Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Eat and drink to sleep better
• Method 2 of 4: Dealing with fear
• Method 3 of 4: Using relaxation techniques
• Method 4 of 4: Prepare effectively for a test

Sleep is the key to getting tests, tests and exams done right, because sleeping overnight improves memory and the ability to concentrate. It's also necessary to store memories, so if you go all night, you probably won't remember much of what you've already studied anyway. To maximize performance, try to get eight hours of sleep prior to a major exam, and no less than six hours. But what if you can't fall asleep? In order to sleep and rest well the night before your exam, make sure you study the right way and eat and drink the right things. If your busy thoughts still don't get you to sleep, try meditation and relaxation techniques to help you worry less and sleep.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Eat and drink to sleep better

1. Have your last meal at least two hours before bed. A full stomach can keep you awake, especially if you're also tense before an exam. Avoid heavy, greasy, excessive, or spicy foods before going to bed as this is harder for your body to digest and can make it harder to fall asleep. You can also wake up in the middle of the night with heartburn, which would put a damper on your rest plans.
   • Eating a light snack before bed is fine. If you are hungry, you should have a snack as it is often difficult to fall asleep on an empty stomach.
2. Make sure your food is rich in nutrients that help you sleep. Other students may run on coca cola and chips during the exam period, but you should know better. The right food can help you get a good night's sleep.
   • Salad. Lettuce contains lactucarium, which has sedative and anesthetic properties. And it is healthy!
   • Almonds and walnuts. They contain the amino acid tryptophan, which increases the production of the sleep-regulating hormones serotonin and melatonin and helps you sleep. To get a really good night's sleep, you can add them to your salad.
   • Bananas. Bananas are high in potassium and magnesium, which help relax muscles and promote sleep.
   • Whole grain cereal. If you'd like to have a bite of cornflakes at night, well, that's understandable. Whole cereal (or better yet, oatmeal) contains vitamin B6 (also found in fish such as tuna and salmon), which aids in the production of melatonin. When combined with milk - another sleep aid - it's a great way to promote sleep.
   • Complex carbohydrates. A bowl of brown rice or some whole grain crackers can help you fall asleep. Just avoid simple carbohydrates such as refined bread or pasta, sugary cereals, or French fries.
3. Try a sleeping drink. Eating well can help you sleep, but it is better not to eat too much immediately before going to bed, as a full stomach can make sleep more difficult. However, you can have a sleeping drink as part of your routine before bedtime.
   • Skimmed milk: Milk contains tryptophan and calcium, which triggers additional tryptophan production. Skim milk is better because the fat in whole milk can strain the digestive system and make it more difficult to go to sleep.
   • Chamomile Tea: This tea contains glycine, an amino acid that acts as a mild sedative. Consider sweetening your tea with honey, which contains tryptophan and can also help you fall asleep.
   • Passion Fruit Tea: This one contains harman alkaloids that help calm your nervous system and have been shown to improve your sleep.
4. Avoid caffeine after noon and quit smoking. Caffeine stays in your system for 6-14 hours, depending on your metabolism. It can take your body 1-10 days to process nicotine. Drinking coffee may make you more alert, but it will also make it harder to go to sleep when you're done studying.
   • Stay away from caffeine for at least eight hours before going to sleep. If you like caffeine must choose drinks with very little caffeine, such as green tea, decaf (yes, even decaf still has a little caffeine!), or soft drinks with a low caffeine content, such as "root beer" or orange soda.
5. Be careful when using sleeping pills. If you regularly suffer from insomnia, you may already be taking sleeping pills. If you don't, the night before an exam isn't the best time to try them. Antihistamines are the active ingredient in most over-the-counter sleeping pills, and they can make you feel sleepy long after you get up, which is not ideal when you have to take a test.

