The school year is finally coming to an end, which means that finals are also imminent. To many, especially for college students, they refer to this as “hell week” since this would involve several requirements, activities, and examinations for them to undertake. Consecutive nights of studying leave students stressed, exhausted and worst, sleep-deprived.
It is inevitable that you must study to finish a course or at least pass the subjects you are enrolled in. Nonetheless, despite the effort of studying hard, you could still fail. This is because people have different routines of studying. Maybe the method of studying you used might not have been as effective as you think so. If you don’t know which studying habit is good or bad for you, here are some pointers for you to know if you’ve been studying wrong all along.
Pulling off an all-nighter is bad for you.
This is most common for students preparing for probably a big exam the next day or beating a deadline that is due the next day. If you think that studying it all in one night is an effective way to study, you definitely got it all wrong. Staying up all night does all sorts of negative effects to your body: fatigue which results to grogginess and irritability, and an increase of habitual sleeplessness. All-nighters also affect the brain, missing out on the recommended amount of sleep that is at least seven to eight hours at night can make your brain weary – contributing to a quick decrease of performance for specific learning and memory tasks. Sacrificing sleep to study a test will result to your brain functioning improperly and that is totally unproductive.
Cramming.
You have to admit that every student definitely must have done this. Cramming is an accepted study technique and there is a right and wrong way to do it. Although cramming may help you get a decent mark on a test, this type of studying only activates short-term memory. This means that when you study for an exam the next day, all the reviewed materials leaves your head as quickly as it was stuffed there. The best way to study is to leave gaps and do not include long and intensive studying. This is a long lasting approach to studying. Long-term memory is what we need to perform well on examinations to retain more facts.
Not too much caffeine.
You will become too hyped up on all of the sugar, and then crash later on, which will not benefit you in your studying. The stimulant effects on the body from the caffeine such as increased heart rate, increased adrenaline hormones can combine to produce an overwhelming sensation in some people resulting to anxiety. Too much caffeine can also cause insomnia that can be a big problem for you if you’re trying to get a good night sleep. It may cause you more harm than good.
Multitasking.
There can be many distractions when trying to study — the television, your friends and, of course, your cellphones. Unless it is an emergency, it is highly advisable that you put away your phone to avoid distractions. It makes it even harder with today’s smart phones since students spend so much time on social media. By dividing your attention among so many different tasks, either the quality of your work or your efficiency is bound to suffer. It is important to make the most of your study time. Avoiding distractions such as smart phones can help you practice discipline on yourself and practice good study habits. Try to find motivations to finish your work before doing anything else such as watching a movie after everything is done or treating yourself with a good meal.
Procrastination.
It never does any good to you. You end up having more wasted time. One should overcome procrastination as soon as possible to be productive at all times. Block out distractions and start working. By doing preliminary studies, you can avoid cramming and be more efficient in studying. Scheduling study hours and following it strictly can also be a way to be productive and avoid procrastination.
Ace your exams this week, guys! | NWI
