Examination tests, particularly the baccalaureate, are approaching. After a long year of schooling, it’s time for the home stretch to prepare for the upcoming exam. This period is particularly stressful: you have to reactivate the memory of the lessons, synthesize and face the gaps which have not all been filled . This exam revision period is a kind of moment of truth.
Here are some tips (scientifically validated) that will allow you to revise your exam in the best conditions.
1. Avoid intensive cramming
Setting yourself the goal of wanting to revise and work 4 hours straight is the best way to not achieve it and at worst to waste your time. Memorization is really effective if you work in intervals! Work and study intensely and concentratedly for 20 to 50 minutes. Then give yourself a 5-10 minute break before returning to work for 20 to 50 minutes. 20 minutes or 50 minutes? There are no rules. It depends on each person’s ability to concentrate. This rhythm allows better fixation of information in long-term memory (1)
2. Regular cardio exercise sessions
Studies (2) indicate that 20 minutes of cardio each day can significantly improve your memory. No need to join a gym. This could be a brisk walk, jogging, or even dancing in the evening. Practicing these simple cardio exercises will increase your energy level and significantly reduce your stress levels. Very important
3. Pay attention to your diet and favor foods rich in antioxidants
It is well known: having a good breakfast on the day of the exam is very important to stock up on energy and get through the day when the expenditure will be significant: remember that brain activity is one of the activities(along with digestion) which consumes the most energy. Scientific studies (3) suggest that high-carbohydrate, high-fiber, slow-digesting foods like oatmeal are much better (oatmeal is more satisfying than cereal). But what you eat a week or even two weeks in advance is just as important. In one study 16 students eating a high-fat, low-carb diet (resulting in high consumption of meat, eggs, cheese and cream) were tested. Cameron Holloway, a researcher at the University of Oxford who conducted this study, found that following this diet the intellectual performance of hisstudents was significantly reduced. The other group of students who followed a balanced diet including fruits and vegetables saw their intellectual performance stabilized or even slightly improved.
Be aware that when you study, your brain needs to consume glucose, so pay attention to your diet. During a revision day when your concentration and other cognitive faculties will be called upon, take the time to have a healthy snack (for example almonds, fruit and yogurt, etc.) which will provide your brain with energy.
4. Alternate revision locations
Spending the whole day revising in the library can be exhausting, in any case more tiring than changing the revision location, for example in a café, at home or at a friend’s house. According to the New York Times (4) it is enough to change location for a person to improve their work capacity. In one experiment, psychologists found that students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms – one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a view of a courtyard – performed significantly betteron the final knowledge test than students who studied the list of 40 words in the same room. For what? Apparently, the brain makes subtle associations between what it studies and the background sensations it may have. So when it’s time to revise, try to alternate your work locations between the library, a study room and a quiet café.
5. Take care of your time management
Cramming causes anxiety and stress, which reduces your ability to retain information. Plan your revision days carefully, setting specific and realistic goals. It is not a question of hiding our faces. Take care to set aside time for breaks. This will allow you to focus on the day’s work and anchor you in the present moment. This is how you can relieve a lot of the stress generated by the approach of the exam date.
6. Avoid busy days and sleepless nights
It is known that a large part of high school students concentrate their revision efforts over a few days, not hesitating to spend sleepless nights revising or at least, if this is not the case, to work late into the evening. . Know that this is a very bad idea. Based on a 2008 study (5) by Pamela Thacher, associate professor at St. Lawrence University, late evening or night intellectual work causes impaired reasoning and memory for four days. Even if you have the capacity to work intensely, particularly at night, this does not mean that you will benefit from it, quite the contrary.
But above all you would suffer from a lack of sleep which will have a negative impact on your intellectual performance. According to Dan Taylor, director of a sleep and health research laboratory at the University of North Texas, this lack of sleep affects rapid eye movement (REM), which helps with good memory. So, focus on getting a good night’s sleep. What you would have lost by not revising during this period of life-saving rest and sleep, you will regain it the next day by having your memorization and reasoning skills more efficient. In the end you will save time and efficiency.