I have a test tomorrow that I would like to put in a few hours of study for, is there food I can snack on while studying that will help improve brain performance for the purposes of retention?
(survivor of the Just Say Yes generation) Speed?
No foods have been shown to have instant impacts on cognition, except those that remove potentially deleterious effects (caffeine and alcohol, for example).
Gingko and omega-3s, for example, appear to prevent memory loss- but if true, that will help you pass a test when you’re 55, not tomorrow.
Drink a cup of tea halfway through your study session, is my advice.
Ahem, lets just assume that dropzone was having some fun with you. Speed and exam study has a rather sad and sorry history. Pretty much assues a total fail.
Personally I would just go for a low GI, low fat, snackfood. You don’t want the effects of sugar rushes, you don’t want to feel tired, and sure don’t want the happy post prandial stupor. Just a nice steady feed.
brains of other, smarter people? 
Thanks guys.
This may be purely internet rumour, but I remember reading that apples are a good source of the exact form of sugar the brain uses, so they make a good study snack.
You could try chewing gum,
Just make sure you perform the same action during the learning stage and during the recall stage (Baker et al. 2004, .pdf)
The brain uses glucose. Plant sugars are almost all sucrose, which is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. So that rumor is 50% true and not much truer for apples than any other fruit or vegetable.
As for the OP…
I would recommend going with something that has a strong scent or flavor that you’ll remember easily, perhaps even something you can have with you during the test. It has been shown that environmental cues like scents and flavors can help trigger memories.
Of course, more important than anything you eat is that you get enough sleep. Given a choice between 8 hours of sleep and 2 hours of studying or 8 hours of studying and 2 hours of sleep, take the first option.
bacon
The trick to any “help” you get while studying - for best results you need the same “help” while accessing the information in your brain.
Thank you again.
For many decades, dogs have eaten homework to improve their concentration.