Mental burn-out is common when studying hard for an exam and it can be surprisingly difficult to deal with. Here are some tips that will help.
I’ve been here before myself. Studying for that vital exam where failure is not an option. It’s unthinkable that you might get anything other than top marks. So you work hard, and you’ve become used to feeling tired and sleepy all the time. But, you know it’ll all be over soon when you pass with flying colors. You just wish that in the meantime you could stop fatigue. Hold on for five minutes then, because I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve that’ll make your life easier. By the time you’ve finished reading this, you’ll know exactly how to overcome fatigue while studying. So you’ll be able to get more done and in less time, and that’ll give you an advantage over everyone else.
Dim The Lights
Some interesting recent research has shown that if you lower the brightness in a room then you’ll increase your attention span, you’ll feel less fatigued and you’ll have to up 50% more focus. This is a very exciting new way of how to overcome fatigue while studying
Turn off the TV
TV watching while revising for exams, conditions you into a method of revision that involves more energy. Rather than maintaining a paced out and balanced level of concentration, you’re constantly moving from the TV into work. That initial surge of concentration you need to get back on track when switching between two things expends more energy than if you only had one thing to focus on. Try a whole day of switching your concentration back and forth and you’ll have a severe lack of energy. If you want to use your energy in the best most productive way then avoid distractions like TV that eat up your emotional, physical and mental energy.
50/10
Nope, I didn’t mean to say something else. 50/10 might be critically important to your strategy of how to overcome fatigue while studying. It means 50 minutes of studying and 10 minutes break per hour. You’ll get more done this way because this will tackle your lack of energy by attacking the source of your fatigue which is long periods of unbroken concentration. You’ll also be less bored as well so you’ll take more in. This is about quality revision, over quantity of revision.
Music Choice
Try this: Defonic – A Fabulous Ambient Noise Generator
Music has been shown to relax the mind and body so I’d strongly recommend it. But avoid anything that will produce a moderate to a strong emotional response. Emotional responses not only expend energy, but they also restrict your ability to remember things because they release lots of chemicals into the brain like Dopamine and Serotonin. These chemicals have been shown to limit the passage of electricity through the brain. You’ll focus, that’s for sure, but on the song and not the revision. So if you’re trying to find out how to overcome fatigue while studying, then a good start but be looking at what you’re listening to.
Plan and focus
Just before the exam, you’ll have a period of waiting time where you’ll go through your revision period in your mind. How many hours did you spend revising something that probably won’t be on the exam? How many times did you concentrate on one part of your revision too much at the expense of others? If your answer to both of these questions is 0, then you’ve revised right and you’ve most probably avoided a major fatigue issue. You’ve also planned out the day. You’ve focused on what you want to accomplish with the energy you have. You’ve allotted certain amounts of time to each part of your revision. And you’ve been disciplined in your time management. If you’ve done that because you’ve read this article on how to overcome fatigue while studying, then that’ll be one hundred bucks in the mail. Just kidding.
The Caffeine Issue
One of the reasons why I decided to write this article was that most articles on the subject are giving incorrect advice. I’ve been advising people about how to stop fatigue for years and it’s troubling that other articles are recommending Caffeine. They put Caffeine forward on grounds that it’ll give you a boost. Which is true. But, this is a short-term boost and it’ll quickly dehydrate you which will give you a lack of energy and constant tiredness in the latter part of the revision day. In a double blow to your energy Coffee will also push your blood Sugar out of balance and cause what energy you do have to be released slower. Drink anything other than Coffee.
A Dose of Realism
Don’t set unreasonable goals. Don’t promise yourself that you’re going to read and fully remember 200 pages of a textbook in one afternoon. This produces a crazy amount of stress, exhaustion and a significantly reduced ability to absorb the information you are able to read. So, be relaxed, save your mental energy and achieve realistic singular goals.
Final Thoughts
The truth is that how to overcome fatigue while studying, isn’t as difficult as studying itself. But, while most students can accomplish the revision part, they find it almost impossible to avoid the constant tiredness part. This is because study discipline is different and easier than lifestyle discipline. Lifestyle discipline involves changing the way you’ve become accustomed to doing things. Many people find years of learned behaviors impossible to overcome. But, give what I’ve suggested in this article a try. It will improve your grades and it will result in revision being a much more enjoyable experience. Maybe phase them in one by one over a few days and before you know it you’ll be free of your lack of energy. Thank you for reading.