As the school year begins packing its bags, ready to leave everyone a beautiful summer, there is one last thing it requires students to do. The school year, so ever graciously, ended us off with finals. While some teachers have taken mercy and made their finals easy, others made theirs to be challenging to test their student’s knowledge. Before taking these finals, the best course of action is to be prepared for what they have to offer.
Studying is a huge deal when it comes to preparing for finals week, but boundaries are an even bigger deal. Students tend to get less sleep during the time around finals, as they tend to study until they can’t anymore. According to studies, sleep deprivation can negatively affect memory and other parts of the brain. Bad memory is the exact opposite effect students want when studying. It can also provide symptoms of anxiety, depression, and headaches. All of these affect testing performance, leading to less than desirable grades.
Sleep, or lack thereof, isn’t the only issue for students when finals week makes its visit. Students are often met with many distractions when they try to focus due to their environment. Removing devices nonessential to studying is a good start, followed by adjusting the light levels. According to the National Institutes of Health, light serves a multitude of different factors in concentration, reaction times, and melatonin production. The last thing that can be done to provide an effective study time is a good choice of music. The University of Maryland states that different kinds of music can be beneficial, depending on the task and the student.
Now that the environment is set, working on the actual studying is the next step. There are many different ways that one can mix up their studying routine, such as working in groups, or writing out practice questions on the topic the final would be on. Quizzing others, or helping solve problems are two good ways to help peers study. One last option is comparing notes, as other students can provide good insight at what’s important.
With all these tips in mind, the weight of finals shouldn’t be too much to bear. These preparations are a great way to push through the challenging final assignments, and ensure that the year ends with a passing grade. Once the finals end, summer is waiting for the students of NCHS with open arms.
