10 science backed methods to perform excellent at exams

10 science backed methods to perform excellent at exams

When you hear the word exams, interviews or test, do your brain and rest of your body start feeling like it’s a life and death situation? Such is the meaning we, as a society and individuals, have given to it. Every child has to go through this trauma in their life and that too for no good reasons. Even though I believe that exams hardly play any role in determining one’s life outcomes at a large level, they still hold their own societal and individual significance.

Throughout my life, I was not a very academically bright student. I was one of those relatively exam-smart students who with 2-3 days of study would just cross the barrier of first class. I often wonder what the outcome would have been, had I put in more effort. I am happy now nevertheless, as today whatever I do is my passion, and it has much to do with my self-studies, but very little with school studies and exams.

So as part of my work, I do a lot of study from scientific and spiritual wisdom, and here I suggest 10 ways following which you or your child or whoever is appearing for an exam, interview or any kind of test, can do amazingly well. I assure you this, if you follow what is suggested below.

These are also some of the most recent scientific research in the area of brain, mind, biology and the science of peak performance. I did a couple of programs with UC San Diego and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Positive Psychology, from where I picked up the few powerful tools mentioned here.

The application of these can be done in any testing life scenarios and difficult situations where we experience fear or stress. This is very help, especially so to many young students who are appearing for exams now.

The key is to practice to see the results.

1. Don’t Skim through – RECALL

New research in neuroscience suggests to us that the neural pathway in our brain becomes stronger when we recall anything which we have learnt before, may it be any piece of information or knowledge. Neural pathways are the nerve cells which connect together when we learn something new.

Many times, before exams or during our preparation for any important presentation, we just skim through topics, pages or chapters thinking that we have learnt or acquired the information. But this is an illusion. The scientific phrase for this is illusions of competence in learning. Hence the best way to do the revision is to close your eyes and recall all the information you have learnt. Doing this in a group is even better for brain.

Action Step: Sit and close your eyes and recall point by point every topic or chapter or piece of information you have learnt. If you are not able to recall, don’t instantly look at the book, but take time and force your mind to recall.  The process of recalling back is important.

2. Spaced repetition

One of the powerful ways to make our memory stronger is by repetition. When we read the chapters, we tend to learn it but it’s still in our short-term memory. For shifting this information & knowledge to long-term permanent memory, spaced repetition is required. This is simple to do. Make a schedule for repetition. This technique was developed by Harvard associate professor of surgery B. Price Kerfoot, M.D. and Harvard also has applied for a patent on this technology.

Action Step: Whatever the important information or topic is, space this over a period of 3-4 days. Like revision to be done on Monday – Wednesday – Friday at 11:00 am. So it’s following a particular pattern. This way you will make sure, what you have learnt will not go off from your memory.

3. Study for a maximum of 45-60 minutes at a stretch

The maximum you sit at a stretch to read should be 45-60 mins and then you must take a break.  Our brain works in primarily two ways – focused and diffused mode. Focused mode is when you sit for 45-60 mins at a stretch and diffused is when you take a 5 min break. In this focused mode, the brain is fully focused on the task, all its resources focused there.

Diffused mode is very important because it’s then that the brain connects all the information you have read in a definite pattern, in the brain. Also in the 5-min break, do something which doesn’t require much attention like listening to a song, quick jumping and stretching or dance, or watching tv or just taking a walk in nature.

Action Step:  Sit for 45-60 mins and then take a 5-min break. Do something which is relaxing like playing with your dog. This time is equally important as reading for 45-60 mins. It’s miraculous in a way.

4. Use a beautiful technique called POMODORO

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. It is such simple yet so powerful technique to follow. It simply optimizes your brain to a different level. It’s so simple that people at times, don’t use it and they don’t get the benefit of it. Just Google it or download an android app called “Forest”. It’s simple to use, and work likes a timer. I know of many scientists who use this to do professional work.

Action Step: Its simple, sit for 25-30-45 mins to study. During this time, cut off everything. No mobile, no talking, no TV, no disturbance at all. This particular time, just dedicate to study. When you finish, give yourself a reward. May be have some chocolate or give yourself a pat on back, or a big hug to your mom. Reward is important, as this way the brain gets trained in a new way.

5. Breathe, Breathe and Breathe

If you see a tiger, what happens? Your hypothalamus, a part of the brain activates fight – flight response. This means your sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal-cortical system have become activated. It’s a preparation of either getting ready to fight the tiger or running from there.  When this happens, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, the veins in skin constrict to send more blood to major muscle groups, blood-glucose level increases, muscles get tensed up, more energy is sent to your hand and legs, and the brain has trouble focusing on detailed and small tasks. This is not a very good state to be in. The issue is whenever we even think about what we fear, the same response gets activated.

