Our tips for preparing for exams

May and June are months that smell like the beach and vacations... They are also months of anxiety for many young people.

The baccalaureate, partials, competitions, and exams: it's a whirlwind of stress and stage fright, sleepless nights, groggy awakenings... But some students do particularly better than others. What is their secret?

Being at your best on the big day requires preparation weeks in advance by adopting a lifestyle based on simple foundations that allow you to boost your concentration and memorization abilities, and help you better manage your stress.

Preparing for exams on the plate

To study well, you need to feed your brain sufficiently and, most importantly, adequately by providing it with the nutrients it needs to function optimally. So, it's not the time to adopt a drastic slimming diet that would only harm your intellectual performance.

The Mediterranean diet seems to be particularly suitable, especially when it recommends consuming the following foods:

Carbohydrates with a low glycemic index

To stay attentive and focused, without experiencing fatigue, you need to maintain stable blood sugar levels so that the brain can be constantly fueled.

Drastically limit fast sugars (candies, breakfast cereals, pastries...) which cause too rapid variations in blood sugar and consume "slow" carbohydrates(1) at each meal that allow for a gradual release of glucose:

• Whole grains: oatmeal, buckwheat, quinoa, brown rice,
• Legumes: lentils, split peas, green peas, red beans, etc...
• Sweet potatoes,
• Whole grain and whole wheat bread.
• Give preference to vegetables and fruits with a low glycemic load.
• Put aside junk food (pizza, burgers, etc...) as well as industrial and ultra-processed products.

Omega-3

It is often said that eating fish is good for the brain. This is partly true thanks to the omega-3 it contains. These polyunsaturated fatty acids are called "essential" because our body absolutely needs them. However, it cannot produce them by itself, and diet is the only source.

These omega-3 play an important role in the functioning of our brain by increasing blood flow to specific areas, especially those that govern memory and learning.

Among these omega-3, DHA is the most important for cognition(2).

To ensure that your diet provides you with enough omega-3, make sure to consume:

• Fatty fish: tuna, salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel... at least twice a week,
• Nuts: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts,
• Canola and/or flaxseed oils.
• Leafy green vegetables
• Several studies have shown positive effects of consuming leafy green vegetables on cognition and especially on memory. It is believed that the lutein they contain has a protective effect on the brain and tends to improve our abilities(3)(4).

So, include in your menu: leafy green vegetables in the form of salads (lambs lettuce, watercress, oak leaf lettuce), spinach, chard, cabbage, kale... Discover them in smoothies, stir-fries, or even gratins.

Dark chocolate

Cocoa beans contained in dark chocolate contain flavonoids which are antioxidants. They are believed to improve our visual and cognitive abilities and increase our brain alertness and memory capacity(5). Furthermore, chocolate contains other compounds interesting for the brain: methylxanthines (theobromine) and caffeine which are stimulants. It is also known that cocoa improves blood flow to the brain, which enhances its performance.

Allow yourself 2 to 3 squares of dark chocolate with 85-90% cocoa per day so that it is sufficiently concentrated in flavonoids and does not contain too much sugar.

Eggs

Eggs are rich in choline, a quasi-vitamin essential for the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter associated with memory(6) as it modulates learning and working memory.

Consume 2 to 5 eggs per week, boiled, in omelets, hard-boiled, or fried using preferably olive oil for cooking.

Your special revision menu

Here's what your meals could look like in a day during the revision period:

• Breakfast: A bowl of oatmeal topped with flaxseeds and a banana. You can add an egg if desired.
• Lunch: Lamb's lettuce salad seasoned with canola oil, a salmon fillet with wild rice and homemade ratatouille, a yogurt, two squares of chocolate,
• Snack: a handful of almonds, an apple,
• Dinner: Homemade vegetable soup, quinoa and red lentils with Indian-style spinach, a soy yogurt, a compote.
• Dietary supplements for exam preparation

Magnesium

First of all, take a magnesium supplement for at least fifteen days to fill in the deficiencies accumulated during the year.

It will help you better manage anxiety attacks that will hinder your concentration, cause fatigue, and push you to consume stimulants that themselves tend to fuel the vicious circle of stress(8)...

It will also be your ally for better sleep: this is the key to avoiding energy and vitality losses during the day and being more composed and efficient when you revise.

Choose a supplement that combines non-laxative magnesium salts, taurine, arginine, and B vitamins to optimize the assimilation of this precious nutrient.

Note that taurine, far from its sulfurous image linked to its use in certain energy drinks, is an anti-stress agent that preserves the balance between calcium and magnesium.

Tyrosine

Tyrosine is an amino acid precursor to neurotransmitters: dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, involved in vigilance mechanisms.

During periods of stress or intellectual overwork, its level in neurons tends to decrease, affecting our attention and concentration abilities.

As a dietary supplement, tyrosine is used for its anti-stress and psychotonic effects as well as for its action on our cognitive faculties and working memory, confirmed in numerous studies (9)(10).

Take it on an empty stomach, 15 minutes before breakfast.

