1. Get plenty of sleep. The first thing you should do
is make sure that you’re sleeping properly. When you don’t get enough sleep,
your brain doesn’t work as well and all the studying in the world isn’t going
to make a difference. You’ll have to put the parties and hanging out aside for
a while until you feel better about your studying.
·
New scientific studies have shown
that when we sleep, our body goes through a sort of cleaning cycle where our
brains get flushed of all the bad stuff that shouldn’t be there. When you don’t
get enough sleep, this bad stuff builds up and makes your brain work a lot
worse.
·
Some people need eight hours of
sleep, but some people only need six while others may need nine or more.
Everyone’s body is different, so experiment to see how you feel.
2.
Eat
balanced meals. Eating a healthy, balanced
diet is also important. Your body needs lots of different nutrients in order to
work right and when you don’t have those nutrients, it can be hard to focus and
absorb information. Eating balanced meals doesn’t just mean eating a lot of
kale (although kale is really good for you). It mostly means making sure that you
is eating a lot of different foods in healthy proportions. You have to adjust
for your particular lifestyle, but a good balance to start with is:
·
30% vegetables. Lean towards dark
greens like kale, chard, spinach, and broccoli, since these have more nutrients
in them.
·
20% fruits. Try to choose
nutrient-rich fruits, like citrus fruits and kiwi, or fruits which are high in
fiber, like apples, pears, and bananas.
·
30% whole grains. Choose
nutrient-rich grains like brown rice, quinoa, and oatmeal, and look for whole
grain products whenever you do eat any grain.
·
20% protein. Try to choose lean
proteins when you eat meat (turkey, chicken, and fish) and complete proteins
when you eat other protein-rich foods (you’ll need to mix foods like nuts,
lentils, and beans to get a complete protein, or eat whole soybeans like soy
nuts and edamame).
·
Limit your dairy intake. Most
nutrients that you get from dairy products you can get just as easily from
other sources. Dairy products tend to be very fatty, so when you do eat them,
choose low-fat versions. You’ll want to be sure you get enough calcium, though,
so eat calcium rich foods like kale, collard greens, and sardines.
3.
Drink
plenty of water. You probably know that your
body is made up mostly of water, so you’re probably not surprised to hear that
getting enough water will be very important for helping you focus. Dehydration
will give you problems focusing and if you can’t focus, then you’re going to
have a really hard time remembering.
·
A good rule of thumb is that you’ll
know you’ve had enough water when your urine comes out pale or occasionally
clear. Eight 8 oz glasses a day is what everyone says, but it's not actually
good for you. Too much water can cause serious and sometimes fatal conditions,
like water intoxication, or hyperglycemia. Have a bottle of water with you, but
don't drink too much. Only drink when you're thirsty.
4.
Wear
comfortable clothing. When you study, do what you
can to wear clothes that are comfortable. This will let you focus all of your
attention on your work, rather than breaking your focus to worry about heat,
cold, or your pants pinching you in that spot you don’t want to talk about.
5.
Use
caffeine carefully. Coffee, 5 Hour Energy, Red
Bull….whatever your poison is, be careful when you pick it. Caffeine does help
you study...but only if you drink it after studying. If
taken before you study, it can make you too jittery to focus properly. Caffeine
also has lots of other downsides, so try not to rely on caffeine in general.
·
Negative side effects of caffeine
include caffeine addiction, headaches, dehydration, fatigue, anxiety, and
disruption of your sleep cycle.
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