Managing Health During Exam Season
As important exams approach, it is vital that students remember to prioritise their well-being. Whilst it may seem more urgent to continue with studies and revision into the night, sleep is extremely significant for cognitive functions. Teenagers aged 13-18 are believed to need 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Having a comfortable rest helps with memory consolidation, focus and concentration, decision making and judgement. This strengthens your ability to recall facts, remain engaged and allows you to make choices with greater clarity and speed.
With a broken sleep cycle, your appetite may decrease and your digestion could become poor. To avoid this, maintaining blood sugar is an effective place to start; although grabbing an energy drink at night to keep studying may seem tempting, it can be disastrous for your sleep schedule as caffeine and sugar are extremely unhelpful for rest. Consuming food types such as protein and carbohydrates can assist with blood sugar regulation but also help with sustaining crucial amounts of sleep. Furthermore, ensuring you have a good, healthy breakfast the morning of the exam, your body should be fuelled to guide you through it. Some examples of this could be eggs, porridge with fruits and/or nuts, yoghurt or a smoothie.
Prior to the examination day, you should make sure you have completed any unfinished notes or made revision resources for that subject. These are vital to continue with as it can help reduce stress closer to exams, as your previous self would have done the work. If you are finding it hard to motivate yourself to create these resources, consider the amount of time you have spent perhaps scrolling on social media, or accidentally continued watching one of your favourite shows. Time management is extremely important when it comes to revising, as it gives you control over your studies. Creating a revision timetable could be relevant, if you are currently unable to organise your time to best suit yourself.
However, it is essential you factor in relaxation time, as revising is intense and stress inducing. Giving yourself breaks can help you avoid any burnout. If you do experience burnout, be patient with yourself and allow yourself time to recover, listening to calming music or taking some deep breaths may help provide some comfort. Moreover, it is important to pace yourself during the exam season, as it is a challenging time that requires an abundance of mental effort. Supposing you do become overwhelmed, make sure you are able to reach out to someone for support, whether this be a family member, a member of staff, a close friend or support services.
Lily Field
There are many resources available such as: Contacting Childline | Childline, Talk to us on the Phone | Samaritans and Shout: The UK's free, confidential, 24/7 mental health text service | Shout 85258.
Sources:
Final Exams and Sleep: Tips for Better Rest
Exam Stress: how nutrition can help
Simple self-care for exam season | Students - UCL – University College London
