End of year exams are upon us, and for many students it is a stressful time. In addition to wanting to do well in preparation for the future, students also often want to please their parents and meet expectations of success. If your child is working hard to revise during the exam period, they are clearly motivated to do well. But if they are also going without sleep and nutritious food, they may be unintentionally sabotaging themselves.
This week, we look at reasons why sleep and nutrition are helpful, not harmful, during stressful times such as exams, and suggest strategies to help balance competing demands on your child and yourself.
The right amount of sleep promotes memory-building and cognition
Repeated studies have shown that for children and teens as well as adults, sleep deprivation leads to impaired memory-building in the long-term memory as well as affecting other cognitive processes. Anecdotal evidence supports this too. Think of times when you have experience a significant lack of sleep. Have you thought as quickly and clearly as normal? Or has it been harder to process ideas, make decisions, and recall facts?
Depriving yourself of sleep in order to revise can, therefore, sometimes be detrimental. If your child is pushing themselves too hard, they may not actually benefit much from the extra revision they are undertaking. If your child can’t recall what they have learned during a late-night study session, or their performance is unexpectedly lower than normal, the balance may have tipped too far and that they need restorative sleep to improve their memory and cognitive functions.
Most sleep experts and researchers suggest a range of 8-10 hours for school-age children and teenagers. Interestingly, both sleep deprivation and oversleeping can result in impaired memory or cognitive functioning.
Maintain a sleep routine even during exam season
Routines promote overall good habits, even if they are broken at times. If you have established a night-time routine before sleeping, you are likely to respond to those cues even if you are feeling worried, tense, or are just busy. Maintain your child’s night-time routines, whether that is preparing their lunches, reading, brushing their teeth, and/or turning off their devices. Encourage your teens to follow their routines even if they are sleeping a little later than normal due to extra study.
This applies to morning routines as well. Teens typically find it more difficult to be alert in the morning, which means that morning routines are essential for performing well at school. As we will discuss below, this includes such things as drinking water, eating breakfast, and giving themselves time to wake up and prepare emotionally and practically for the day.
Regular and nutritious meals promote brain function, energy and mood.
When revising, regular and nutritious meals have been shown to improve cognitive performance, maintain better energy levels, and promote good sleep quality. Eating quality protein and carbohydrate sources, vitamin- and mineral-rich foods, and reducing sugar and caffeine intake are all healthy diet habits and these also support quality revision and educational performance.
What’s more, studies suggest that students who eat breakfast and drink water the morning of an exam tend to perform better. The brain runs on glucose, which is why slow-releasing carbohydrates are often recommended for breakfast.
Make nutritious meals, snacks and drinks accessible
Many students find time and convenience a barrier to healthy eating. Given the importance of a healthy diet on educational performance, a significant way to support your teens during their exams is making quality snacks and food easily available to them. We all know how tempting quick, fatty, sugary food can be when we are tired and stressed.
If your child is focused on studying, they may feel it is a waste of their time to sit down and eat a plate of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables. Some strategies you may like to try include preparing food that can be eaten with one hand, such as a wrap, sandwich or sushi roll; packaging snacks like almonds, vegetable sticks, fruit, or muesli bars and keeping them in the house and car; and making sure your child has reminders to eat or snack regularly.
Final note
Although the importance of sleep and nutrition is widely-known, it can be hard to stay committed to good habits during stressful times. The competing demands of school, extra-curricular activities, and family life can force us to make compromises. In spite of this, continuing with the basics during stressful times supports not only your family’s physical health, but their educational future as well.
Resources
How Memory and Sleep are Connected (Sleep Foundation)
Want to improve your memory? Get a good night’s sleep! (Harvard Health Blog)
Food and concentration – the importance of nutrition during exams (Allmanhall)
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