Studying for the Big Exam

During syllabus week most students map out their semester to appropriately plan out when they have midterms, prelims and finals. This is a great way to start the semester but as those important dates inevitably creep up, most students fail to appropriately prepare.

As a Human Biology major I often find myself stuck in science classes with my fellow premed students who need good grades in order to go to the next level. Failure is not an option for these students, as they must achieve decent grades. For any person that is in a similar scenario you must know that time management is crucial.

Well here is my first rule…. NEVER PULL THE ALL-NIGHTER!

According to an article written by Shaniese Alston an all-nighter at the library does no good as it impairs reasoning and memory and can even lead to anxiety which is the last thing you need going into an exam. You should feel confident and stress-free.

http://blog.suny.edu/2013/12/scientifically-the-best-ways-to-prepare-for-final-exams/

Personally I like to look over my notes every night after class lecture regardless of when my midterm is. This can take only 15 minutes and if you do this consistently, you will retain the information over time.

As I talked about in previous blogs it’s also important to limit yourself from distractions. That goes for social media, friends, and television. Even though you should limit yourself from distractions that should only go for when you are studying. Even with the days leading up to the exam you should be able to have fun with your friends and relax. It’s just important that you plan you you’re time wisely and feel comfortable enough to be social and take some time off of your work.

Also in her article, Alston claims that a combination of cardio and antioxidants are a great way to prepare for the exam. Even just twenty minutes of cardio can change your psychological state and improve your memory. An example of anti-oxidant can be oatmeal that is high in fiber and slow digesting.

But we all know it’s hard not to resort to the high calorie, sugar loaded foods when it comes to those late night’s studying.

That’s why I personally like to study in the morning, especially on weekends. Nothing beats waking up and feeling well rested, getting a cup of coffee and heading to go study. If you study enough in one day, you can even use the nighttime to go out and enjoy the company of your friends. It’s a win-win situation!

Sleep, Social, or School: You Choose

Arguably the biggest struggle in college students is to find the right balance between the following three entities; sleep, social life, and school work. It’s important to maintain this balance, however, it might seem too ideal to believe that this balance can be accomplished.

Besides, it’s not like these three entities are the only things students have to worry about. They also need to focus on internship applications, work, exercise, financial situation, and healthy eating habits.

It may be too much pressure to force students to balance out their lives between sleep, school and friends, but individuals must make their priorities straight. Therefore we will talk about each concept and use logic and deliberation to justify the right way to balance out your college lifestyle.

In order to manage your time wisely it is best to create a schedule or a calendar to visually see your daily plans. Now you can map out your schedule and find gaps of free time that you would have never thought of being productive.

When it comes to schoolwork and studying, even a small 30-minute gap in your schedule can be useful. Personally, I like to make flash cards of my study material and quickly review them when I have a free moment. This can even be in short-duration instances like waiting in line for food, before class, or even walking to and from places. Short-duration flashcard studying is a great way to gain memorization.

Speaking of memorization, your sleeping habits play a pivotal role in retaining your lecture notes for the big exam. According to a study conducted by Pennsylvania Institute of Technology, sleep can facilitate memory retention and academic performance. 

http://www.pit.edu/blog/2013/08/sleeping-helps-college-students-pennsylvania/ 

You should develop a sleeping pattern to keep your body in normal homeostasis. If you are exhausted and you’re up late cramming for a midterm, it would be more useful to go to sleep and wake up earlier in the morning to study. There is no use to study when you are tired, as your mind will find it difficult to retain the information.

With that said, never make your bedroom a study room as well. Then you would be more tempted to go to sleep rather then study. Make sure your study spot is a completely different environment then a bedroom.

Everyone should experience a social life while in college. But what if your social life comes at the cost of sleep and schoolwork? Or even worse, what if sleep and a social life come at the cost of school and studying. This dilemma seems to be a problem for many college students who don’t know how to manage their time. Once they are out of their parent’s home, they feel free to do whatever they want while disregarding school. 

It is critical to not lose yourself to the social life at college. Plan accordingly when it comes to making plans with friends. Even though the weekends are meant to be fun, sometimes you have to crack down on your schoolwork and hit the books at the library. If you are able to go out two-three nights a week then you are in good shape. Make lunch and dinner social with friends and if you don’t have enough time for anything you can always say to your friends “if I had time to be social while at school, you know I would hang out with you”... Every college student should understand that excuse.

