Eating for exam performance

Exam days and the ones during preparation can be very stressful. There is a build up of anxiety, confusion due to the vast syllabus and no sense of direction (for most).

Students tend to neglect their diet, eat what they get or just eat junk. Can this affect your exam performance- no doubt it does. Simply eating breakfast is really important - if you don’t your concentration levels will dip. But if you're holed up revising in a library all day, the temptation to grab a Snickers bar from the vending machine can be too great to deny.

It’s easy to remember that excess of carbohydrates or fats tend to make you sleepy (opposite of what is needed). Particularly refined carbohydrates give you swings in blood sugar and so in mood. It is far preferable to nourish your body with wholesome foods containing plenty of fruits and vegetables. Foods high in protein also tend to keep you alert and give sustained energy.

If you are in a habit of studying late nights, always keep a supply of salads and fruits to snack on, rather than biscuits or chocolates. Snack smart on fresh fruits (bananas), dry fruits, honey-coated nuts, seeds, roasted whole grains, soups, salads or yogurt to prevent swings in blood sugars and cravings. These fill you with good nutrition without making you dull or constipated.

Some students like to supplement with multivitamins- which is not a bad idea. If you don’t get good food, then a good vitamin helps.

Finally, don’t forget to keep yourself (& your brain) well hydrated. Keep your water bottle filled and keep sipping from it. If your waterworks (urine) is dark coloured, then you need to increase water intake.

Just like sportsmen pay attention to their diet for competition, preparing for exams also needs some attention to a healthy balanced diet.

You will see a difference in performance with a clearer thinking.

Exercise the body for better mental performance

Most of us know that physical exercise is good for our general health, but did you know that physical exercise is also good for your brain?

There is a symbiotic relation between body & brain. Althouth the brain controls the body movements, the body in turn nourishes it.

If the body is sluggish, the mind also becomes dull.

If you've been sitting aroung & not getting new ideas- get up & walk- you will feel refreshed & also get new ideas.

Working out with an aerobic exercise routine will benefit not just your body but also your mind. Research shows that high-intensity cardiovascular exercise boosts mental performance and can even reverse age-related losses of brain mass and mental function.

However, prolonged & very intensive ( eg powerlifting) workouts also exhaust the brain chemical reserves.

If your heart rate is elevated and you're panting, that's a good sign that you're exerting yourself and training your body to have increased aerobic capacity. The key thing that seems to trigger changes in the brain structure and chemistry is blood flow. The more dramatic the increase in blood flow to the brain, the more dramatic the likely mental health benefits will be.

Movement and exercise increase breathing and heart rate so that more blood flows to the brain, enhancing energy production and waste removal.


Running's brain-boosting effects were in the hippocampus, a region of the brain linked to learning and memory and known to be affected by Alzheimer's disease.

So are you going to choose skipping rope, cycling, stairs or plain running?

Low muscle tone (sluggish body) leads to depressed thourhts & low mood. However, over-excited body, highly strung & tense muscles lead to anxiety and neurosis. A balance is achieved by regular & varied exercise for toned-up muscles that is optimal for mental function.

In nutshell, get your daily dose of about 20 minutes of intensive aerobic exercise for a peak mental performance.