Managing exams during Ramadan can be challenging, but there are steps that you can take to make sure that you give yourself the best start.
Whether you are in school, college, or university, exams are already a challenging time of year. When it is the holy month, however, managing exams during Ramadan can become even more difficult due to fasting. As the brain undergoes changes when fasting, focus and studying is a common issue then many people will struggle with.
Managing exams during Ramadan requires strategic planning, including revising at optimal energy levels, staying hydrated from Suhoor, and adjusting sleep schedules to maintain focus.
For details on what you can do to achieve this, we will go through what you need to know in this blog.
What Are the Challenges of Studying and Fasting During Ramadan?
Tiredness, forgetfulness, slower thinking, concentration difficulties, mood swings, and more, are all challenges that you will face when studying and taking exams during the holy month. However, managing exams during Ramadan is crucial, as you cannot put your life and education on-hold.
Does Fasting Impact Brain Function?
As fasting impacts brain function, taking exams, studying, and generally staying productive in education can be difficult during Ramadan for many. Hunger and thirst make focusing difficult, and can also result in slower thinking, mood swings, and more, which can make day-to-day activities like revising more difficult.
However, it is important to remember that you need to give yourself grace in the holy month, and you should expect it to be difficult. While there are benefits to fasting like potentially preventing neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s and triggering brain-derived neurotrophic factor, there are also negative side effects to consider.
Fasting can cause the following effects on brain function:
- Can cause difficulty with concentration
- Can cause slower thinking
- Can cause forgetfulness
How Do You Create a Ramadan-Friendly Study Schedule?
Everyone’s Ramadan-friendly study schedule will look a bit different in order to help with managing exams during Ramadan. However, you should make sure that you get enough sleep, study before Suhoor, take frequent study breaks, and actively participate in lessons and study sessions to keep you engaged.
Your specific schedule will depend on what your day-to-day life looks like, and you may need to get support from teachers if you need it. It is okay for accommodations to be made if you are struggling, and you should have a teacher that you can go to.
Top 5 study tips for exams during Ramadan:
- Get enough sleep so that you are refreshed in mornings
- Focus on the most important topics first
- Study before Suhoor when focus is best
- Break study sessions into smaller chunks
- Keep your mind engaged with active learning and group study where possible
What Are the Best Times to Revise for Maximum Focus and Retention?
To stay productive in school and revise for exams, you should prioritise studying before Suhoor when your mind is the most focused, in the early afternoon before your energy levels start to drop, and after Iftar, when you are re-energised from your meal.
Avoid studying when your energy is too low, as you will likely not be able to concentrate very well. Whenever you do decide to study, make sure to take breaks and not push yourself too hard, as this will not help with retention.
What Are Some Nutrition and Hydration Tips to Boost Concentration?
When managing exams during Ramadan, it is crucial to be able to stay hydrated and sated when fasting so that you can keep working as best you can. This means that you will need to make some changes to your diet for this period of time in order to thrive.
But, what changes should you make, and how can you make sure that you get everything you need at your meals when you are fasting from sunrise to sunset? There are two key areas to consider — what you eat and what you drink. We will look at these below.
Focus on Foods That Will Keep You Full
Some foods will keep you feeling full and sated longer than others, and for Ramadan, knowing which foods these are is crucial. You need to make sure that you get enough fibre in your meals when fasting as well, with dates being an ideal food for breaking fast due to the fibre, antioxidants, and healthy sugars in them.
Below are some great foods to enjoy during Suhoor and Iftar:
- Fresh fruit and vegetables
- Complex carbohydrates such as legumes (beans, lentils), whole grains (brown rice, quinoa), and whole-wheat bread
- Foods with fibre (potatoes, grains, seeds, etc)
- Lean proteins such as chicken, tofu, eggs or turkey
The foods you eat play a big role in staying hydrated during Ramadan, with some foods making it more difficult than others. Some food groups can make you more thirsty, like spicy or salty foods, which means that you need to be mindful of what you eat and when during the holy month if you want to be able to study and sit exams in school, college, or university.
To help you stay hydrated, avoid these foods:
- Salty foods that will dehydrate you
- Spicy food that will make you more thirsty
- Sugary foods
- Fatty foods like cakes and biscuits
- Deep-fried foods like pakoras, dumplings, and samosas
- Refined carbohydrates and heavily processed foods
Drink Things That Will Keep You Hydrated for Longer
Water is the best thing to drink at Suhoor and Iftar during Ramadan to keep you hydrated, but you can also enjoy coconut water if you have it, and herbal teas. You can also add electrolytes to your water and other drinks to help you stay hydrated.
It is also important to remember that there are many drinks that we drink on a day-to-day basis that work against styling hydrated. Unfortunately, many teas and coffees fall into this category, as do most of our favourite drinks. So, during Ramadan, we suggest that you make changes to your daily diet habits to account for fasting from sunrise to sunset.
Avoid these kinds of drinks to help you stay hydrated for longer:
- Caffeinated drinks
- Sugary drinks
- Carbonated/fizzy drinks
This does not mean that you need to avoid all caffeinated, sugary, or carbonated drinks, though. You can still enjoy a cup of coffee or your go-to fizzy drink, but you need to be mindful of when you have them.
How Can You Manage Sleep and Rest to Avoid Fatigue During Ramadan?
Your usual sleep pattern will be disrupted during Ramadan, with early mornings needed for Suhoor. This means that you need to make sure to go to bed at a good time and get 7–8 hours of sleep wherever possible.
In February and March 2025, sunrise is at approximately 5:50, while sunset is around 18:00, with some variations. As such, you will need to allow yourself enough time in the morning to eat before 5:50.
What Lifestyle Changes Can You Make During the Holy Month to Protect Your Health?
There are numerous lifestyle changes that you would benefit from making during Ramadan, including planning and prepping meals ahead of time, waking up early for Suhoor, altering your diet to aid in hydration and staying sated, avoiding strenuous activities, and avoiding going outside if it is too hot.
Additional changes you might want to make will depend on you and your lifestyle, with some limitations being in place for students.
Changes that you may need to make for Ramadan could include:
- Waking up very early for Suhoor
- Planning ahead to avoid dinner halls and food spaces at school
- Avoiding strenuous activities that can make fasting difficult or dangerous (when you are in school, this will mean being excused from classes like P.E.)
- Avoiding going outside when it is warm (in school, this could mean that you are excused from participating in classes that take you outside when it is warm)
- Performing Qailulah to help with fasting and brain function (this may be difficult at school due to the strict lessons and timetable)
- Preparing Iftar and Suhoor meals ahead of time for ease and saving time
- Altering your diet to incorporate more beneficial meals to help you through fasting (e.g. slow-energy releasing foods)
What Are Some Practical Tips for Sitting Exams While Fasting?
To help with managing exams during Ramadan, you can revise in groups, actively participate in study sessions and lessons, be mindful of what you eat, and get enough sleep. You need to balance life and study, and if you need help, do not be afraid to ask for it.
How The Brain Workshop Supports Cognitive Performance During Ramadan
Struggling with managing exams during Ramadan? The Brain Workshop offers expert strategies to help you stay focused and achieve academic success during Ramadan. Contact us today for personalised study solutions!
If you would like to learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the Brain Workshop and find out more about us, our team, events, or even read our FAQ.
