Keep Your Memory Sharp for OET! Drop These Habits

1. Keep Your Memory Sharp for OET! Drop These Habits What’s the point of spending weeks or months on intensive review if you can’t remember what you learned during the OET exam? Keep your memory sharp throughout your OET course. Below is a list of bad habits that can impair or weaken your ability to retain and recall information. Avoid doing any of them keep your memory in top condition. 1. Not getting enough sleep Sleep deprivation is one of the sure-fire ways to mess up your cognitive faculties. Here’s a rundown of its effects.

2.  A night of inadequate sleep will slow down your mental processes, weaken your ability to filter information, and put a damper on your energy levels.  Several nights of inadequate sleep will drastically reduce your energy levels and interfere with your brain’s ability to sort and store information into your long-term memory.  Weeks of inadequate sleep will have you struggling to accomplish simple tasks, process information, and make rational decisions. So, get at least eight hours of sleep every day. Avoid attending your OET classes while you’re sleep- deprived to make the most out of the experience. 2. Using your mobile devices before bed Did you know that spending at least two hours on your phone, tablet, or laptop before going to bed drastically reduces your body’s natural sleep hormone? The result? You’ll find it more difficult to get some rest. The worst case scenario is that you’d suffer from sleep deprivation, which, as discussed previously, has a negative impact on your memory consolidation process. 3. Worrying Chronic worry can really mess up your cognitive processes. Here’s why. Worry induces stress. Extended periods of stress stimulate the production of cortisol in the brain, which makes it more difficult to create, process, retain, and recall memories. So, don’t worry. Or, at least, don’t let your worries overwhelm you. 4. Eating fatty and sugary food regularly There’s nothing wrong with indulging on the occasional greasy fries and sugar-laden treat occasionally. Emphasis on the word “occasionally.” Research suggest that having a diet mostly based on fatty and sugary food has a lot of adverse effects on your brain, including poor or impaired memory. So, limit your consumption of these food types. 5. Drinking A night of heavy drinking often affects memory retention. Everyone knows that. But, did you know that a night of social drinking can also affect your thinking abilities? A study showed that people experienced delayed recognition and impaired retention the day following a night out. This is despite

3. the fact that their blood content had gone back to normal. So, drink responsibly during your review period. Refrain from drinking the day before an OET course class. 6. Smoking Are you a smoker? If so, here’s another reason why you should quit using cancer sticks. Smoking hampers blood circulation. It diminishes the amount of oxygen transported to your brain, which, in turn, dulls your ability to analyze and retain information. Don’t let dull memory sabotage your chances of achieving your desired OET results. Keep your retention skills on-point. Drop these memory-impairing habits during your review period. Enroll in one of our OET courses to learn more ways to elevate your test preparations!