It’s hard enough keeping up with everything college throws at you, and the pressure can be overwhelming. Don’t let that pressure you into picking up the terrible study habits others swear by. You’re better than that. Be responsible and start your studying a couple of weeks in advance. It may mean that you have to miss out on some fun stuff, but you want good grades right?

Sacrifices have to be made, and for good reason. You need to be able to function the day of your exams. Avoiding stressors before hand will make your performance the day of the test go much smoother.

1. Go to bed and sleep. Get your full 8 hours if you can. Having sleep deprivation because you have been cramming all night is a bad idea.
2. Take all of your medications on time.
3. Start your studying a couple weeks beforehand. And make a schedule for yourself.
4. The day of the test give yourself some time to relax a couple of hours  beforehand. Have your regular cup of coffee/breakfast and stick to light studying.
5. If you can, take your exam in your disability center. It’s a much more relaxed and quiet environment with more space and time. You aren’t being crammed into dinky seats with tiny tables next to sweaty nervous people.

Study habits that don’t work:

1. Cramming. We all know this one does not work for most people anyways. You can’t just sit down and memorize everything all in one go super late the night of. You’re going to take away from necessary sleep you need to keep any extra seizures away and not gain anything from it.
2. Drinking extra caffeine to keep yourself awake while studying or on the day of the test. Put those red bulls and coffee down, you are just asking for a damn seizure. Caffeine can also suppress hunger and lead to meal skipping.
3. Ignoring your alarms to take your meds. Blasting loud music on your headphones so you can focus? Think again, don’t let your routine go straight into the trash because you “need to focus”. You can focus and still take your meds on time, stop it.
4. Not taking breaks to walk around, or think about something else. I force myself to take breaks and after a certain time of day I stop my studying or homework completely. And stopping for me is ok because I planned ahead for this.  How I Use The Pomodoro Technique to Fight Brain Fog.
5. Taking your phone or laptop into bed with you so you can do some last-minute memorization before sleep. Chances are you’re going to stay awake for far longer than necessary and none of it will be retained. Also, if you are photosensitive having a bright light in a dark room directed at your face for a long period of time is a bad idea.

You are headed for a bad crash if you don’t take care of yourself. Be responsible and start studying ahead of time. Time management is a good skill to have, and even more useful when you’re out of school. Cramming doesn’t fly in the real world anyways. You need to know how to manage a steady workflow.

If you feel pressure piling up diffuse it with a clear schedule. Putting things in perspective before you start on them will get rid of the panic. You can set yourself up for success in the long run without the bad habits others around you have. The next time your friend or roommate asks you to pull an all nighter with them just say no. They should have started ahead of time, like you. Because there is nothing worse than having a seizure the day of or even during your exam. Let alone dealing with the after effects that come with it. You may not be able to make it through the test you worried yourself sick over at all.  Set your self up for success, and learn from others bad habits.