Long Term
This section will detail lifestyle changes you can make to improve brain function overall, which naturally helps you study. Regular exercise is a great way to improve your overall brain function. In a study done on lab mice that were forced to live a sedentary lifestyle for three months, they were shown to actually have more branches on their synapses than is normal. This can lead to over stimulation of the nervous system, resulting in mental impairment. Among the many benefits exercise has for your brain and your body, it also helps regulate mood and sleep, both of which affect test performance.
Drink several glasses of water a day. In s study performed by the University of East London, participants were tested on their reaction time at two different points in the day. Before one test the participants were offered 500 ml of water, and during the other test they were not allowed to drink water prior to being tested. Latency in responses was shown to be higher when they had not had any water, demonstrating that hydration does affect your brains ability. The average person drinks 32 ounces of water a day, however they typically lose about 80 ounces of water a day. That is what is commonly known as dehydration, and most of us are unknowingly dehydrated all the time. On average, some one who is considered 1% dehydrated, will have a 5% drop in cognitive ability.
Focus on the journey and not the destination. According to Stanford Psychologist Carol Dweck, there are 2 types of mindsets, fixed mindsets and growth mindsets. Depending on which mindset you have, you may be naturally better or worse at retaining information. Those with fixed mindsets are concerned more with praise or punishment, i.e. getting a good grade. Those with growth mindsets are concerned more with the thrill of learning. Overall if you can teach yourself to focus more on what you are studying and less on what the outcome will be, you will ignite a passion for learning rather than a hunger for approval. This can lead to better grades overall because you will actually care about what you are reading and not just what your score will be in the end.