Method 2 of 4: Dealing with fear

1. Don't worry too much about getting a good night's sleep. Yes, it is best if you can start an exam well rested. However, people can still function relatively well with little sleep, as long as they don't experience too many sleepless nights in a row. Worrying about getting enough sleep can actually make falling asleep more difficult. The best approach is to understand that getting more sleep will help, but not to panic if you can't get to sleep.
   • If you can't sleep, don't go back to college. It's important to rest your mind even when you're not falling asleep. Try the relaxation techniques below first. If you still can't sleep, read a book or do some other relaxing activity.
2. Write down all nagging thoughts in a journal. A good way to deal with worries or distracting thoughts that you can't get out of your mind is to write them down. By making a list, you don't have to focus on memorizing it so you can relax your mind. This also aids in meditation. Keep a journal nearby so you can write down any thoughts you can't get out of your mind.
3. Put your thoughts in a drawer. Napoleon was known for being able to go to sleep almost immediately under any circumstances. His technique was to take all the thoughts that were bothering him and imagine putting them in a drawer in a filing cabinet and closing that drawer. Give it a try. Lie down, close your eyes and try to clear your mind. When thoughts come in, imagine putting them in a drawer and putting them away. This should help clear your mind so that you can sleep.
4. Go through your day again. Worries about things to do often keep people awake. Rather than dwelling on things you haven't done yet, try to focus on what you've already accomplished to calm your mind. Lie still, relax and think about your day - it doesn't matter whether you do this from start to finish or in reverse. Do not summarize or skip anything. The key is to recall as much detail as possible.
   • For example: I woke up. Stretched me in bed for a moment. Got out of bed. Went to the bathroom. Put toothpaste on my toothbrush, etc.
   • Don't worry if you can't remember details. The goal is not to know everything exactly. It is a way to help you organize your thoughts so that you can relax.
5. Use visualization to calm your mind. There is a long tradition, dating back to at least the Greeks, of using mental images to stimulate sleep. To help you sleep, conjure up an image in your mind's eye of a place you find soothing and calming, such as a tropical beach or a fern-covered forest floor. Or try one of these time-tested mental exercises:
   • The Ball of Yarn - Imagine a tightly wrapped ball of yarn, representing your tensions and worries. Now imagine the ball unrolling slowly as it rolls across the floor. The thread of the unwound yarn gets longer as the ball slowly gets smaller. Concentrate on breathing slowly as the ball slowly unrolls until the yarn is fully stretched, relaxed, just like you.
   • The Sleeping Dome - Imagine a dome-shaped barrier covering you, protecting you from the world and all the tasks you have to perform. Focus on the texture, color and shape of the barrier. Know that no worries can penetrate. When other thoughts enter your mind, imagine them bouncing off the dome, unable to reach you.
   • The River of Sleep - Imagine floating like a leaf on a gentle stream. Let yourself be carried away, supported by the warm water. Hear the soft murmur of it. Feel yourself bobbing on the waves. Relax in the water and let it lull you to sleep.
6. Try herbal remedies. Various herbs can help you cope with anxiety and help you fall asleep. You can buy these herbs as a tea at most health food stores, but they are also available as extracts, capsules, and tinctures.
   • Valerian root. Valerian has been shown to be effective in fighting anxiety and helping you fall asleep, although it may take a few weeks to take full effect.
   • Passionflower. Passionflower is generally milder than valerian. It can help you relax and fall asleep. It can interact with sedatives and some other medications, so talk to your doctor if you're taking any other prescription medications.