We also experience something called as Cortical Inhibition, in which our pre-frontal cortex (front brain) is not able to work at its best. This simply means we end up doing dumb things in exams, office or during important work. This fight-flight situation is designed in the body to fight emergency. Imagine what will happen if when you see a lion, you stand and smile, or when there is a fire, you will stand there and watch. These are the situations when this mechanism kicks in to save us and prepare our body to fight or flight.

However, this phenomenon not only gets activated only when there is a true emergence but also during falsely perceived emergency too. Like when you think of an imaginary fear, thinking about your cruel boss or your mother-in-law etc. A lot of us including children have this system activated when they think about the exam or when they are not able to recall an answer.  Now the same system which was beautiful, adaptive once, become a mal-adaptive system. Now the same system will unnecessarily make your body fight or flight which is not required here, you lose your state of calmness, common sense.

The solution lies in activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the normal state of functioning and when we can use more of our brain and mind. This state is the normal harmonious state, when we can really tap and use more of our intelligence.

Action Step: Before or during an exam, it may happen that your child or you may feel anxious. The key is to simply activate your parasympathetic nervous system. How do you do this? A technique used by US Navy Seals. It’s called 4*4 breathing. Inhale long deep breaths for 4 counts and exhale for 4 counts. Do this for 10 times. Count 4 inhale and count 4 exhale for a cycle of 10. This instantly puts your nervous system to normal. Some may do it for 15-20 cycles too. Stop what you’re doing right now and do the above right way. See how you feel.

6. Positive Self-Talk & Happy Emotions

Cellular Biologist Dr Bruce Lipton did research for decades. He found out our body has around 50-100 trillion cells and all these cells are alive; they have consciousness and perform each and every function which our body as a whole does, like respiratory, digestive, excretory etc. The point is whatever thoughts we think or the inner voice we have, the cells of our whole body listen to this inner voice. If the voice or thought is negative, instantly chemicals get released to make us feel so.

The new science of Psychoneuroimmunology validates this and explains how our thoughts instantly turn into body chemicals. Now when we have happy thoughts, there are chemicals like dopamine which get released. When we are stressed, chemicals like cortisol get released. One makes you feel happy, while the other makes you feel stressed. Lars Draeger in his book Navy Seal Training Guide: Mental Toughness , highlights this habit practiced by Navy Seals.

Action Step: Simple, just talk to yourself like you would motivate a small baby or child who may be sad. Talk to your own self using powerful words like, “I am the best; I am a champion; I am intelligent; I am brilliant; My brain works super-fast; I am happy.’’  

Before or during the exam, the student can simply keep talking to himself and the brain and the body will be working just fine to get him to sail through the exams. You may have noticed that many sports guys follow this practice, if you have observed them carefully.

7. Mental Visualisation

As part of my work of connecting science and spirituality, I have come across many powerful secrets and research. Mental Visualisation is one of them. I would need about 2-3 days to just talk about this in more detail. In a nutshell, it’s simple: your brain or subconscious mind can’t distinguish between reality and imagination. Hence while watching an emotional movie, you tend to cry or you feel afraid while watching a horror movie.

In reality it’s just few people acting on stage/in front of a camera, but your brain and body think it’s a reality. In the same way, when we visualise a future outcome of a definite result with emotional intensity, the body remembers the pattern and will play out the same way when you go to the actual scenario.

This is, in short, like conditioning the nervous system. This is another technique heavily used by top sportsman, golf players, movie actors, coaches, and army guys. You may read more about it here.

Action Step: Make yourself or your child sit in a calm place, count backwards from 25-1 focusing on your breath as you do so. Feel relaxed by taking a few deep breaths.  Simply go in a future scenario like maybe you’re in the exam hall, interview room or presentation room, and now step-by-step visualise the process.

So for the exam, the student may visualise that he is entering the exam hall and he is feeling so happy and calm, sitting at the desk looking around, and giving smiles to his friends around. He gets the paper and he is so happy to see that all the questions there are the ones he knows the answers to.

He is so excited and he does amazingly in the exam. He comes out celebrating and shares with his parents, that he has taken an awesome exam. This needs to be played over and over again in the brain.

 8. Power centre of the brain “Ajna Chakra”

We all know about the chakra system we have in our culture. Today a lot of scientific research is taking place on this subject too. One of the chakras, which is the master chakra of our body, is the Ajna Chakra located in between our two eyebrows. This is also known as the 3rd eye chakra by some, which may not be fully correct. The Founder of Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga, Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, gives us a beautiful technique to activate this chakra which is responsible for our mental intelligence.

When this chakra is activated, it energies the “Neo Cortex” or the front brain which is the most evolved brain we have.  As a result, we have more clarity, active intelligence & power. This chakra is very active and developed in many top management people.

