With exam season just around the corner, cramming three months of lecture content into a gruesome all-nighter can seem like the only option the night before a final. It seems impossible to balance your upcoming coursework and assignments while engraving thousands of lecture slides into your brain until they’ve become second nature. Here are my top science-based tips to avoid last-minute cramming and guarantee a (mostly) stress-free finals week.
CREATE A SCHEDULE
This may sound intuitive, but making a schedule can reframe your perspective when your workload seems overwhelmingly unachievable. Keeping a planner can reduce your work to manageable chunks. By using a schedule, I can gain an overview of everything I have completed and what I still have to complete before a due date or final. It’s best to give yourself at least 2–3 weeks in advance to space out your studying to avoid burnout. One of the fundamental misconceptions about studying (which I still sometimes admitly commit) is doing more superficial work over a short period rather than intentionally studying over a more extended period. The American Psychological Association shows that spacing out study sessions over a long period improves long-term memory. In other words, say you have 12 hours to study one subject. Reviewing it for three hours each week for four weeks is better than cramming all 12 hours into week four. This is also referred to as “the spacing effect.” By planning and scheduling these reviewing sessions, you can enforce the spacing effect into your learning habits and easily recall content on exam day.
THE THREE E’S: ENERGISE, EAT, AND EXERCISE
The three E’s are an essential guidepost to success while caring for your mind and body during the stress-ridden season. Finals week encompasses high stress levels, poor eating habits, and, more often than not, very little sleep. While most university students generally suffer from chronic sleep deprivation, the added anxiety of exams and final assessments results in students pulling all-nighters or worse–not sleeping at all. Adversely, lack of sleep can, in turn, hinder academic success. According to the Sleep Foundation, more than half of college students sleep less than seven hours during a regular semester, and during finals week, the average college student sleeps only 6.36 hours per night. Studies show that students who get more restful sleep receive better grades, can recall more effectively, and reduce anxiety and stress. Some tips to ensure a good night’s sleep leading up to your exam are to follow a regular sleep schedule and put away your electronics 30-60 minutes before sleeping. Other factors contributing to your sleep quality are exercise and eating habits.
Although a generally healthy diet is critical for nourishing your body and brain, research shows that some foods may significantly contribute to optimal mental performance and brain health. Healthline provides a few examples of foods to stock up on before finals. Berries such as blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries are high in flavonoid compounds such as anthocyanins, which elevate cognitive performance. Another tasty snack high in flavonoid compounds is dark chocolate. Other foods proven to boost academic performance include nuts, eggs, fish, and vegetables. Whether you incorporate these specific foods into your diet, ensuring you are fuelling your mind with nutritious foods throughout the day is essential. Exercise significantly strengthens memory, boosts concentration, and improves mood and energy. University College London provides a comprehensive list of benefits of physical activity on academic performance. The Fife Coastal Walk in St. Andrews is an ideal place to stretch your legs and pull your mind away from the chaos for a little while.
LEAVE THE LAST DAY FOR REVIEW
Leaving the last day to review material you already know is the best way to spend the day before the exam instead of cramming new information into your brain the day before. After studying it for only one day, you are less likely to recall new information. An article from BBC puts it perfectly, “after six hours of looking at study material, it’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking we have committed it to memory, but being able to recognise something isn’t the same as being able to recall it. Recall is supported by a network of different brain areas, including the “frontal cortex and temporal lobe, which coordinate to recreate a memory from the clues you give it.” Simply because your visual cortex is processing your notes after hours of cramming does not translate to the rest of your brain’s ability to reconstruct the memory during an exam. It’s best to spend the day or two before your exam self-testing yourself on the content (either verbally or by writing down what you know). Practice tests and utilising past exam papers are the best way to test your knowledge of the topics and identify topics requiring more understanding.
Using these tips during exam season will make studying less stressful and enjoyable!