It’s examination time – a time of stress and anxiety for parents and kids. Parents tend to get anxious about how kids will perform academically, which, in turn, affects the child as well. 

Do you find yourself stressing out more than your kid during their exams? While sharing your kid’s anxieties during the exam season is natural, you need to help them manage their stress levels. 

Here are some nutrition and lifestyle-related suggestions you can follow to make it a more pleasant experience for both

1. Give your child small frequent meals. Small meals will provide a steady energy supply to the exam-fatigued brain. Conversely, if you feed your child a large meal, they will experience a dip in energy and the alertness to study for hours.
 
2. Include 2-3 servings of fresh fruits daily and combine them with soaked nuts and seeds. It is also always good to combine nuts with fruits because fruits have a lot of suitable digestive enzymes that would help to digest the nuts. It also maintains a stable blood sugar level—

Here is a quick recipe of a Fruit and nut smoothie with the goodness of chocolate

  • Fruit (avocado/apple/banana) – 1
  • Soaked cashews-7 / Soaked walnuts (4-5 halves) / Soaked almonds – 7-9
  • Cocoa powder (Unsweetened) – 1 teaspoon
  • Dates -2
  • Sweetener (optional) – sugar/ jaggery powder- as per taste
  • Cinnamon powder – a pinch
  • Water / Oat milk / Cow milk/ Nut milk – 1 cup
  • Whizz all this together. Adjust consistency with water or milk. Serve cold.
3. Keep healthy snacks handy – Roasted chana, roasted makhana, Dhokla, khandvi, home-popped popcorn, Gur chana, homemade nuts-seeds-gur chikki, homemade granola, and more.
 
4. Please keep it simple for regular meals, remember what the child enjoys, and play around with ways to make it healthier. Try to make only a few changes in the diet at this point.
 
5. Foods to avoid– It can be tempting to reach for ultra-processed foods to relieve pre-exam stress. But high-sugar, high-fat and high-caffeine foods and drinks (chocolates, fast food, energy drinks, and sweets) can make the child moody, irritable, and hyperactive. They aren’t the revision rocket fuel you need.
 
6. Proper hydration– keep drinking water handy. Keep refilling the water bottles. Coconut water and buttermilk are tastier options for maintaining hydration.
 
7. Check any deficiencies and correct them at the earliest. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood and cognitive impairment. Comprehensive blood work can reveal a lot. Talk to your doctor about it.
 
8. Herb that helps: Ashwagandha has been shown to enhance all aspects of cognitive function for focus, concentration, and memory.
 
9. Proper sleep hygiene- Try to maintain a healthy and regular sleep-wake schedule. Taking naps during the daytime will give enough rest to the mind and body. 
 
10. Exercise helps oxygenate the brain and release tension, helping the child to stay calm and mentally relaxed and study more efficiently. Ensure some form of outdoor activity that can get the heart pumping.

Nutmeg has a calming effect when consumed in smaller doses. In addition, various ancient medicinal practices credit it for its sleep-inducing and de-stressing effects. This is for worried mothers. Add a pinch of nutmeg to a cup of hot water, sip the tea at bedtime, and calm your nerves.

This article has been authored by Kirti Dagar, Nutritionist and Lifestyle expert
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As a Holistic Nutritionist, Kirti believes in the power of the body to heal itself. The body, mind, and spirit work together as an integral part of optimum wellness and that’s what she strives for. Art is her passion, watercolor being her favorite medium. Few of her paintings have been selected for international watercolor society exhibitions.