Periodic Revision Must for Students to Fare Well in Exams, Say Mental Health Experts
Students who feel tense and fearful of exams, health professionals say, must practice yoga, particularly meditation
Vijayawada: Periodic revision of lessons is advisable for students preparing for final exams from Class 10 to post-graduation in Andhra Pradesh. This has become necessary after multiple-choice questions have become the order in a majority of exams for various professional courses, unlike the earlier practice of writing long and short essays.
Multiple-choice questions require a good memory for recall and recognition, say mental health professionals. They point out that human memory involves two elements, one associated with “recall” and the other with “recognition.” Brain stores inputs of various topics that students study in the form of memory, which helps retrieval of information when needed.
However, while studying, mental health experts say, students browse on their smart mobile phone or watch TV. This input becomes an overload on a student’s memory, which could hinder recall. Mental professionals thus suggest periodic revision of various topics, so that it helps the brain refresh the study and enable better retrieval during exams.
Further, scientific studies have proved that students desire living up to the expectations of their parents and teachers. But these expectations are quite high when the goal is to get seats in highly reputed educational institutions, which would ensure them a good job. Health professionals point out that this puts too much pressure on students, as they are afraid of the blame in comparison with their colleagues who succeed. This can lead to severe mental tension, leading to depression and sometimes even suicidal tendencies.
Noted psychiatrist Dr. Karri Rama Reddy said, “With the change of exam pattern that favours multiple-choice questions, students need to revise whatever they study at periodical intervals. Such revision firms up recall in memory, which helps them recognise the answers easily and fare well in their exams.”
Students who feel tense and fearful of exams, health professionals say, must practice yoga, particularly meditation. Scientific analyses in Western countries have proved that yoga and meditation are good to deal with tension and fear. In particular, Prayanayama, like breathing in from left nostril and breathing out from right, relieves anxiety and boosts energy levels.
Specifically, Dr. Rama Reddy has advised students against night-outs, especially at the time of exams, as it could lead to burnout. Students must sleep well at least seven hours a day. Their study must involve a 10–15 minutes of break after every hour or so. “Marathon study hours limit recall of whatever is studied,” he warned.
On abuse of psychotropic substances by youngsters for varied reasons, mental health professionals advise students to seek suitable medication from doctors to overcome their tension. These experts regret that only professional educational institutions of high repute have mental health professionals to help students fight depression and suicidal tendencies.
