So you've been studying for weeks, probably months, for that hours-long, high-stakes standardized test. Much of your future will be determined by your performance. Perhaps your goal is college, graduate school, or a new career. Now that the big day has almost arrived, you'll want to know how to maximize your performance and avoid distractions. This article covers how to do that for both the day leading up to your test and the actual day of the test. You may need to purchase a few items discussed during the week prior.

The Day Before the Test

1. No more studying! If you haven't got it by now, one day of cramming is very unlikely to make a difference. In fact, it's more likely to actually harm your performance, as you try to overlay short-term information over top long-term information. Refuse the urge to keep your nose in the books.

2. Relax, Recharge. You've hopefully been exerting yourself a great deal as you've prepared for your test. Now is the time to spend the day relaxing, diverting your attention away from everything test-related. This may mean renting a few movies for the day followed by going out to dinner. Whatever it is you do to relax and recharge, do it (but avoid alcohol, see section below). If you feel your mind creeping toward thoughts of the test, re-direct it immediately toward relaxing and recharging.

3. Hydrate yourself. Men should consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women should consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups). In particular, adults should ingest approximately 35-50 milliliters of fluids per kilogram of body weight per day. (Use a fluid calculator). Optimize your fluid intake the day before testing. See the section below, "Fluid intake," for why.

4. Get a full night's sleep. Adult sleep requirements vary but average around 8 hours per night. Whatever a full night's sleep is for you, get it. Also, during the week leading up to your test day, buy a battery-powered alarm clock and use it. A late-night power surge has ruined many test days.


On Test day
Nourishment

1. Eat a light breakfast. Even if you are unaccustomed to eating breakfast, eat one on test day. However, don't eat just any breakfast. A small meal of complex carbohydrates is ideal, say, whole grain cereal with fresh fruit and low fat or skim milk. This will help maintain your energy throughout testing. Avoid a breakfast of fatty foods, such as eggs, meat, and fried potatoes. Such foods require extra energy to digest, which is better left for your brain.

2. Avoid an energy crash. Despite eating a breakfast as advised, you may still experience an energy crash. Avoid it by bringing a few "fun-sized" Snickers bars to your test. Just prior entering the testing site, including between breaks, eat one, no more. This will keep hunger at bay while giving your brain quick energy it can use to optimize your performance.

3. Fluid intake. Since you've optimized your fluid intake the day before, minimize it prior testing. You don't need the distraction of a full bladder half-way through your test. That said, don't minimize fluids so much you are distracted by thirst.

4. Lunch, dinner. Most standardized tests begin in the morning and finish around noon. If yours is on a different schedule, follow the same principles for lunch or dinner as described in the above section on eating a light breakfast.
To be con'td