Omega-3

As mentioned when talking about diet, Omega-3s and specifically DHA are essential for brain health.

However, it is often difficult to reach the 900 mg of DHA per day because, to do so, you would need to eat about 1000 grams of fatty or semi-fatty fish per week(11).

To achieve an optimal intake, especially if your meals are not rich enough in Omega-3, use a suitable dietary supplement containing enough DHA.

Valerian

During the last week of revisions, in order to reduce your stress and sleep well, you can take advantage of the benefits of valerian. This European and North American plant contains valerianates, active ingredients that give it sedative and calming properties, probably by acting on the synthesis and transport of GABA in the brain. It reduces sleep onset time(12) and improves sleep quality(13). Take 10 ml of valerian tincture diluted in water in the evening before bedtime.

Good habits for exam preparation

Organize your day according to your biorhythm

Your brain is far from being a machine for recording information and thinking linearly. Like the rest of our body, it follows natural cycles alternating phases of activity conducive to concentration, memorization, and reflection and rest phases. It is thus incapable of concentrating all day long and needs breaks to remain effective. It is about working in line with your circadian rhythm of vigilance and

 scheduling your revision times when the brain is most active and efficient, namely in the early morning and late afternoon.

You can structure your day as follows:

• Between 8 am and 11 am: Review what was learned the day before, readings, and revisions,
• Between 11 am and noon: Writing summaries,
• Between 5 pm and 8 pm: Readings and revisions, review of summaries, practical exercises.
• Feel free to take a short nap after lunch, as this is the time of day when your vigilance is at its lowest.

Sleep

Adolescents and young adults often tend to delay bedtime, or even stay up all night to revise or to enjoy more free time. However, it is crucial not to sacrifice sleep time because sleeping enough allows the brain to properly assimilate the information stored during the day.

It is essential to have at least 5 sleep cycles per night, which is equivalent to about 7.5 hours.

During each cycle, it is during the REM sleep phase that the brain truly processes, retrieves, and memorizes information - this represents about 2 hours per night that must be respected so that the work done during the day is truly effective.

A recent study has shown that sleeping between two learning tasks could also allow better memorization(14). An excellent excuse to take a nap! You can also briefly review your notes before going to bed.

Maintain the same sleep schedule every day of the week, including weekends: researchers from INSERM have indeed been able to demonstrate that a short sleep duration (less than 7 hours) during the week and a late bedtime on weekends were correlated with smaller volumes of gray matter in several brain regions and thus with concentration, attention, and memory disorders(15).

Good sleep also means avoiding creating a counterproductive sleep debt since the fatigue it causes will hinder concentration during the day.

As your vigilance is at its peak in the early morning, plan to turn off by 11 pm at the latest to wake up around 7 am and thus take advantage of this time when you are at your best.

To sleep well:

• Avoid stimulants in the evening and stop drinking coffee after 3 pm,
• Have a light dinner without overdoing meats and fats, heavy to digest,
• Air your room well and keep the temperature below 20 degrees Celsius,
• Just before turning off, preserve a moment of calm where you can truly "disconnect" from your day and do, for example, relaxation or breathing exercises.

Move

• Physical exercise is essential to improve your intellectual abilities but also to sleep better and thus improve your concentration abilities.
  
  
• Take the time to engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day.
  
  
• It has been shown that being active increases memorization capacities and promotes learning(16)(17).

Indeed, exercise increases blood flow in the brain which in turn brings more oxygen and nutrients to feed our cells.

In addition, researchers have identified a substance, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which is secreted during physical activity and plays a crucial role in the maintenance, multiplication, and communication of neurons (18).

Listen to and/or play music

There was a time when it was believed that listening to Mozart improved cognitive abilities. This was jumping to conclusions too quickly: in reality, our abilities can be optimized when listening to music we love. So, whether you're a fan of pop, rap, or electronic music, don't hesitate to revise with music.

If you play an instrument, don't pause your practice during your revision period as it can also make you more efficient and focused.

Indeed, researchers have noticed that the cerebellum, involved in various cognitive functions, is generally larger in musicians.

Another study carried out on young children showed that those who took music lessons have better concentration and organizational skills than other children(21).

Finally, numerous research studies now validate the saying that music soothes the mind. It is beneficial for relieving stress and anxiety, especially when it comes to stage fright. So, it might be interesting to relax by listening to music the day before your exam and just before.

Limit screen time

It is now known that video games can be beneficial in terms of attention, learning, and information management, and could therefore improve cognitive performance before exams (23)(24).

This is good news for gamers!

However, it is preferable to limit screen time (television, smartphone, tablet) and especially in the evening to avoid disturbing sleep and delaying sleep onset. Indeed, late exposure to the blue light from screens tends to shift the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone.

Moreover, during revisions, avoid sources of distraction and turn off notifications on your smartphone. Prefer to check your emails and other messages at fixed times.

So, take advantage of your breaks, for example after lunch, to play, check social networks, or watch a series.

Revision periods are not a sprint but a marathon that requires preparing and adapting your diet and lifestyle before heading towards success.

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