Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Diet, exercise and how it can help you pass

First and foremost this post will help anyone in their general life, but more specifically it is tailored to those of us studying for the CPA exam. I am a creature of habit and I enjoy structured routine... well let me rephrase that, I "work"at best when I am in a structured routine environment. Since we have to be at peak performance each day to ensure we are not only learning this information but RETAINING it, it is important that what we put into our body be positive stimulus.

A side note, as I implemented these changes I noticed a significant improvement in my immune system.

These are purely recommendations and you may not need to, or want to, do each and everyone of them, you may just notice a significant difference in your performance by adding just 1 or 2 of these recommendations.

Sleep - 8 hours a night, every night. YES, everyday. If you have to stop studying late at night to go to bed to ensure 8 hours of rest then do it. You will notice your energy level, alertness, memory retention all become more focused. Also your susceptibility to illness will decline. Staying up 1 extra hour will cause you to have 10-15 hours of sluggish behavior the next day. 1 hour is not worth it, besides we need to keep at top performance level each day and sleep is a crucial key to that equation.

Meal plans - Fruits, vegetables, fish, and chicken. Smart foods! On our shopping day I plan out my meal and snack plans for the week. With a family of 4, including two very active sport oriented teenagers, I cannot afford to eat out everyday. I must bring my lunch to work. Salads have been a life saver for me, I throw them in a plastic container, bring some cooked chicken or fish to sprinkle on the top. Voila, brain food. My wonderful husband cooks dinners, which I typically have another salad with. For breakfast I have oatmeal, the protein gives me energy. Smart snacks near my desk and in my drawers, nuts, fruits I enjoy, granola, yogurt. It's also important that you find healthy food that you enjoy eating. You wont be doing yourself any good eating healthy if you feel deprived. I drink green tea, with lots of organic honey (helps with allergy's) for caffeine boosts when I need them.


Vitamins - Fish oil! Its been proven to help with memory retention and slow the onset of dementia (I don't have the time to actually research that claim, but it was from a trusted enough source that I acted on it) I take 3 capsules a day, 1 in the morning and two in the evening. I have a terrible long-term memory (and a really good short-term memory), but I have noticed that I have had less issues with my memory lately. I also have switched to taking a liquid multi-vitamin.

Exercise - I have saved the best for last! Trust me on this one, exercising will increase your memory retention! Getting the blood flowing increases the oxygen to the brain which increases your alertness. At the end of my audit section I decided that I did not have enough "time" to exercise. Boy was that ever a big mistake! I was tired all the time, I had a hard time retaining anything and worse then that it ruined my whole routine. When I get home from work I go workout at the gym, then go straight home feeling rejuvenated and ready to study! Once that was no longer a part of my routine studying became more of a chore for me and far less enjoyable. In the end I actually studied less when I quit exercising, even though I had more time. Routine! Once you have a good one, don't change it!

"Anyone can give up, thats the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, thats true strength."

3 comments:

  1. I think the exercise really work. I noticed a difference last week when I exercise right before studying. Great recommendations!

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  2. these are really good exercises. I like them all

    EricPick

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  3. I saw this advertise on the TV.A department is equipping their officers with them. Nice tool to have especially in the summer time.
    chiefsupply.com/search/police%20supply.aspx

    ReplyDelete