Doing these three things will boost your SAT score, And it has nothing to do with the study.
1. Having enough sleep before the SAT exam.
Quality sleep a night before the SAT test is paramount in order to ensure that you’d give your best during the test. It not only clears your mind but also increase cognitive reasoning which is required to solve difficult Math and Reading SAT questions. Research has consistently shown that good night’s (before the test) sleep is more beneficiary than ten hours of overnight study. Many students make a mistake of studying overnight before the test, and they don’t realize their drained cognitive reasoning, and it requires deep eight hours of sleep to retain it back. Maybe this helps students to solve the exact problem that they’ve solved in night study before, but it would reduce their chances of solving more difficult problems which they could have solved if they’d have slept enough (better cognitive reasoning). National Institutes of Health found sleep-deprived students have lower GPA’s due to the fact that it impacts memory and concentration. If students develop a consistent routine of studying and sleep, it will likely mean higher grades and more time for family and fun activities. Please! Please! Please! Take enough sleep before the SAT test.
2. Dealing with anxiety
No matter how much you are prepared for the exam; every student has fallen a victim of anxiety someplace in life. Feeling some anxiety is normal as your body releases adrenaline in times of stress which actually triggers your fight-or-flight response. Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist, says based on her research that “If you would make stress your friend; the stress will serve you to achieve your set of goals”. Think the anxiety in a way that your body is preparing to deal with a difficult situation and get support from family and friends for an SAT exam fight. Make a realistic expectation instead of always expecting the perfect score. I’m not asking to lower the expectation but expecting something unrealistic hinder your actual performance during the test. As said earlier make sure you had enough sleep a night before the test. This would increase your cognitive reasoning and hence confidence.
In addition, avoid trying to learn entirely new concepts a week before the test. Since learning is a slow process; you might not be well prepared on those new topics for the SAT test. You also want to make sure that whatever you’ve studied you did it twice. This would help boost your confidence to solve challenging problems in a timely manner.
3. Maintain a proper diet
Maintaining a proper diet benefits student for a consistent study. There is nothing worse for mental and physical endurance than stunning peaks and valleys in your blood sugar. To manage your energy, you want to keep your blood sugar plateau. If your blood sugar doesn’t shoot up; it can’t plummet.
To have balanced blood sugar and all-day energy, we basically want to do two things:
- Avoid simple starches and sugars as meals and snacks
- Slow down the digestion of the starches we do eat with fat, fiber, and protein.
Pay attention to your energy levels during the day. Notice when you’re able to do your best study and when you struggle. Then see if you can make a change to eat better. Can you improve your performance by calming your blood sugar levels and being more consistent and better with your nutrition? You definitely would. 😊
