Get your study on

Only two weeks separate students from being free and able to relax for winter break. \nThose two weeks include one giant obstacle: finals. Students often stay up late cramming for tests, something that makes experts frown.\nIU health educator Kathryn Brown said students should avoid all-nighters. \n“All-nighters are detrimental to your health,” she said. “The lack of concentration that comes from sleep deprivation has a negative effect on memory.” \nBrown has several suggestions for students trying to balance sleep and the inevitable act of staying up late and cramming for finals. \nSleep is important, she said. Students should prioritize test schedules and preparation for finals, eat and drink regularly, and take short naps if necessary. The IU Health Center offers advice on relaxation activities and gives both full-body and chair massages for $11 to $46, depending on the service. \nPsychology Professor Phillip Summers, who is famous for memorizing the names and faces of his classes of 250 students every semester and was voted “Bloomington’s Best Professor” in this year’s “Best of Bloomington” survey, said the best approach to studying is the “multi-sensory approach.”\n“Read it, hear it, write it and speak it,” he said. \nThe first phase requires students to read their textbooks. The second phase is to listen to the professor review the material in class. The third phase is to outline the main points of the textbook chapters and take notes.\nSummers suggested getting together with another person and quizzing each other. This will ensure better comprehension of concepts, a key to the mastery of the material, he said.\nOnce test day arrives, students should try to relax. Summers said worrying makes it harder for students to remember information, and last-minute cramming is not very effective.