Get six to eight hours of sleep each night

I know you've all heard it before, but there's actually a science to this. When at rest, your body will go through different sleep cycles. A sleep cycle is characterized by Non-REM and REM stages of sleep. REM sleep is where most of our dreaming occurs when we're asleep and is essential for our brain and bodies for learning and increased production of proteins (I don't know how or why it does, I'm not a psychologist), and the Non-REM stages are the processes that our brain goes through in order to enter the state of REM sleep.

So, why does this matter? A sleep cycle takes normally in one or two hours in humans, and as the cycle repeats itself as we rest, the REM stage of sleep gets longer, which means in an eight-hour period of sleep, we may go through maybe more or less than five cycles. If our sleep cycle is interrupted or is irregular, then your brain isn't getting the necessary restoration and rest it needs to be productive.

If you'd like to read more about REM sleep, feel free to check it out here.

Don't Study If Your Stressed

In my past experiences, I've learned that being really focused and studying for 30 minutes, is far better than studying for an hour or more being stressed and anxious. Make a plan to study hard for 30 minutes at a time, and then take breaks in between around 15 minutes. If you feel any sort of stress or anxiety when you're studying then it's definitely time to take a long break or call it a day.

Short-term stress affects learning and memory, so cramming the night before your final won't help you at all. I know it can be hard with all these finals and thinking about what to study first but plan ahead for when you're going to study and stick to that plan. It'll make all the difference.

Meditate

Meditation won't help you with studying, but it is the most effective way to manage and deal with the stress you're facing. If you want more information on the practice of meditating, I go more in depth about it here. Also, if you don't have time to actually sit down and meditate, then try some other deep breathing exercises you can do on the go.

Be picky with your diet

Junk food reduces the brain's learning ability and reduces the growth of neurons in the hippocampus. Like I always said, a healthy body equals a healthy mind and vice versa. Replace potato chips with trail mix, soda and energy drinks with water, and keep eating those leafy greens. Your body will thank you later. If you want more information about being healthy, and staying healthy, you can find it here. Save the In-N-Out for after your finals as a reward for your hard work.

Believe in yourself

I know there may be pressure to get a good grade on the final because you need to pass the class or you need a certain GPA for a scholarship or something like that nature, but just know that taking a few exams doesn't define who you are as a person and what you will do in life. At the end of the day, you need to trust yourself and trust the process so you can be successful. If you don't trust yourself, if you doubt your intellectual abilities along the way, then failure is closer than it appears. You can do anything you set your mind to because you are stronger than you think.