EXAM SURVIVAL

We’ve barely finished our Christmas turkey (and the inevitable turkey sandwiches) before the need to revise becomes more and more pressing. In rainy Cardiff, it’s all too easy to suffer from cabin fever throughout the January exam period.

To help you retain a degree of sanity this month, here at The Tab we’ve compiled a basic exam survival guide. We don’t want to sound like your mum, but get through the next three weeks unscathed and you can go back to getting smashed on week nights until the next bunch of exams… So, in the meantime:

Eat well– During exam time it’s all too easy to say ‘I don’t have time’ and buy a sandwich, ready meal or if times are really bleak, a Dominos every night. But in the long run, eating junk food is more detrimental than taking the time to cook fresh. High sugar foods mess up your concentration levels and stop you getting that all-important rest. Which leads nicely onto…

Get enough sleep– Everybody needs sleep. 8 hours will set you up for the day, ensuring that you start each day with full concentration. However, even if you do concentrate fully, you’ll still need to…

Take breaks! This is something we hear often during exam time. During your breaks be sure to step away from the desk or computer and relax, watch some Made in Chelsea or go for a run…

Calm down… Stressing out isn’t going to help anybody. If you’ve started early enough, there’s no need to panic. Staying calm will make learning easier and quicker.

Be creative: Not everyone learns by just reading over page after page of lecture notes. Find out what works best for you, whether it’s rewriting notes, making those old school mind mind maps or just using a load of colour… Get the felt tips out!