Lots of people think that when exam time comes around they should ditch training to give some extra time to revise. But is this realistic and the best use of time?

I was at university until I was 30, acquiring three degrees including a PhD on the way, and have done a ton of exams. My wife, who is a medic, did exams every 6 weeks until she was 25. In our household we know a lot about exam pressure and how to cope. We both started training martial arts at university and trained all the way through all our respective examinations.

In my opinion to succeed in exams you need three basic things: preparation and revision, good mental state, and enough good quality sleep. The quality and length of our sleep is directly related to our stress levels, and physical training is directly linked to reducing stress levels in the body. Therefore doing regular exercise in exam periods not only allows your brain some needed time off but when you return to study you are in a revitalised and refreshed state.

It is also widely acknowledged that exercise not only has a positive impact on our physical health, but it can also increase our self-esteem. Regular physical activity has been shown to have a positive influence on our self-esteem and self-worth, enriching our mental state and giving us that can-do attitude, which is so beneficial when facing any test.

In a week there are 168 hours, of which 8 per day on average you should be asleep (56 hours/week). That leaves 112 hours to eat, exercise, and do everything else. If you train 2 hours a week, that's only just under 2% of your waking week. Is giving up that 2% really going to make time for more quality revision, especially when you look at the benefits of physical exercise on stress levels, sleep quality and mental state? As my American colleagues say — do the math, and don't lose the mat over exam time, as it just doesn't add up.