Method 3 of 4: Using relaxation techniques

1. Take a warm bath or shower. The warm water will relax you, while the time in the shower also gives your mind a chance to slow down and relax before going to sleep.
   • Add a few drops of lavender oil to your bath. It will help you relax.
2. Roll your eyes to relax them. During the day, our eyes constantly make small movements to scan our world and look for movement around us. Rolling your eyes relaxes them, helps them stay still, and stimulates the production of melatonin - the hormone that regulates sleep. Roll your eyes in large circles four times in each direction or until you feel relaxed. While this practice alone may not help you fall asleep immediately, it is a good technique to build in this technique alongside the other methods listed below.
3. Stimulate your sleep pressure points. Acupressure (i.e. applying pressure with your thumb or fingers on specific areas of your body) can help stimulate sleep. Apply gentle pressure or massage the following points until you feel relaxed and ready to go to sleep:
   • Behind your ear: There is a depression above your jaw, just behind and below your ear, and your neck. Press with your index and middle fingers for up to 20 minutes or until you are ready to go to sleep.
   • Your foot: Place two fingers horizontally across your foot where your big toe and the next toe meet. Just above your fingers, on the instep of your foot, is a pressure point that can help relieve insomnia. Use your finger to apply deep, firm pressure for 4-5 seconds.
   • Your legs: Place four fingers horizontally on the inside of your calf, just above your ankle leg. Press firmly and deeply on your leg (the shin) for 4-5 seconds, just behind your leg (the shin).
4. Try a little aromatherapy. Spread a few drops of the essential oil with an aerosol can or put a few drops on your pillow to help you sleep. Lavender is by far the most popular essential oil for relaxation and has been shown in clinical studies to help you fall asleep. There are a few others you can try as well.
   • Chamomile. Chamomile oil can help reduce anxiety.
   • Sage. Sage oil can help to relax and relieve stress.
   • Neroli. Neroli oil helps relieve anxiety and depression.
   • Roses. Rose oil can help relieve stress and anxiety and make you feel more positive.
5. Relax your muscles one by one. Lie on your back and breathe slowly and steadily through your nose throughout the exercise. Start with your feet, squeeze your toes firmly and then release. Then curl your foot towards your knee and relax. Bend your calves and relax, then your thighs, buttocks, back, stomach and chest. Clench your fists and then relax. Curl your hands down and relax. Bend and relax your arms, neck and jaw. When you are done tensing and relaxing all your muscles, you are ready to go to sleep.
6. Try yoga breathing techniques to relax. Controlled breathing is key to the practice of yoga and has been shown to help people relax by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls the automatic systems that help people rest.
   • Take alternating breaths through your nostrils. Sit with your legs crossed or lie down in bed. Place your right ring finger and thumb on either side of your nose so that they touch, but don't pinch your nose. After taking a few deep breaths to prepare, close the right nostril and inhale deeply through the left nostril for four counts. When you are done inhaling, close both nostrils. Hold for a count of four, then open your right nostril and exhale for another four counts. Repeat this exercise until you feel relaxed and ready to go to sleep.
   • Deep breathing through the throat. Do this exercise lying on your back. The idea is to narrow your throat so that you breathe through your nose, and it feels like you are breathing through a straw. This should also produce a sound that has been described as a sound similar to a baby's snoring. Inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of four, and exhale for a count of four. Concentrate on relaxation, especially while holding. Then inhale for a count of six, hold for a count of six and exhale for another count of six. Continue to add two counts until you reach your maximum capacity, then start subtracting two counts until you get to four, after which you are relaxed and ready to go to sleep.
   • To hum. Close your eyes and relax. Take a deep breath in through your nose, then gently out of your mouth, humming as you exhale. Concentrate on the way your chest vibrates. Do this for six breaths and lie still. Repeat this if you are still restless.

Method 4 of 4: Prepare effectively for a test

1. Have a good sleeping habit. Students, in particular, tend to have chaotic sleep schedules. You can really break this up the night before an exam or exam. One of the best ways to make sure you fall asleep easily is to go to bed and wake up around the same time every day. Setting up a schedule early can really help on exam day.
2. Don't take naps. Naps confuse your body's circadian rhythm and make it harder to sleep at night. Instead of taking a nap, try going for a walk or exercising.
3. Make an early college schedule. Research has shown that cramming all your study into a day is much less effective and results in lower grades. Your brain needs time and sleep to consolidate information. So once you know your test schedule, you can spend some time planning when to study. Scheduling 2-3 hours a day a week for the exam is the most effective way to prepare.
4. Study at your desk or in the library, not in bed. Your bed should be associated with only one thing: sleep. Getting into the habit of studying in bed will make it more difficult to sleep there.
5. Study at the right time. Try to do most of your study between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., when you are most alert and when you are least likely to need stimulants, such as coffee, that will make it more difficult to sleep later. Avoid studying in the early afternoon when the mind is at its slowest.
6. Practice. Since you have a slow mind in the early afternoon, now is the perfect time to exercise or take a long walk. This will help you feel more alert when you return to your studies - tiring your body will help you sleep better at night too.
   • Being outside in the late afternoon sun helps your body release melatonin, which will help you sleep later.
7. Give yourself time to create the right environment. Do not try to go to sleep immediately after studying. Give yourself time to prepare yourself and your room. Turn off your computer, telephone, or television 45 minutes before going to bed. Make your room as dark as possible and keep it cool. If you can't get it quiet in your room, try turning on calming white noise.
8. Go to bed early and get up early. Instead of spending those extra hours studying in the evening, you can go to sleep early and get up early to study. So instead of staying up until midnight, go to bed at 10pm and get up at 6am. Your mind will then be refreshed and you will study more effectively.