Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028 
Is space worth the cost? Accounting experts say its value can’t be found in spreadsheets 
Glastonbury is as popular than ever, but complaints about the lineup reveal its generational challenge 
NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey 
Why financial hardship is more likely if you’re disabled or sick 
Google promotes ‘teacher approved’ apps for kids. Here’s what parents should know 
6 simple questions to tell if a ‘finfluencer’ is more flash than cash 
SpaceX’s Starship Completes 11th Test Flight, Paving Way for Moon and Mars Missions 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Boost AI Research in Childhood Cancer 
Yes, government influences wages – but not just in the way you might think 
Want to cut your energy bills? Here’s how five experts are doing it 
Neuralink Expands Brain Implant Trials with 12 Global Patients 
Why a ‘rip-off’ degree might be worth the money after all – research study 
Booked to travel through the Middle East? Here’s why you shouldn’t cancel your flight 
Disaster or digital spectacle? The dangers of using floods to create social media content 
Exams of any kind are stressful to humans, largely because the brain doesn’t like to exert effort under any circumstance and panics when stressed out. According to a new study, one of the best ways to help students perform well during tests is to do a practice round beforehand. This helps preserve memory, allowing it to remain intact under pressure.
According to a study conducted by researchers at Tufts University, learning practice tests or retrieval practice is a good way to protect the mind from damages caused by stress. This helps students remember their lessons more clearly, and thus answer questions more easily, MedicalXpress reports.
The study involved 120 students, all of whom had perfectly working memories. The study’s senior author Ayanna Thomas and her team then proceeded to put the students through a series of tests designed to see the effects of retrieval practice on memory.
"Typically, people under stress are less effective at retrieving information from memory,” Thomas said. “We now show for the first time that the right learning strategy, in this case, retrieval practice or taking practice tests, results in such strong memory representations that even under high levels of stress, subjects are still able to access their memories."
The results also serve to highlight a particular flaw in a standard practice among students before exams; cramming. This is basically a method of studying where students try to learn as much as they can within a short period of time just before an exam. Based on the results of the study, this simply does not work, the Daily Mail reports.
For a majority of people, the brain goes into panic mode if it is subjected to an unusual amount of stress, which is exactly what exams are. By subjecting the brain to, even more, stress during the learning process, memory starts to fray once the actual exam starts. At that point, it wouldn’t be surprising for the students to remember only a fraction of what they studies.
