Many of you will be appearing in your board exams, which will require lots of deliberate planning and proper time management. You can organise your study schedule and manage your anxiety during that period in many ways. But the most important thing is the food you eat during exam preparation.
Some specific types of food increase alertness and enhance memory and energy levels. Also, consider including multivitamin capsules to fill your nutritional gaps for overall well-being.
Limit Your Sugar Intake
You must be tempted to snack on sugary foods while studying. It has been proven that this is counterproductive as excessive sugar intake can lead to a temporary rush of energy, quickly followed by crashing blood glucose levels, causing fatigue, among other things.
Drink Green Tea Instead Of Caffeine
Coffee shops or cafes give bumper sales during exams for apparent reasons. To stay awake and active, students choose caffeinated beverages. However, it is discovered that caffeine only gives you short-term support and comes with side effects such as migraine and fatigue in the long run.
Green tea is a better alternative to caffeine options, as it has antioxidants and boosts your concentration.
Drink More Water
Water helps accelerate the chemical reactions in your body and can fasten the rate at which your brain processes information. On the other hand, dehydration can cause forgetfulness, fatigue, and sluggishness.
As per NHS recommendations, you should drink around 1.2 liters of water a day for good mental health and overall well-being. So, always keep a water bottle with you beside your study table.
Consume Leafy Greens
Veggies like spinach, broccoli and kale are packed with vitamin K, which helps in building pathways in your brain, as well as naturally occurring antioxidants and nitrates. These leafy veggies also contain B6 and B12, which are associated with improvements in memory and alertness. Note – you are what you eat. You should not skip meals or consume junk food during the exam period. Rest properly, get enough sleep and stay mentally fit. Be the best version of yourself.
Eat Healthy Snacks
Instead of junk and sugary foods, try eating nuts, figs, oatmeal, paneer, eggs, seeds, and yogurt. These protein-rich foods help to improve your memory retention and mental alertness and raise energy levels.
Additional Tips To Prepare For Your Exams
Not every learning method works for every student, so try experimenting with a few tips to find which one works best for you.
- Make Flashcards: It would help if you rewrite some important concepts, definitions, and facts on flashcards. They also let you quiz yourself without any help.
- Read And Review: According to some studies, you can forget 70% of your lessons within 24 hours. Read and make your notes by summarising the important aspects of the reading so that you can easily review them without rereading the entire chapter.
- Take Tuitions: Tutors can help you excel at any topic. Taking personalised tuition can help you to read and revise more.
- Take Breaks: Refresh your brain and body by giving breaks so you can approach your reading material with full concentration and energy. Using the Pomodoro technique, which includes 25-minute-long study sessions with 5-10-minute breaks in between, can improve your productivity.
Furthermore, to increase your cognitive performance, consider adding iron tablets to your diet, which promotes healthy red blood cell production and raises oxygen delivery to body tissues. In turn, this might help to improve cognitive function and remove difficulty in concentration.
Conclusion
Following a healthy diet pattern is essential when reading and taking exams. However, an overall diet and healthy lifestyle are what’s most important; research shows that certain foods can help improve mental performance, making them an excellent choice for you. Also, you can include calcium tablets in your routine as they play an important role in neuronal functioning, improving better mental focus.