For better exam results simply have a drink of water

For better exam results simply have a drink of water

By FIONA MACRAE
Last updated at 1:53 AM on 10th March 2009


Drinking a glass of water before exams could help students improve their grade

The key to exam success could be as simple - and as cheap - as a glass of water.

Children who have a drink of water before sitting tests fare up to a third better, researchers have found.

The reason why isn't clear, but it could be that information flows more smoothly between brain cells when they are well hydrated.

In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers from the University of East London looked at the effects of water on the performance of almost 60 boys and girls aged between seven and nine.

Half were given a 250ml glass of water to drink, and 20 minutes later, both groups were subjected to a battery of tests. One test, designed to assess visual attention and memory, involved spotting the differences between two cartoons. The water-drinkers scored 34 per cent better, the research journal Appetite reports.

They also did 23 per cent better on a more difficult version of the test and 11 per cent better on a third task that required them to cross out specified letters from a sequence. In tests designed to assess short term memory there were no differences between the two groups.

Researcher Dr Caroline Edmonds said: 'Children who had a drink of water performed significantly better on a number of tasks. Our findings suggest that consuming water benefits cognitive performance in children.'

It is possible that water improves the flow of information between brain cells, added Dr Edmonds.

Other possibilities include the water drinkers not being distracted by feeling thirsty.

Previous studies have shown that drinking water boosts the brainpower of adults.

Giving teenage boys fish at least once a week boosts their intelligence, a study suggests.

Experts found 15-year-olds who ate fish regularly scored better on IQ tests when they reached 18 than those who rarely ate it. The more fish they ate, the better they did, the child health journal Acta Paediatricareports. The link held true even when the level of the boys' education and their parents social status was taken into account.

The researchers, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said: 'These findings are significant because the study was carried out between the ages of 15 and 18 when educational achievements can help to shape the rest of a young man's life.

'A number of studies have already shown that fish can help neurodevelopment in infants, reduce the risk of impaired cognitive function from middle age onwards and benefit babies born to women who ate fish during pregnancy.

'However we believe that this is the first large-scale study to explore the effect on adolescents.'

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1160836/For-better-exam-results-simply-drink-water.html