Different people await different things in this New Year. But for students the beginning of every year is very crucial because it determines their progress in life. The annual or final examinations are a turning point in the life of every student.

Here are a few tips for students to follow in order to march towards success.

Dr. T.V. Devarajan (Professor of Medicine) Senior Consultant Physician, Apollo Hospitals, has given few tips for students in an interview to an Everwin teacher recently.

He said:

“Memory is the daughter of attention and is the mother of knowledge”.
There is no such thing as bad memory; it is only “no trained memory”. The more one trains one’s memory, the more powerful it becomes. An average person uses only two-thirds of his brain. One-third remains dormant. If we train to use the entire potential of the brain, we can achieve great heights.

Observation, attention, listening, association, register and recall... these are important for a good memory. Let us take the traffic signal, for example. All of us see it everyday. But when suddenly asked “where is the green light located”? Many of us may tend to think. Likewise, when one is suddenly asked, “Is the number six on your watch roman or numeric”, “one immediately looks at it before replying than when the same person asks for the time, we again look at our watches for the exact time although we had seen the watch a few seconds before. So, never localize to one particular thing. If you see something, see everything.

Then coming to the “power of observation”, an authority on the subject says “Everybody talks about weather but we cannot do anything about it. Nobody talks about memory, which we can change.” It is important to observe because observation helps in recalling things at the right point of time.

Listening: Listening to people improves memory. Listening is a precursor to registering it in memory. Example: You are driving a bus. At the next stop twenty passengers get in, at the second halt, ten passengers get in and five get down.

“At the third stop twelve passengers alight and three board it. How many people got down at the first halt?”

“How many places did the bus halt at?” And “What is the name of the driver?

Now, how many of us are going back to the story to answer the questions? Because you haven’t registered the details as read the story. Registering what you read or listen to, is important. Each word is important in every class. Try to recall the key words to improve your power of memory.

Link System: Certain word or terms may be difficult to remember. So at such times, try to link whatever you study.

Example 1: The word Believe. Some people may be confused about whether the ‘I’ or the ‘E’ should come first. So link it in such a way never believe a lie. In the word “Lie”, “I” the alphabet comes prior to “E” As such, confusion is solved for ever.

A way to train the memory:

Go to a room and observe the things in it for two minutes. Then come out of the room and write down all that you saw. This method of repeatedly recalling and writing will help in developing one’s memory. Repeat this several times a day to sharpen your memory power and develop writing skills.

Lack of interest also leads to poor memory. So take interest in whatever you do. A boy may be able to remember the number of centuries Sachin Tendulkar scored but may not be able to remember the physics equation. Why? It is because he takes more interest in Cricket but not in physics.

What is the kind of food that students must take?
There should be more of protein-rich food is the diet.
Non-vegetarian can take eggs while vegetarians must take dhal and cereals. Students must take one multi-vitamin capsule per day. Never skip meals and in the night, avoid a heavy dinner. Take light food, because during heavy eating more blood goes to the intestines and less blood goes to the brain. So it makes the person feel tired and sleepy.

What are the minimum hours of sleep required for the active functioning of the brain?
Six hours of sleep per day is more than enough. It is very important to have a good sleep on the day prior to the examination. Never take any kind of drugs to reduce sleep. It may prevent good performance in the examination.

What is the ideal environment to study?
A quiet surrounding and a clear mind will help in building concentration while studying. A child can study continuously for three hours.

What is the correct posture for studying?
Always study in a sitting posture with the light falling on the book from behind you. Light should never fall from front onto the book, because it strains your eye.
Right from early childhood, train children to read quietly is a sitting posture.

How does yoga or meditation help in keeping the mind healthy?
Right from the age of five, a child can practise yoga and other kinds of such exercises. They definitely help in keeping the mind clear and alert.

How to gain strength to face the challenges of life?
Nothing is impossible. Continuous perseverance, hard work, sincerity and devotion are the most important. A person who follows the above rarely fails in life. From day one of your course, start working, and you will never lose. A good preparation helps in facing life’s challenges.

Remember, the disease of lack of efficiency is because of not listening, preparing, concentrating and equipping. So gear up and work towards perfection in life.