What is a yawn?

A common belief is that yawning is your body's way of harvesting extra oxygen, perhaps because of fatigue or even because you've not been breathing enough.

Now, if you remember that little factoid in two weeks, there's little doubt about how strong your state of mind and body are as you read this story. That will come in handy this year. Good energy levels lead to better results on your standardized tests.

On the flip-side, if you've already forgotten what you just read, your shoes are on the wrong feet, you're able to carry schoolbooks using the bags under your eyes, and you don't remember getting a tattoo on your neck, it's probably not a good idea to go any further.

Try taking a long nap, then start this story from the beginning.

Fatigue is a particularly important issue for juniors thinking about writing an SAT or ACT exam this year. But how can you increase your energy level? It's simple: get enough sleep and eat well. To coin a phrase: what you chew will help determine how you do.

Sure, that sounds cheesier than Swiss fondue, but if you aren't eating the right food or getting enough sleep, you may need to pack a small miracle in your lunch box on SAT or ACT day.

Especially when you're facing a big test, you need a good fuel supply at your fingertips. Without enough energy, your mind could wander into a dark alley, and you could miss the mental bus on the biggest academic day of your life.

The solution, of course, is to have a balanced diet, an active lifestyle and enough sleep all year long.

For those who don't heed this warning, a new generation of energy foods and drinks is available to satisfy sleep-starved students everywhere. Hyper-caffeinated coffees and soft drinks are well-known aids for last-minute crammers.

But while those remedies might work fine for last-minute thrill-seekers, they don't exactly solve the problem of why you should have to cram in the first place.

Keeping focused all year can make studying much breezier at exam time. Sure, you crammers yawn at the idea, but the stress associated with last-minute studying will hardly make your beacon of health shine any brighter. And that can cost you at exam time. If you haven't already, it's time to start thinking about your study schedule, making sure you're leaving enough time for sleep.

First of all, find out what you need to know for the April SAT or the April ACT tests (or both, depending on your preference and the recommendations of the colleges you're interested in). Spring is a good time to take the SAT or ACT. You can redo a test in the fall if you're not happy with your results. You also want to make sure colleges have enough time to review your scores.

Now, if you haven't already done so, try keeping an eye on your energy levels when you're snacking and start to manage your evenings so you're alert in class all day long. This will also give you more energy to study at night.

And though nobody can tell you how to run your body, when it comes to getting the best scores possible on your spring SAT or ACT, you might find a little extra sleep pays off when you sit down on the big day.