Taking exams? Go On The Training Table

It’s exam season, and do you know that foods do in fact impact your testing outcomes?  Healthy pre-exam nutrition, and a few healthy habits the week of exams, can give you the edge you are looking for.

I am dedicating this entry to my hard-working students.

Taking tests is no different than playing in a sport tournament. Your brain requires nutrition, rest, and repair. During exam time you are called upon to handle more stress than usual as a natural part of the test-taking process.

Boost your immune system:

The studying process requires a great deal of energy. Two weeks before your exams, fortify your nutritional base with multivitamins. Your B vitamins help with brain function and stress. I would highly recommend including a lot of green leafy vegetables and spinach into your meals the week leading up to your tests.

Get Sleep

How often do you hear this? There is no better study edge than getting your “zzzzzzs”. It is proven that naps and good sleep help with problem solving. Sleep allows for clarity. While you are sleeping your brain is sorting through information, organizing your brain- files, and makes connections. Take the sleep away, and your mind will feel jumbled, disorganized and sluggish. You need the performance boost that only sleep can provide for your best possible results.

Eat brain boosting foods for breakfast the morning of exams. Once again, back to the wholefoods mantra of the Training Table; be sure to include fats and proteins the morning of the tests. My champion--perfect meal before test day would include a nice combination of proteins, fat, and carbs, and omegas, for greater mental alertness:

two eggs, a big slice of avocado, maybe a little nitrate free bacon. 

Include a small bowl of quinoa or oatmeal (avoid instant and go with slow cooked as instant will make your glycemic index spike). 

If you like lox (smoked salmon) this would be an awesome pre-exam food boost. 

Almond butter (preferably raw and no sugar added) is another great brain brain booster.

Pack it up for Pre-exam snack

If this amount of food is too much for early morning, pack up these items as pre-exam snacks, including the eggs which could be brought as a snack by hard-boiling the eggs.

I would avoid cereals on exam day, if you can, as they will be void of the precious brain boost nutrients and cause a glycemic spike and crash.

Bring a few fruits on exam day

Make it a point to bring brain-boosting foods (such as those mentioned for breakfast) to school and be sure to eat them before test time.

Fruit  with low glycemic index is a good energy boost :

Berries

Apples

Pears

Oranges

On Exam day avoid high glycemic fruit such as

Melons

Pineapples

Carrots

Bananas

Bring water

Stay hydrated: water will allow your brain to work at its best. A lack of water (dehydration) will cause fatigue and sluggishness. The fruits will also give your body the water you need.

Avoid junk food before your exams and save the processed foods and sugars for after your test!

Know that sleep and nutrition are building blocks of The TrainingTable and incorporating better foods and better sleep habits during the exam periods, will help you achieve optimal results. I wish all my wonderful and very fun students the very best!