Concentration in your studies

Full of energy for top performance

Do you often find it difficult to concentrate for long periods of time? And do you sometimes feel like you could make even better use of your potential? Then figure out what your brain needs to function at its best. Also learn how to master university with energy – with our five tips.

If you want to deliver top performance in exams, you have to study with concentration and discipline . But this only works if both your brain and your entire body have enough energy. If you are tired or inattentive, you have a harder time remembering new information. Then it may happen that you have to read a sentence three times. And in the end you still have no idea what it says.

The question is: How can the brain be supplied with sufficient energy? Is it enough if you simply sleep a lot - and thus replenish your storage capacity? The answer: sleep is a good place to start. But there’s more you can do to help your brain do its job. With our five tips you can get the best out of yourself even during exam phases.

Tip 1: Create balance with sport

Cinema, shopping, parties: many leisure activities are a good balance to everyday university life. But if you want to switch off and replenish your energy reserves at the same time, try exercising.

This is how sport can positively influence your performance:

• Sport strengthens your cardiovascular system, your metabolism and your immune system . So it ensures that you stay physically fit. This is important because colds, headaches, etc. reduce your concentration and steal valuable learning time.
• According to studies , just half an hour of exercise a day increases blood circulation in your body. This leads to the formation of new nerve cells , which in turn improve the performance of your brain.
• You can reduce stress with the help of relaxation sports such as Tai Chi or yoga . You calm down, feel balanced and can concentrate better in everyday life - for a long time at a time .
• When you exercise, your body releases the so-called happiness hormones dopamine, endorphin and serotonin. Your basic mood improves and you devote yourself to your books with motivation.

Would you like a sweet snack after exercise ? A muesli bar like yoghurt or strawberry will satisfy your small hunger. The dextrose goes into your blood and supplies you with important carbohydrates in no time. Your brain needs carbohydrates so that it can work properly.

Sport can help you relax and recharge your batteries - so that you can achieve top performance in your studies in the long term.

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Tip two: Eat healthy

Fast, cheap, tasty: fast food has a few advantages. Still, eat it as rarely as possible. Because according to studies , unhealthy food can reduce your memory performance . It also contains hardly any vitamins and nutrients - but all the more calories, sugar and salt. So rely on fresh food and a balanced diet as often as possible.

Don't have time for hour-long cooking sessions? Understandable. Luckily, there are plenty of quick and healthy recipes online. Or how about just yogurt, oatmeal and a banana for breakfast? At lunchtime we have a colorful salad with chicken and in the evening we have wholemeal bread with cheese and sausage.

These foods are important for you during learning phases:

• Three portions of vegetables and two portions of fruit provide you with essential nutrients every day. They strengthen your immune system - so that you stay healthy during the exam period and can concentrate on your studies.
• Whole grain products such as whole grain pasta and bread keep you full because they contain a lot of fiber. They provide you with enough energy to learn over a longer period of time.
• Dairy products contain proteins. They are good for both your muscles and your brain . The reason: Milk, quark, cheese and yoghurt contain a lot of calcium, which plays an important role in transmitting stimuli in the nervous system.
• Fish, meat and dairy products contain vitamin B12 , which stimulates the formation of red blood cells. Red blood cells are cells that carry oxygen around the body. If your body is supplied with enough oxygen, you will feel awake and productive.
• Nuts contain, among other things, omega-3 fatty acids. You need this so that your brain cells connect with each other and signals are passed on better.
• Water and unsweetened tea are important because they make your blood thinner. This means it flows better and brings nutrients and oxygen to the brain more reliably.

Complete your balanced diet with a cube of Dextro Energy * . These are individually packaged dextrose tablets that you simply let melt in your mouth. The dextrose immediately goes into your blood and directly replenishes your carbohydrate stores. Treat yourself to it between meals.

Are you traveling a lot ? The two dextrose products Schulstoff and Minis fit in every bag thanks to their handy size. So you always have them at hand – in the library or in the café. They are available in fruity, delicious varieties such as peach , cherry and forest fruit .

Tip three: Break out of your routine

Escape from everyday life, experience new things and get started with fresh energy – that sounds like the perfect plan, right? However, for many students, long vacations are hardly financially feasible. Luckily, there are other ways to break out of your routine. Changing a few small things can have a positive impact on your thinking performance.

