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Scientists find out how drinking water affects students' academic performance
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
Interesting information is provided in a recent study on psychology, presented at one of the specialized English conferences (British Psychological Society Annual Conference).
Students who carry a bottle of water to exams are likely to improve their grades by slowing down the process of dehydration, according to researchers from the University of East London and the University of Westminster.
Dr Chris Pawson said: "The results suggest that simply bringing water into the exam could improve your grade."
While the studies don't analyze the reasons for the findings, Pawson says there are all sorts of plausible psychological and physiological explanations. One is the possible physiological effect of hydration on thinking ability, another is that drinking water might help students calm down and minimize anxiety, which is notoriously bad for exam performance.
For his own study, Pawson and his colleagues surveyed over 400 students in three different groups. They recorded whether they brought any drinks to the exam. They also noted what types of drinks the students brought. The researchers reported that first-year students were less likely to drink during the exam than older students. After the exam results were announced, they compared their scores with their own notes and found that those who received high scores tended to bring bottles of water into the exam room. However, it should be noted that the researchers did not record whether the students drank water during the exam, so it is impossible to know for sure whether the presence of a water bottle on the examinee's desk or the fact that he drank it affected the scores.
Pawson says more research is needed to tease apart and explain these reasons. But regardless of the results, he believes that taking water with you to all exams could have a positive effect on your grades.
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