Exam time is now even closer and things are becoming a lot more stressful than they were 2 weeks ago, so it is important to get the balance right between your free time and the amount of time you spend revising. If you spend too long focusing on working hard and not enough time relaxing, you could risk overloading yourself with too much pressure. I have put together a few things you can do in the run up to exams to ensure you are getting the balance right and giving yourself the best chance to stay fit and healthy.
Dedicate 1 day a week as a rest day.
Taking a rest day is something you find many is included in exercise plans as it is important that you don’t over use the muscles in your body and injure yourself. Although the brain is an organ, it is still vital that you allow it time to recover from the strain of studying hard. By dedicating a rest day once a week it also allows your brain to start transferring some of the information into your Long-term memory, so when you come to revise the topic again you remember more than you did the previous time. Therefore, instead of feeling guilty about spending one evening a week watching your favorite TV series or going out with your friends, you should think about the positive impacts it is going to have on your overall health and revision success.
Take a long shower / bath whenever you can.
By this I don’t mean you need to constantly be in the bath or shower, but aim for every night or as many times a week as you can. Taking a long bath or shower is not only relaxing and hygienic, but also allows you time to think and go over ideas that you may have. For example, you may have had a full day of lessons at school and when you get into your bath you find yourself thinking about all the new things you have learnt. Doing this allows you to start rehearsing some of the information you have learnt, which is psychologically proven to help transfer information into the long-term memory. I understand that when you’re in the bath the first thing you think about probably isn’t school work, but I often find that if I have been working on something or there is something I am planning to work on after my bath I find myself thinking about it without even realizing, so putting in that little bit more effort to think of new concepts and theories can be really beneficial to your studies without being too stressful. You might even surprise yourself at how much you already remember!
Make sure you are getting enough sleep.
A bad habit that a lot of students have during exam season is to stay up until early hours of the morning studying as they think it will help them. However, it is likely to be more of a hindrance than a help as it will leave you feeling sluggish and tired during the day. Unfortunately for teenagers it is a proven fact that out body clocks are programmed to want to stay up all night and sleep all day, however it is not practical – especially when you need to be in school by 8:30am. In order to give yourself the best chance during the exam season make sure you are getting 9-10 hours’ sleep a night, it may sound like a lot but, it is scientifically proven to be just the right amount for a teenager. So instead of staying up until 2am revising go to sleep muc earlier and you will have more time during the day to study and a higher chance of retaining the information.
This seems like a really obvious thing to do, but you would be surprised how many people forget to properly hydrate themselves when working hard, myself included. If you don’t stay hydrated, you may find yourself developing a headache or feeling run down very quickly. A good tip I have is to download an app that keeps track of how much you have drank during the day and reminds you every hour to have a drink. Doing this means you’re going to make sure you can work to your full potential and not have to stop feeling rundown or with a nasty headache.
That is going to be it for the revision tips series as exams are now well underway for most people! If you have any other tips or ideas, feel free to leave them in the comments as they will be very useful to anyone reading. I also want to wish anyone who is taking exams this year the best of luck and remember as long as you do your best, you will succeed.
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