Education

How to Manage Exam Stress for Success

Exam stress management might make you feel alone and like you’re carrying a lot of weight, but you don’t have to manage it alone. Exam anxiety is common among young people, and it’s acceptable to ask for help from those in your immediate vicinity.

Exam stress can be overwhelming. It can confuse and exhaust you. Having to revise a lot of information in a short space of time can be stressful. Not understanding course material may also add to your stress.

If it all seems to be getting on top of you, there are things you can do to keep calm.

ALSO READ: How Students Can Deal With Exam-related Stress

Maintain a schedule and take regular pauses.

It’s critical to schedule regular breaks from studying as well as time for rest and exercise.

Developing mindfulness skills enables you to pay attention to the present moment.

You can focus better and decompress by going for a run, stroll, or to the gym.

You can also take a break from studying by going to the movies or watching your favourite TV show.

READ: How to Get Ready for Your Exam in Three Days

Limit caffeine (Coffee, Redbull, Rush, etc…)

Caffeine and energy drinks can give you a quick lift. But they’re not good for you in the long term.

They can make you feel sick and can interfere with your sleep and your ability to concentrate.

Stress – tips and self-help

Everyone feels stress sometimes, especially when dealing with a difficult situation. Difficult situations can include relationship difficulties, work issues or money worries.

Feeling stress can sometimes motivate you to get things done or find solutions to your problems. But a lot of stress over a long period of time can cause you physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. This is known as burnout.

Signs of stress

Stress affects everyone in different ways. But it’s not always easy to know that stress is the cause.

Stress can affect how you think, feel and behave, including:

feeling overwhelmed (feeling that everything is too much)
finding it hard to concentrate
being irritable
feelings of anxiety or feeling worried or scared all the time
being forgetful
lacking self-confidence
sleep problems or feeling tired all the time
avoiding certain places or people
eating less or more than usual

ALSO READ:12 Tips on How To Pass Any Exams (Mastering Question Answering Skills)

Physical signs of stress can include:

increased heart rate
increased breathing rate
high blood pressure
high metabolism

Manage Exam Stress and Coping with exam anxiety

Pressure from other people around exams can be huge. This can be hard to deal with, especially from family and teachers. You need to remember that it’s your life and your exam, with you in control.

Tips to help you Manage Exam Stress

Stressful situations may cause you to worry too much and imagine the worst possible outcome. Base expectations on your past performance and doing the best you can.
Put the exam in context. In the overall scheme of things, how important is it?
Tell people what you realistically expect from your exams. Talk to them and find out what they hope for you. Tell them what you are thinking and feeling.
Use the expectations of yourself and others to help you study.
Ask for and accept support from those around you, especially family members.

If exams do not go as well as you hoped, there are always alternatives. It does not mean you are a success or failure.

Exams cannot measure these sorts of things. All they measure is how well you do on the day.

Look after yourself

It’s easy to let exams get on top of you and forget to look after yourself. If possible, try to get good night’s sleep every night. It’s a good time to make an effort to eat healthily, making sure you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Eating healthily

Eating a wide variety of nourishing foods gives you the energy and nutrients you need to stay healthy.

Ask for and accept support

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you might find it helpful to talk to a teacher or counsellor. It’s also important to ask for or accept support from your family.

This support might be practical, like picking you up from the library. It could also be emotional support, including advice.

Leave the stress in the exam hall

Academic stress can reduce motivation, hinder academic achievement, and lead to increased college dropout rates. Academic stress has also been shown to negatively impact mental health in students.

There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. Exams have a beginning and an end. The stress that goes along with them should end with the exam.

Once the exam is over, there’s nothing more you can do about it. You should just try to relax afterwards.

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