Testing times call for crash course in diet

Exam time is often characterised by sleepless nights, copious amounts of coffee, pot-noodle and maybe some more coffee. All too often, the stress of study and exams can lead students to forget the basic principles of healthy living and resort to convenience.

Living – and being fed – at home while doing second-level exams can mean slightly better habits, but regardless of whether in school or in college, the importance of good food at exam time is crucial.

For some, the exams may be compacted into one intense week, whereas for others they might be stretched out over three weeks (yawn). Regardless, staying well for the full duration is critical to ensure you are at your peak every step of the way.

Around exam time, certain foods are more beneficial than others and can improve alertness, increase stamina and keep you healthy for that celebratory night out at the end.

Add the following tips to your all important “to-do” list and watch success come your way.

Do not skip meals

So often, students work through lunch or dinner in a bid to cram in as much information as possible. Did you know the brain uses up 20 per cent of the energy we eat every day? Enjoying regular meals and snacks throughout the day provides the brain with a constant supply of energy, ensuring you maintain peak concentration levels as you study and sit through long exams.

Research has shown that eating breakfast is positively associated with academic performance. However, if you are studying in a library, you will be all too familiar with the daily struggle of finding a desk in the run-up to exams. For many students this means leaving the house early and often skipping breakfast. Never fear, a little organising and planning can help you fit in, what is considered, the most important meal of the day.

Have you heard of overnight oats? It is one of the best “convenience” breakfasts there is. Before bed, place oats and milk (maybe some yoghurt, fruit, nuts and seeds too) in a container or jar. Leave in the fridge and the next morning you have delicious creamy oats, ready to eat in the car or on the bus as you head off to school or college.

Step away from the books

Tempting as it is to eat and study at the same time, research has shown that this type of behaviour encourages “mindless eating” and is likely to lead to overeating. Taking just 30 minutes to prepare a healthy meal can help clear your mind and result in better productivity.

Have you ever studied for hours on end and found yourself being distracted by the smallest of things? Your brain likes change, so step away from the reams of notes and become a Master Chef, even if it is only to make scrambled egg.

And then it's about keeping active. A favourite quote from Elle Woods in Legally Blonde? "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy." So, study breaks should not be used to catch up on social media and reply to messages. Doing this is likely to make you lose track of time and, before you know it, your 10-minute break becomes an hour-long break.

Instead, get outside for a breath of fresh air. Take a short walk, jog or cycle to help relieve stress and regenerate the brain cells. After each exam, try to get out for a stroll to help let go of the past and prepare for the next challenge. A brief change of scenery can be beneficial and it is important that you allow yourself to take breaks.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail You spend hours preparing for exams. Why not spend a few minutes preparing meals for the days ahead? This is particularly important for college students who may be living away from home and can no longer rely on mammy to serve up homely dinners every evening.

To avoid wasting time on shopping, chopping and cooking, be savvy and do some batch cooking. Soups, curries and lasagne are just a few examples of nutritious and delicious meals that can be cooked in large quantities and frozen in individual portions, ready to be defrosted and popped in the microwave.

For many students, especially students sitting their Leaving Cert, it is a sad reality that there are often two exams on the one day. Instead of nipping to the chipper and devouring a burger, a cheesy chip and a milkshake, prepare a packed lunch the night before.

Here are some lunch ideas, perfect for refuelling between exams:

Bring a flask of homemade vegetable soup and some wholemeal brown bread.

Leftover rice and pasta dishes, with protein, are ideal lunchbox fillers and are perfectly safe to eat cold once they have been kept in the fridge overnight.

Meat and salad sandwiches are an old reliable.

Finish off your lunch with a piece of fruit or, if you are really craving chocolate, opt for a square or two of dark chocolate.

Let your snacks be as smart as you are

We all know the feeling. The intense sugar craving that accompanies an intense study session. Sadly, the sugar rush from a bar of silky smooth chocolate is often short lived and is followed by a slump, leading to another sugar craving, and so the cycle is endless.

Never fear, it is possible to be a “smart snacker”. Enjoying a light snack between meals can help keep blood sugars stable, allowing you to remain focused on your work. Fresh and dried fruit, unsalted nuts, vegetable sticks and popcorn are ideal for munching on while studying.

It comes as no surprise that the majority of exams are two to three hours long. If you think that you are likely to become hungry during an exam, bring a snack in with you. There is nothing worse than becoming distracted by your own hunger. Just remember to take food out of noisy packaging before going into the exam.

Drink up

With water bottles now becoming a fashion statement, there really is no excuse for becoming dehydrated before, during or after exams. Poor intake of fluids can leave you feeling sleepy and grumpy making studying 100 times worse.

Although some research suggests the caffeine in coffee may improve alertness and increase productivity, it is likely that the vast quantity consumed during the exam period will lead only to jitteriness, frequent trips to the loo and, ultimately, a coffee crash. Instead, keep hydrated with water (still or sparking), fruit juice or herbal teas.

Catch those zzzz’s

In theory, it seems like a good idea – staying up to study through the night, ahead of a 9am exam the next morning. In practice, it is one of the most irrational ideas ever.

Getting the recommended seven to eight hours of shuteye each night can actually improve performance.

Sleeping allows the brain a chance to process the new knowledge it has received, making it more likely that you will be able to regurgitate paragraphs of information in exams.

So, in summary (we all love summaries during exam prep), don’t skip meals, snack smart, take walks, get some sleep and, most importantly, when exam day arrives, trust yourself, you know more than you think you do.

Amy Meegan is a final year student of Human Nutrition in UCD, from Castleblayney, Co Monaghan. She is passionate about healthy eating, wellbeing and home-cooking. Instagram @noblenutrition