So go ahead and evaluate what is important to you in your college experience. Of course there are students who manage to succeed in school by doing the bear minimum, but that is a rarity.

Be Balanced, Be Persistent, Be Healthy, Be Outgoing.

Why exercising is worthwhile for college students

Nothing beats that feeling when you put on the headphones, lace up your sneakers, and jog outside to the beautiful scenery of Los Angeles. For me, this is essential to my lifestyle. No matter how busy I am, I make it my mission to find time to exercise before I do anything else.

But what makes exercising worthwhile? If you’re a college student, you can be using your valuable free time to go to the bar with friends, watch TV, or even take a well-deserved nap. If you think those activities are fun and rewarding well let me tell you about one of the best feeling the world…The Runners High.

In my past experiences working out, my “Runners High” gives me a feeling of euphoria. Scientifically, the act of cardio fitness triggers the release of anandamide, which is a neurotransmitter of the brain that creates a similar sensation to the effects of marijuana.

This feeling is like no other, as you feel accomplished and invincible while standing on top of a mountain overlooking LA.

Image by alltrails.com

http://www.cannabis.net/anandamide/runnershigh.html

Exercise can even contribute to a higher performance in the classroom! According to an article written by the American Intercontinental University, exercise can have the following benefits among college students.

1.     Exercise stimulates brain development

2.     Exercise improves memory retention

3.     Exercise increases focus and concentration

4.     Exercise boosts mood

5.     Exercise relieves stress

http://www.aiuniv.edu/blog/september-2012/5-reasons-college-students-should-make-time-for-exercise

You can even be social while running. Having a running partner is a great way to keep you motivated and stay active. This principle is based on the theory of social facilitation that is if you exercise around other people, you are more likely to push yourself harder to stay at the same pace.

Try it out! Los Angeles has beautiful hiking trails, beach paths, and plenty more for you to explore with friends and go exercise.

Finding Time to Exercise

It's not to say that most students' are too lazy to go exercise, however, the problem may be that they don't have enough time to make it to the gym and workout. The benefits of exercising has much more meaning than avoiding the freshmen-15.  I plan to go into greater detail in future blog posts on the benefits exercising can have on one's psychological well-being, academic life, and even social life. Before we go into those details, we must first discuss how to manage your time in order to hit the gym.....

If you aren't an NCAA athlete there is no reason for you to waste your time lifting. At this point in our lives it's most important to maintain our cardiovascular fitness. Lifting is a great way to initiate muscle hypertrophy but it's more time consuming. So if you don't have enough time to workout one hour a day, then choose cardio over lifting. 

If you do enjoy lifting, shorten up your rest intervals. Lifting tends to take up more time because while you are resting in between sets, you are more inclined to talk to people.   

For cardiovascular fitness, all you need is 30 minutes a day for five days a week at a moderate intensity. If you do that, then and you are already doing better than most college students. 

When you sort out your college schedule the first thing you should do is find the perfect time-frames to exercise. Here are a few ways that I have been able to save time......

1) Wear gym clothes to class: It might not be the most preferable attire, but the amount of time it saves by going straight from the class to the track, instead of heading back to your dorm to change, can be equivalent to the time it takes to get one homework assignment done. Also, when you head back to your dorm there can be too many distractions such as friends, napping, food etc that can stall you from reaching the gym. 

2) Treat your commute as a workout: Walking to class is the most underrated way to maintain your cardio fitness, and most people don't even realize it. If you are on a large university campus with an average course-load, you are already walking several miles a day. If you even want to run with your backpack on, nobody is judging you.....

3) Be the Weekend Warrior: Usually the Weekend Warrior is frowned upon by most workout guru's because they want people to workout consistently. However, when you are in college, anything goes. If you are free to workout only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, take advantage of it! Make those days your masterpiece of a workout and hopefully you can find enough time on Monday-Thursday to get at least a bit of fitness in.

4) Don't socialize at the gym: You shouldn't be at the gym to talk to people. Just be on a mission to optimize your workout in the shortest amount of time.

Sure there are many ways to optimize your time at the gym. Try some of these tips and but you should also find something that fits you best and matches your goals and desires when it comes to exercising.

Stay tuned for next weeks blog regarding the benefits exercise can have on college students.....