, but this isn’t as wise as you would think. Studies show that information is retained in more detail overnight. This means that if you study during the day, your brain processes and digests the information you absorbed throughout the day, while you are asleep. According to the CDC, students who do not get enough sleep are victims of concentration issues, brain fog and decreased cognitive performance overall. Sleep is also the time when our bodies get a break from our daily activities. Not giving your body the time to recuperate isn’t great for your health and can even weaken your immune system. Have you ever noticed yourself getting sick after a stressful time in your life? Stress leads to weaker immune systems, so as soon as stress fades, it is replaced by your body giving in to the pressure. So, as important as it is to save enough time for studying, it is equally as important to allow your body to rest before a big exam.Â
Another commonly ignored factor is exercising. Working your mind is great for academic success, but physical activity increases brain performance too! Saving time for yourself to get daily exercise can help your study habits greatly as your body will be relaxed and calm after. According to Harvard studies, physical activity can increase memory and information processing. Beyond this, it is simply important to keep up good bodily habits while you are under pressure as changing up your consistent routines can throw your lifestyle out of whack, and make getting back into beneficial habits more difficult.Â
Lastly, arguably the most important factor, would be eating. Personally, I find it tedious to step away from studying to fuel my body, and I know many other college students would agree. However, as we learn when we are kids, fueling our bodies with nutrients is what gives us the brain power to learn in the first place. Skipping meals and avoiding this necessity can lead to decreased concentration, tiredness, brain fog, etc. Just like physical exercise, eating improves cognitive performance. Similarly to sleep, eating boosts your immune system, and without food, you are putting yourself at risk of catching different sicknesses because your body doesn’t have the nutrients it needs to protect itself.Â
As you can see, these are just a few things we can do every day that we tend to neglect during stressful periods of our lives, like exam season. Keeping ourselves healthy is the key to academic success and our peak mental performance. As exams come and go, it is also important to remind yourself that grades do not define you and keeping your mind and body healthy should be your top priority. After all, college is about building up good lifestyle habits and learning how to handle situations in the real world, so being able to take care of yourself will pay off in the long run!
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