Exams are coming! Feel like your revision always seems to get on top of you and you frequently end up pulling all nighters? Learn why you should drop the habit here.
THE WRONG WAY TO REVISE
It's true for me, that exams can take over my life. When I have mocks coming up, even if I tell myself that they're only mocks, I have a tendency to live and breathe revision - and most of the time I convince myself that if I just revise non-stop, I will learn the most information. So I end up sitting there for hours slaving away making some revision cards the night before the exam, drinking either redbull or coffee to stay awake. Let me tell you now - it just isn't effective. And I know for a fact that many people would choose to attempt an all nighter over revising over a couple of days, but we just need to break that cycle. Let me break down for you why this is the wrong way to learn information:
Caffeine
Caffeine's affects are only temporary. When you drink one redbull, you're gonna get a buzz within the first 10 minutes, and this is when your blood pressure and heart rate begin to rise. Within 15-45 minutes, the caffeine hit is at its highest peak, meaning that you begin to feel more alert and your concentration levels will be at an all time high.
HOWEVER, at 30-50 minutes, the caffeine is fully absorbed and, in turn, your liver will respond by absorbing more into the bloodstream. 1 hour has gone by and the caffeine effects are starting to die down – but you know what that means: major sugar crash. Your body will start to feel tired and what was an energy high is now a lull. A more accurate slogan for redbull would be: "Redbull gives you temporary wings," as it is inevitable that you will crash.
Now, you cannot combat a major sugar crash with more redbull (I've tried), as I've found that binge drinking rebull is much worse than binge drinking coffee - I experienced heart palpitations and lack of concentration, severe tiredness and shaking and it just overall messed me up for 2 days.
I remember attempting to pull an all nighter with a couple of cans of redbull - I went to bed at 2am and woke up with some major sugar withdrawal. I couldn't concentrate in my exam and even worse - I couldn't remember any information that I had "learnt" the night before. Afterwards you feel so tired, you've probably managed to do worse on your exam than you would've before your all nighter. It's been tried and tested - don't do it.
You can't learn everything in one sitting
I hate to break it to you - but you can't learn everything in your subject in one sitting. It's impossible. No matter how much you convince yourself - it ain't happening. If you're really that desperate before the night of an exam, make sure you know the format of the exam, learn any key definitions or techniques. Although you should never give yourself severe anxiety over an exam, you should take the measures necessary to make sure you are prepared in advance and avoid this night before an exam routine. This can be easily done by severely breaking down your revision into smaller slots of time throughout the week and overall you'll be spending less time revising as this is efficiently teaching yourself information. Don't make life harder for yourself by leaving it till the last minute!
How to Revise?
I find that "blurting" is a good technique, where you test yourself by literally writing down everything you know about a certain topic on a piece of paper. Incorporating this with flash cards that have a question on one side and a couple of answers on the back allow you to actively be learning the information that you need to. You should test yourself this way at least 3 times daily (for 10-15 mins) and I can guarantee you will absorb the information. I also think that it is important - if not crucial - to do practice exam papers, or plan out the answers to any possible exam questions that could come up. By doing this you are narrowing down your revision and only focussing on crucial content.
But... don't get stressed out. Your grades do NOT define you. However, by spacing out your revision it prevents anxiety and will ensure that you are prepared for your exam.
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