Ah finals. So close to freedom yet so, so far. You probably have between three and five super long tests all squeezed into one week and all the time in the world still wouldn’t be enough to fit in the studying in you need to do. Fortunately, there are some things (food) that can make this hard and stressful time better, but unfortunately, some can make it worse.
Some of these bad things include certain foods and drinks (sad). But instead of making the bad times worse, check out these seven things you shouldn’t eat or drink before taking one of your dreaded final exams.
Cookies, cakes, and muffins
Cookies, cakes, muffins, and other pastries containing white flour take a lot of time and energy to digest. This energy could be used to focus on your test, but instead it will be used for digesting these tasty, yet draining foods.
Chocolates and candies
Foods that are high in refined sugars can make you feel good for a little while, but then you might crash. Since finals can be over two hours, you should definitely stay away from these sugars because you never know when the crash will hit. Eating too much sugar can also make you jittery and distracted, which will definitely not be good for your grades.
Turkey
You know how people are usually falling asleep after eating a huge Thanksgiving meal? Well, that’s because of the turkey. Turkey is high in tryptophan which is one of the main amino acids needed for sleep.
Carbs
It’s fine to eat a small amount of carbs like mashed potatoes or rice if you’re eating something else with it too (like a teriyaki chicken bowl for example). But when carbs are eaten alone, like a big bowl of pasta, it will make you feel more relaxed rather than alert. Also, eating carbs in large quantities will make you feel super sleepy, something you definitely don’t want during an exam.
Soda
Like candy, soda has a lot of sugar, which will bring you up for a little but then you will crash. Soda is also really dehydrating, which can cause weariness. Not only is it bad to drink before an exam, it’s also not that great to drink in general.
Cherry juice
Cherry juice is naturally high in melatonin, which is what helps regulate your sleep cycle. Although drinking cherry juice in the middle of the day might not have a huge effect on how sleepy you might get, drinking it in the mid to late evening could put you to sleep during your exam. Your body’s natural melatonin levels rise between the evening hours, and drinking cherry juice will speed up the effects. A little cherry juice will make those already bad late night tests a lot worse.
Alcohol
This one might seem like a no brainer, but you’d be shocked at how many people I know who drink before the day of an exam. I don’t really mean having one beer with dinner, I mean shots on shots on shots of tequila on a Tuesday night before a Wednesday test.
For those of you who don’t know what it feels like to be hungover (lucky you), you’ll most likely have a headache at the very least. You’ll also probably feel super nauseous and tired and the thought of looking at a piece of paper (let alone your phone) might actually make you throw up.