- green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, broccoli
- fatty fish such as salmon and tuna
- berries
- tea and coffee
- walnuts
A balanced diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains and low in sugar and processed fats is important for good health. The following foods are particularly useful for brain health:
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When you cram, the information you review does not move from your short term memory to your long term memory. The short term memory (as the name suggests) only stores information for a short time. It has been likened to a sticky note. Sticky notes are temporary things - they are fickle and often end up stuck to your sleeve or fall to the floor. You want to move this information to your your long term memory which I imagine is more like a set of encyclopaedias or the hard drive on your computer. This happens when you review the material in chunks on different days, rather than cramming it all in on one day.
I know it's an obvious one, but I also know that lots of you aren't getting enough sleep. You would be better off doing less study and getting more sleep - that way the revision that you have done will be more likely to stick. If you cram in more study and stay up late, you are likely to forget what you revised.
You learn something best when you expect to teach someone else. The best way to do this is to actually teach someone else. If you can't find any willing victims (I mean, volunteers) you could always try a stuffed animal. Perhaps you could get together with some friends and teach each other a different topic.
According to a 2010 paper published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, the production effect suggests that information that is read aloud is easier to recall than information that is read silently. When you are studying you should identify the most important points and read them aloud. Apparently a whisper is ok if you are sitting in the Library. It doesn't work if you read all of your notes aloud because your brain doesn't differentiate between the important information from the rest.
According to psychologist, Karen Young, exercise releases important brain chemicals and hormones that actually help us learn and study. These include brain-derived neurotophic factor (BDNF), serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. You don't have to spend hours at the gym, 25-30 minutes a day can help. Try walking, running, cycling, skipping, dancing, rollerblading, rollerskating, swimming or an online class if you're in isolation. Read more at https://www.heysigmund.com.
Compare Student A who spends two hours studying but stops every now and then to respond to text messages, instagram notifications and to choose a playlist to listen to. While Student B spends an hour doing uninterrupted study then 20 minutes on social media and still has 40 minutes up their sleeve. Whose study do you think was more efficient and effective?
We've all sat down to check Instagram for five minutes, or gone to bed and watched "a couple" of youtube videos only to put the phone down an hour later and wonder where that extra 55 minutes went. It can be very frustrating and stressful when you lose track of your break time and end up being time poor for important tasks like getting ready for school or finishing your homework. Here are some tips to prevent wasting time:
Sources:
https://www.keckmedicine.org/what-sugar-does-to-your-brain/ https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/30/632480321/off-your-mental-game-you-could-be-mildly-dehydrated https://parents.au.reachout.com/skills-to-build/wellbeing/self-care-and-teenagers https://www.smilingmind.com.au/smiling-mind-app https://headspace.org.au/young-people/how-to-reduce-stress-and-prepare-for-exams/ As Year 12 students prepare for their final exams it's important to remember that you are more than your ATAR. In her recent post, educator Linda Stade, pointed out, "Approximately 50 % of Australian students go on to university studies at some point. Of them, 26% of students use an ATAR score to enter university. The rest use alternative entrance platforms. That means, approximately 13% of all students currently in Year 12 will actually use an ATAR."
So, with that in mind, know that it's not the end of the world if you don't get the score you were hoping for. If plan A doesn't work, try plan B, or even C or D. |
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