Action Step: A simple technique GMCKS gives us. Simply using the forefinger of your dominant hand, touch the middle of your eyebrows and say, “Power, Power and Power” Do this with awareness and see what happens. No, don’t just believe me. Please do it now and see if you feel more powerful. Teach this to students or people who have to face tough situations and it will help them immensely.

9. Sound Sleep

A lot of scientific research has been done in this area. When we work throughout the day, the brain is actively working. In the process, it releases a lot of toxins. When we sleep, the brain cleanses these toxic molecules. So if we don’t sleep or have less sleep, these toxins remain in the brain which ultimately affects our memory and intelligence. You may have experienced that when you have had less sleep, it becomes difficult to recall certain things.

You knew something you were trying to recall, but it seemed like the brain was not working properly. Also when we sleep the memories are pushed from hippocampus to neocortex, the brain’s more permanent storage. So anything which is important which we learn, the idea is that we should be able to recall when we need it may be a day, week or month.

Sleep is when this process takes place. During sleep, when you are not actively involved in doing work, the brain gets enough time to put the information, knowledge learned during the day at the appropriate place and it becomes easy for us to recall or retrieve it.

Action Step: Whatever is most important to you, read it just before sleeping or just after getting up. This way the brain makes it to go into subconscious mind and it will be easy for the student to remember the topic or knowledge. Generally, 7-8 hours is a sufficient good duration of sleep time. While sleeping, makes sure it’s completely dark and no light is there.

10. Inner Intelligence

As you read this, observe your heart, its beating. It beats 100,000 times a day. That’s 40 million heart beats in a year and nearly 3 billion pulsations over a life time of 70-80 years. Just now, some, 100,000 chemical reactions took place in every single cell of your body. Multiply that 1,00,000 by 70-100 trillion cells you have in your body. Your calculator cannot even show the answer. My point is who is controlling this.

There is intelligence in the body which overlooks this and it’s connected to the infinite intelligence. Teach your child and yourself too to connect to this intelligence. It’s there to help you and make you succeed and keep you happy and healthy.

Action Step:  The best way to connect with this intelligence is just by making a strong intent. You may call this intelligence God, Universe, Nature, Infinite power, Force, Love or whatever. But the fact is, it exists and without it you can’t even survive for a minute.

Once we tap this intelligence, miraculous things happens in our life, for which no logical explanation seems to exist. Just connect to it by saying, “Infinite Intelligence, I connect to you now. Make a strong intent. Help me through this issue or problem. Help me with this answer or solution now. I surrender to you in full, unshakable faith – Do this for 3 times.”    

I hope this helps. To see results, you need to follow this and also teach your children to follow the same.  Nothing moves until you take action. Also a little note to the parents or anybody’s whose loved ones are appearing for exams.

Don’t make exams a matter of life and death. Exams are not the purpose for us to be alive.

They are just small milestones. In the long run, if we think about it, not many will remember how many marks you got in school. I have been a very weak student academically but if you look at me now, I am living the life of fulfillment, doing something which seems to be my true purpose or calling.

Also as a parent, look at your exam results. Chances are that you may not have done that well and if that’s the case, then don’t take revenge from life by forcing your child, to get top marks.

And if you have been a good student and have been a topper throughout, then look at your life right now, Are you happy in your job? Do you have satisfaction? Are you excited to go to your job every day? Are you living your dream life? Is there a meaning to your existence? What are the answers?

See for yourself. If it’s majorly no, then what’s the use of your high marks? What’s the use of being a topper in exams? Ultimately you are lacking what matters most in life.

But on the other hand, if the answers to the above questions were yes, then reflect and see whether your marks and exams have had anything to do with it. You may be living your life with values which are far beyond any exams and marks can tell you or class can teach you.

You may have found your unique connection with the existence. Teach your child, loved one that priceless knowledge. That’s more important than being an exam-topper.

On your death bed, you will not remind people or yourself, about how many marks you got in your exams. You may be more likely to think about how much happiness, love, kindness, compassion and joy you lived with and you spread around.

Every child is a potential genius. This genius needs to be cultivated and nurtured. Exams are the poorest way of measuring it.  Albert Einstein was a very slow learner; his average mark in maths was 6, as i remember seeing his mark sheet once on some site.

And he self-taught himself mostly. But look where he reached finally. Sachin Tendulkar was a failure in academics but he followed the gift given to him. Likewise every child has a gift.

Every child is a unique, beautiful creative expression of the universe. Never before has there been anybody like your child, and never after will there be also.

Children are perfection; allow them to grow in that perfection.  And you may ask, how one does that? The answer is: How would you allow a rose flower to grow? Allow your child to be like this flower. The innate intelligence knows the way far better than any living being can think.

With love and happiness,

Avinash Anand Singh

Transformational Coach |He works in connecting the area of Science and Spirituality with the mission of "helping people connect to their Inner Genius" 

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