AP test season—an annual celebration of academic endurance where students nationwide voluntarily sign up for multiple-choice despair and essay prompts that sound like a sentient thesaurus wrote them—has finally arrived. It’s a tradition during which sleep is optional, caffeine is a food group and the phrase “I’m fine” is frequently uttered. But fear not, dear student, I’ve found a loophole! Recent research underscores the importance of incorporating short breaks into study sessions to enhance learning outcomes. In a study published in “Cell Reports” by the National Institutes of Health, researchers wrote, “Taking short breaks between practice sessions is also essential to mastering a new skill.” This information aligns with Harvard Health’s findings, emphasizing, “Turning your ‘focus’ brain off… will retrieve memories, link ideas so that you become more creative, and also help you feel more self-connected.” So, here are some efficient and scientific ways to get the well-needed and essential rest between study sessions.

1. Take a gap year.
Don’t settle for boring. Enrich your life by moving to a new continent. Nothing screams productivity like complete abandonment—bonus points if you come back with a cool accent and vague stories about “finding yourself.”
2. Jump in a river.
Because a simple splash on your face to stay awake is for amateurs. Take the plunge—literally. Launch yourself into the nearest body of water like a baptism into academic rebirth.
3. Send data to NASA for study.
See if they can use your cortisol readings to launch a rocket. Your “resting heart rate” hasn’t rested since March. If nothing else, you’ll contribute to science, or they’ll mistake them for alien activity and give you a research grant.
4. Assume a new identity.
If studying isn’t working, maybe that’s your current self’s fault. Try becoming someone else. Start small: change your name, delete all social media, and burn your school ID. Then, commit fully. You’re now an alpaca farmer in the Andes. You’re a reclusive author writing an experimental novel on a typewriter. Rebranding is survival.
5. Summon spirits.
At this point, your mortal brain has done all it can. It’s time to outsource. Light some candles, chant “free response” three times, and ask the spirits, Macbeth style, to reveal why the curve is so cruel. Worst case scenario, you get killed by a walking forest.

Next time your vision starts blurring while you try to remember how photosynthesis works, please consider these data-proven breaks, which might be precisely what you need. Good luck!