With finals approaching quickly, students are anticipating a rough week of studying, test taking, project making, and worrying about grades. But don’t freak out quite yet! Here are a few tips and tricks to help ease the load, courtesy of science.

1. Studying when sleepy can help improve your chances of remembering what you studied as the brain strengthens new memories during sleep. But don’t forget, getting a good night’s sleep is key as well!
2. Change your location! If you study in a different location every time, research suggests this helps you form associations between the  information studied and the location which makes for stronger memories.
3. Copy the most crucial info onto a new piece of paper. When you write out what you’re studying, you store that information more securely that if you were just to listen to it or read it.
4. Get up and move around! Research has found that even just thirty minutes of aerobic exercise can improve not only your brain power, but other cognitive abilities as well.
5. Break up your goals into small sections, or spaced education. Unfortunately, cramming doesn’t work. Don’t try and memorize everything at once, dividing up your essential information and focusing on one section at a time can better help you than just going over a large group of miscellaneous information.

Now here’s some from Lincoln students themselves:

1. Go through study guides and notes and make a compilation of all the information that’s tougher for you to remember and study that the hardest.
2. Remember key information to the beats of your favorite songs or songs that are easy to remember.
3. Use an app or a program to block internet on your phone and computer so you’re not tempted to go off topic from what you’re studying. Multitasking only distracts from the task at hand.
4. Making connections to previously known ideas or things in your own life can help you easily recall information during testing.
5. Studying in a group makes it much easier because there’s better chances that somebody knows something that you don’t, you can bounce ideas off each other, and it saves time.

Hopefully these tips helped you out and made for an easier week of finals. Good luck!