The air grows cooler and linger with the sweet scent of peppermint. The pleasant faces and ear-to-ear smiles have been replaced with dark visages and menacing scowls. The day draws shorter and with it goes our ability to do anything with effort or direction. Either the bold aroma of coffee beans fills the air or the scent of guarana occupies that same space. It’s finals time.
No one likes to take five to seven tests in about the same amount of days. One test can potentially kill both your energy and your soul. Multiply that by five and campus because of scene out of The Walking Dead. In an effort to keep the number of zombie walkers as low as possible, heres a three biggest tips to help all of us survive finals.
1. Make a Schedule
As much as we live by the “do now, think later” lifestyle, making a schedule is the first priority when it comes to surviving finals. Without a plan of attack, you’re bound to be knee-deep in material and information that won’t be covered on the test. Plan things out to avoid unnecessary studying.
2. Actually Eat a Meal
Pulling three all-nighters in the span of four days is completely possible, albeit unhealthy. To fuel the information-binges that are bound to happen you’re going to need actual fuel. A large or even oversized breakfast is a good move in the mornings because you can then get away with not eating for a while. Breakfast quite literally breaks the fast you underwent while asleep. It’s like someone siphoned your gas overnight, can drive on an empty tank.
3. Don’t Drink Too Much Coffee
Seem counter-intuitive doesn’t it? But too much coffee will hamper you much more than you think. Caffeine is a diuretic which means that too much of it with dehydrate you through your own urination. That’s when the headaches begin to set in and the dry mouth becomes unbearable. A cup of coffee every few hours should be sufficient enough to help you push through those last few chapters.
4. Take a Break Every Once in a While
Ever eat too much at one time and regret it immediately? Of course you have. The same thing goes with studying. You mind can only retain so much short-term information before the excess falls out and fails to be stored in your long-term memory. Taking scheduled breaks to allow yourself to rest will help that extra nugget information be retained rather than immediately forgotten.
5. SLEEP
Walking into the tests as a zombie does not do you any favors. Plus long-term memories are solidified during deep REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. If your body doesn’t go through it’s required number of sleepy cycles then it’s going to tell you through your aches, pains, lethargy, and apathy towards everything. Plus naps are great.
Armed with this guide, go out and show those tests who’s in charge. And just in case it isn’t you, make yourself in charge. Good luck.
