Finals are next week and students across campus are trying to make up for all those times when it was just too sunny, rainy, early, late or inconvenient to go to class. This is when “cramming” and “all-nighters” become buzz words on campus.
But sometimes, those all-night cram sessions just do not seem to work.
Professionals researched study habits and found out what can make a study session productive.
The counseling services at the University of Buffalo in New York, said a study environment can strongly affect studying efficiency and time.
UB recommends that minimizing sound is crucial. Though some students might like a little noise or music in the background, it should never break concentration.
The room should be comfortably cool, but never warm, and one should have a clean desk where all the needed materials are readily accessible — this makes for better focus and can prevent wasting time when repeatedly getting up to find something.
Counseling services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said recall is better when the environment you study in resembles that of the testing environment. Studying in bed can lead to falling asleep when studying or not being able to fall asleep at night.
The room should be well lit but never harsh to the eyes — UB recommends a 75 watt bulb on the opposite side of the writing hand.
Virginia Tech said more work could be accomplished in less time if all the distractions were eliminated. This means no friends, TV, games or emotional baggage.
As for studying itself, UNC authorities said cramming for a test the night before is not necessarily the best route.
After studying all night, the brain can be exhausted and test taking abilities might suffer. Eating healthy, sleeping and exercise are crucial for optimal performance on tests.
Instead of cramming, spread the material out during the week doing a little bit more each night. On the last night, review everything — this will help recall the information, UNC said.
Virginia Tech recommends having a specific, realistic goal in mind. Expecting too much in the time you have leads to discouragement, and reaching goals and having rewards with those goals can give motivation and a sense of accomplishment.
UNC recommends doing difficult tasks first: make a list of tasks, prioritize and break up the workload into manageable chunks.
Staying awake can be more of a battle than covering all the material when the clock rolls into the early morning hours.
Virginia Tech said people remember 90 percent of what they do, so getting physically active not only ensures consciousness, but it also puts energy into the study process and makes it more exciting.
Getting physically active, creating visual images and cognitively reviewing and quizzing can enhance learning abilities by embedding the information in the long-term memory.
Few study sessions take place without the help of one study tool — coffee. This can be helpful in staying awake, and for anyone worried about the effects of coffee on studying and tests, never fear.
Hope Graven of the Psychology Department at Loyola University of New Orleans performed a study on the relationship between caffeine and students’ study habits.
She found no more or less information was attained by using caffeine; it only helped keep the student awake to review more material. The only effect was slightly higher levels of anxiety during the students’ exam.
When times look short and work looks overwhelming, UNC promotes organizing the information.
This will make the information appear smaller and more manageable and recall will come much easier.
Some techniques to organize material include outlines or summaries with emphasis on relating the sections to one another, grouping information in categories or hierarchies, and making a matrix where the major topics would be listed, and subtopics pertaining to them would be listed underneath.
If anxiety builds up, this could strongly affect progress in studying.
UB said students should deal with the task at hand.
Worrying about it and letting work build up will never help. Relax and focus — anxiety can create motivation to get work done, but not when it’s overwhelming.
Reinforcing statements can be helpful. UB said that by saying “It worked! You did it!” or “You’re getting better,” can not only be encouraging, but even just fooling one’s self can lower stress levels.
Representatives from the LSU psychology department and Wellness Center were unavailable for comment.