Well, it’s over, finally. Exams have come and gone and, hopefully, most of us have a lot less stress weighing us down. Many of us have summer courses planned but, for others, including myself, we don’t have to think about homework, exams, projects or whatever else for the next few months.

But as we finish our exams, it is important that we reflect on our performances and how we could have done better. Similarly, we can also reflect on the exam process as a whole and how it could be better suited for students. Exams are perhaps the most infamous — and the most important grade-wise — part of the university process, and students should be given as much support as possible so they can tackle these obstacles fairly and effectively.

The most prominent issue with very early exams is that, even if a student went to bed extremely early in preparation, odds are that they will still suffer from sluggishness and tiredness come exam time. Diana Zuckerman with the National Center for Health Research published an article listing some of the various effects early wake-up times have on students, which include loss of focus and concentration and poor emotional health, which can horribly impair the exam performance of even the most prepared of students.

However, the problem goes deeper than that. Morning exams start at 8 a.m., not the regular 8:30 a.m., the earliest time that classes can start. This 30-minute difference might seem small but, coming from someone who has experienced that shift plenty of times already during exams, it can make a world of difference.

For instance, many breakfast-serving restaurants on campus, such as Port City Java or Starbucks, open at 7:30, leaving a lot less time to get some fuel before exams. The CDC found that students who ate a balanced breakfast performed much better than students who skipped breakfast, and were much more focused and ready for test-taking. A little food and a bit more time to fully wake up can be the difference. For some, this can mean whole letter grades.

Also, that new added pressure of an earlier wake-up makes studying the night before a lot more stressful. If you’re spending the night before trying to perfect those last few difficult-to-learn lessons or ideas before test time, the added pressure of making sure you get a decent amount of sleep so you’re not exhausted during your exam can definitely interfere with your focus. A study published in Scientific Reports found that the disruption of the regular sleep schedule can impede academic performance.

Overall, these early morning exam times make no sense, and should absolutely be pushed back to a later time. At the very least, they should move to 8:30 a.m., like regular morning classes already are. However, a 9 a.m. exam time would be even more beneficial because students would then be able to more easily balance sleep time and study time.

Some may argue that it may be too tough to change the scheduling, but that’s incorrect. Yes, it would involve an adjustment to all exams throughout the day, but 30 minutes to an hour would not be too major of a shift and the benefits would far outweigh the costs. A little bit of convenience in scheduling is absolutely not worth students being less able to perform competently.

Early exam times hinder students’ performances.  The worst part, these aren’t just any exams. Finals can decide what classes you can and can’t get into, and may even change your overall academic or career trajectory. With stakes this high, students should allotted as much time as possible so that they may be absolutely prepared for the trials ahead.