This is how you ensure variety:

• Take a new path : Take a different route to university or ride a bike instead of the main thing, you see something different.
• Rearrange your drawers : Put the forks in the cutlery compartment where the spoons usually lie - and the spoons in the fork compartment. Bet you automatically reach for a fork when you want to eat your cereal the next morning?
• Start the day backwards: Do you usually take a shower first and then eat breakfast? Try it the other way around!
• Find a new place: Whether you're eating lunch in the cafeteria or studying at home, sit somewhere else. The change of perspective can help you
• Change your sleeping position : put your head where your feet normally are, slide to the other side, or push your bed against the other wall. When you wake up, you may be confused - but you'll have done a little brain jogging early on.

Why more variety in studies and learning phases is important from a scientific perspective? Because every new or unfamiliar action, no matter how small , keeps your gray cells busy . If you do things differently than usual, new connections form between the nerve cells in the brain. This is called neuroplasticity. And this helps you remember information better.

Tip four: Get plenty of sleep

Homework, lectures, exams: studying is really stressful. When the workload is high, many people shorten their sleep times . This makes the day longer and you get more done. At least that's the theory. In practice the opposite is the case. If you don't sleep enough, your learning performance and concentration will decline. And you feel tired, listless and even more stressed than you already were. Studies also confirm this.

The reason: Your body needs sleep to regenerate . At night, your brain processes everything you experience and learn during the day. During the deep sleep phases, it moves important information from short-term to long-term memory.

The challenge: The shorter you sleep, the fewer deep sleep phases you go through per night. This increases the risk that a lot of information will never reach your long-term memory . This means that by the time you take the exam you will forget everything that you have laboriously taught yourself.

So always make sure you get enough sleep . For some, six hours is enough, for others it takes ten. It's best to test for a week or two and see how many hours after you feel fittest.

In addition to the duration of sleep, the quality of sleep is also important. Does it take you more than half an hour to fall asleep? Do you toss and turn a lot and wake up often at night? Then try these tips.

How to improve your sleep quality:

• Avoid blue light : Turn off your smartphone, laptop and TV at least half an hour before going to bed. Otherwise, the light from the devices keeps you awake because it blocks the production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
• Always go to sleep at the same time : By having a fixed sleep schedule, your brain learns when it needs to rest and when it needs to perform.
• Ensure a pleasant sleeping environment : Your body relaxes best in a dark bedroom that is around 16 to 19 degrees cold.
• Avoid caffeine : Drink your last coffee at least five hours before bed. It would be even better if you enjoyed your last cup around 1 p.m. This way you “metabolize” the caffeine in a timely manner.
• Create a routine : Write in a journal, listen to a podcast or meditate - as long as you do the same thing every evening. This makes your head realize that it is time to sleep.

Tip five: Start studying early

Don't want the stress of exams ? Start studying on time. Of course, this is easier said than done . Especially if your schedule is extremely full thanks to university, part-time work, sports and friends. The solution: Get an overview of everything you need to learn as early as possible. And then create a study plan. This is how you can do it safely.

Also be aware that the earlier you start, the more breaks you will have. You have time for coffee dates and parties on the weekend. And you don’t have to do an “all-nighter” to quickly learn the content of the semester three days before the exam. Instead, you go to bed feeling good and can sleep without any worries.

By the way: It is positive for your learning performance if you start cramming on time. If you start at least four weeks before the exam , you can repeat the learning content very often. As a result, they leave a long-term impression.

Concentration in your studies: get the best out of yourself

In order for you to achieve top performance during your studies, your brain must have enough energy. With our five tips you can get your gray cells in full swing. Just try them out – and get off to a real start at university!

*Contains carbohydrates

A varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.

SOURCES

Killgore WD (2010). Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition. Progress in brain research, 185, 105–129.

Tomoto, T., Liu, J., Tseng, BY, Pasha, EP, Cardim, D., Tarumi, T., Hynan, LS, Munro Cullum, C., & Zhang, R. (2021). One-Year Aerobic Exercise Reduced Carotid Arterial Stiffness and Increased Cerebral Blood Flow in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer's disease: JAD, 80(2), 841-853.

Ginieis, R., Franz, EA, Oey, I., & Peng, M. (2018). The "sweet" effect: Comparative assessments of dietary sugars on cognitive performance. Physiology & behavior, 184, 242-247.

IMAGE CREDITS

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