May is the month that students tend to stress out over exams. Students worry so much that they miss out on critical steps that could help improve test scores.

Sleeping and a healthy diet are the most important factors, besides studying, to improve a test score. These happen to be the two things most students forget to do because they are so worried about cramming for an exam.

Getting enough sleep is extremely important. Pulling an all-nighter or leaving only a few hours to sleep is not conducive to performing well. Instead, make sure you get a full eight hours or more a night. If you can’t sleep, here are some options that can help:

1.) Take a warm bath or shower. Body temperatures drop after you exit the bath or shower, which can trigger a sleepy feeling.

2.) Don’t get in bed until you are actually tired. If you aren’t sleepy, your body won’t settle down.

3.) Get out of bed and walk around until you start to feel exhaustion. Worrying about your inability to sleep is not going to help.

4.) Hide your clock and electronic devices. When you’re constantly checking your clock, you’re putting pressure on yourself to fall asleep. When you stress your body out about the inability to sleep, it only makes matters worse.

Eating healthy is also proven to improve test scores. Choose foods rich in probiotics and go low-carb. Foods like yogurt, leafy greens, eggs, and fruits are the best choices to eat before a test. Also, drink filtered water, coffee, or tea.

Mixing a healthy diet and a solid sleep schedule, with a little study time can really make a huge difference on your exam grades.

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/06/business/brain-food/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/health/fall-asleep-faster/