Top tips for revision
For some students this time of year is about exams and the end of studying, it certainly is in this house. For others it is about the beginning of a summer of study ahead of a new term, or maybe doing some important resits. Either way some top tips for revision and summer studying might come in useful.
Make a timetable
Break the day up into half hour chunks, with ten minutes breaks in between. Those breaks are just as important as the chunks of learning. Vary the chunks so you don’t feel you are learning just one subject all the time and get bored or tired. And make sure you take a break during that ten minute gap. Get outside, listen to music, have a cuppa.
Use colour
Don’t just write your notes on white paper with a black pen. Use coloured paper. Post-It notes, coloured pens. Draw pictures and graphs and stick them on the wall above your desk. They will make you smile and there is some research to suggest that colourful notes are easier to memorise.
Make notes
However works best for you. Maybe dictating important information and then listening back to it. Or write things down on index cards. The art of writing it down will help cement it in your brain, and makes it easier to memorise. You could then maybe give these cards to friends or family members and ask them to use them to test you.
Find a quiet place
If you can find a quite place where you won’t be interrupted. Where siblings aren’t watching TV, or the rest of the family coming and going. That way when you sit down in your designated quiet place you psychologically know it is time to study.
Start in the morning
Our brains are more alert in the morning so use that to it’s advantage. It also gets it out of the way earlier too, meaning you can have an evening off to see friends for dinner or the cinema. Revision should not mean you have to be a recluse, in fact that is what develops into a resentment of the exams. Get up, crack on, make the most of the day and give yourself the evenings off every now and again.
Eat healthily
Eat lots of brain boosting foods, and drink lots of water, staying hydrated is really important for brain function. You might also consider taking something like Benenox Overnight Recharge. Benenox is a unique supplement, taken at bedtime, which focuses on making sure we get a restful night’s sleep, reducing awakening and improves the ability to get back to sleep. And more importantly it enhances energy levels the next day. It contains honey, Sustamine and vitamin B6 so it works with your body to restore and renew your cells overnight by supplementing our body’s stored energy levels in our liver. The honey has a mix of natural sugars believed to help glycogen stores. The Sustamine is a combination of two amino acids, L-Alamin and L-Glutamine, which help the liver to store glycogen. Vitamin B6 is shown to reduce tiredness and fatigue while supporting psychological function so you can perform at your best.
Exercise
Doing something physical raises the heart rate which aids circulation. This helps you get more oxygen to your brain, increasing productivity and helping you feel less tired and less stressed. All in all a good thing. It will also help to counteract the relentless hours of sitting down, and maybe being less mobile than you usually are.
And breathe. We can do this!