Eating and Exams

Eat your way to exam success!! When you're stressed out during exam time, it's tempting to survive on junk food, sweets and caffeinated drinks. It's important to eat healthily though, as your diet can play a huge part in your ability to revise effectively and perform well in exams.

o Eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg is essential for good health and stops your brain cells becoming damaged, which can only be good for all that revision. Bananas, blueberries and apples make great snacks and if you normally have a fizzy drink at lunch, try swapping it with a portion of fruit juice instead.

o It's important to make sure you include iron in your diet. Iron can be found in red meat, eggs and leafy green veg such as spinach.

o Avoid sugary snacks, as although they give you an instant energy boost, your energy levels quickly drop below what they were before. Try a handful of nuts instead, as these are high in vitamin B which is great for maintaining energy levels.

o Fish is great 'brain food' and eating oily fish such as salmon and tuna can help increase levels of concentration and intelligence.

o Avoid excessive alcohol as this damages your brain cells and affects your ability to study effectively the next day.

o If you're having problems sleeping the night before an exam, try drinking a milky drink such as hot chocolate and winding down for half an hour by listening to music, reading a book, watching TV etc.

o On the morning of your exam, it's really essential to make sure you eat breakfast. Not only will this stop your stomach rumbling embarrassingly during the exam, it will also improve your energy and concentration levels. Oat based cereals are good, as they provide you with slow release energy which will keep your energy levels constant during the exam.

Remember, if you are stressed about exams, there are plenty of people to help. Drop into the Advice Centre on the top floor of Union House during the day, or if you're worried during the night you can contact Nightline (details on back page). You can also contact the Union Welfare Officer, Emma Kelly at su.welfare@uea.ac.uk. Good luck!