What to do, when your brain is "fried" during an exam?

[Tennis Guy]

So, sometimes my brain gets "fried" or kind of goes blank towards the end or during an exam. This most recently happened during my calculus final. It was like I couldn't do the test anymore because my brain was so exhausted. The test was three hours btw, and I stayed the full time. (No one really finished early) I was doing great, until I got towards the end of the test... I recently checked over the test with my prof, and I made many stupid errors because of this.

Do any of you guys have any tips, to try to minimize this from happening? The only thing that I can think of is taking about a 10 second break and then going back to the test, or checking over prior work from before, until my brain becomes functional and "unfried" lol. 🙄 Any comments or advice will be greatly appreciated! 🙂

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[235788]

drink, and get good sleep before a test.

 

[CanadianPremed]

,.,.,.,.,.,.,..

 

[FattySlug]

Get enough sleep before the test and take breaks during the test whenever you can. You almost always have more time than you need if you do things correctly.

 

[Ismet]

This happened to me a couple times during sophomore year and people thought I was crazy when I said I felt like my brain just...stopped. It was kinda scary and very annoying. I think it was due to not getting much sleep before the test (cramming). Make sure you get a good amount of sleep and eat protein. During the test, force yourself to slow down and answer all the easy questions first before going to the hard ones. You might have to try different test taking strategies to figure out which works best for you and doesn't fry your brain at the end.

 

[Calvinball]

I'll usually put my head down and take a power-nap during the exam if this happens. No, seriously.

 

[BenzylAcetate]

Coffee/energy drink/nicotine gum/adrenaline rush from fear of failure usually clears those feelings right up.

 

[Barcu]

If you are allowed to use the restroom, get up and walk to the bathroom, whether you need to go or not. That is my best strategy. Walking around does wonders.

Other things is having some cold water or something to drink with you (I think cold works better than hot). That gives you a quick burst.

Also, chewing on mint gum helps and putting in a new piece when you start to tire can really help when you are feeling most tired.

 

[Ismet]

Also, chewing on mint gum helps and putting in a new piece when you start to tire can really help when you are feeling most tired.

This definitely helped me. I used to chew gum for every science test until I found out that I couldn't have it for the MCAT and had to get used to not chewing it in order to concentrate. It's a great pick-me-up though!

 

[UrshumMurshum]

Jog. Jogging increases your brain derived neurotrophic factor.

This protein stimulates your brain's neurons to grow new synapses. New synapses packs information learned more efficiently. In addition it induces stem cells to grow in your hippocampus, which is intricately involved with cognitive functioning.

Have a healthy fitness and you will find yourself thinking much more clearly and recalling information you've learned much easier.

 

[yellowbird12]

.

 

[yellowbird12]

Jog. Jogging increases your brain derived neurotrophic factor.

This protein stimulates your brain's neurons to grow new synapses. New synapses packs information learned more efficiently. In addition it induces stem cells to grow in your hippocampus, which is intricately involved with cognitive functioning.

Have a healthy fitness and you will find yourself thinking much more clearly and recalling information you've learned much easier.

where did you get learn that information, is there book on stuff like this?

 

[FalconSlice]

This definitely helped me. I used to chew gum for every science test until I found out that I couldn't have it for the MCAT and had to get used to not chewing it in order to concentrate. It's a great pick-me-up though!

REALLY? I chewed gum during my PS section... then spit it out cause by the time VR came around I had been chewing that piece of gum for like 2 hrs... I think you are allowed to chew gum in there... since I could...

 

[OwlPower22]

1. Get a good night's sleep before the exam.
2. Eat a large breakfast the morning of your exam.
3. Drink lots of water, use the restroom before taking the exam.
4. Take a deep breath before opening up the exam paper, say any prayers that you want to, and begin!
5. If it's a final examination, you have plenty of time so relax and pace yourself. It's usually during midterms where you're crunched for time.

1. YES. Though I got so nervous for my exams that I ended up not sleeping.
2. I'd say, eat moderately. Enough to get you filled, but too much would make you fart and want to go poopie. Bring snacks with you if you can.
3. Again, drink only enough to quench your thirst. You will end up peeing your pants if you drink too much water.
4. 👍
5. 👍

 

[ColeMine]

Caffeine can cause major problems, especially if you don't use it a lot. It can shake you up so much that your thought process during the test is more fractured than it would have been if you had just left things well enough alone.

Personally, I use neurotrophic stims that are packaged as pre-workout supplements. I think that Craze is the best. It's newer and doesn't leave you feel ragged when the effects wear off. The best thing about it is that it doesn't work like caffeine based supplements. It makes you feel super-focused, not jittery. That's just what you want for a test. You can run a search on Amazon for it and if you have the Prime membership upgrade it'll be there in under 2 days.

 

[At0mic]

If it keeps happening in the middle of an exam, I'd just take a breather for a couple minutes. I find that if I blank out it's usually because I'm rushing through it.

Sleeping well the night before the exam is important...maybe try exercising a bit as well. That might help you maintain your focus.

 

[Ismet]

REALLY? I chewed gum during my PS section... then spit it out cause by the time VR came around I had been chewing that piece of gum for like 2 hrs... I think you are allowed to chew gum in there... since I could...

Maybe it was my testing center, but the only thing we could have with us was cough drops and they had to be heavily inspected. The lady made us turn out our pockets and open our mouths to show her there wasn't anything inside before we could go in after breaks. So dumb and huge waste of time.