Tips for Managing Exam Stress

9 Tips for Managing Exam Stress

Life HacksStudent Life

Do you struggle with exam stress? Do you grapple with test-style performance anxiety? It’s all good and perfectly natural for the vast majority of human beings. So relax, and read this 4-minute article full of tips for managing said stress. Enjoy!

1. Come Prepared

The more prepared you are the more in-control you’ll feel. You’ll be confident and inspired rather than under slept and on the edge of sheer panic. When you slack off, excessively procrastinate or rely on ineffective study habits test time can be a nightmarish experience! So start studying early, set a study schedule in stone and stick to it, and make sure that come test time you’ve got your ducks in a row. Also, you should find out all the details about the exams. Check out which 15 questions you must ask your professor before finals.

2. Sleep Like 10 Hours!

Now, the more prepared you are for the test the easier you’ll sleep the night before. If you didn’t procrastinate then on the day before the test you shouldn’t have a tremendous amount to do other than simply brush up on things you already know and go over them one last time. That’s it. So it should be easy to crash early and get up early. Refreshed, mentally awake and ready to ace it! If you don’t feel confident and want to study at night, then at least find out how to study for a test the night before effectively.

3. Get Adequate Micronutrients

First of all, don’t skip breakfast on test day. And, eat a healthy breakfast. In fact, if you eat healthy in general your mind is going to work better…Eat organics. Eat fresh fruits and veggies. Stay away from over processed, preserved and packaged foods. It’s going to help you stay in shape and seriously, that translates into a sharper mind.

4. Stay Away from Stimulants

Don’t drink coffee in the morning of the test. You should have gotten plenty of sleep the night before. Stay away from high sugar/caffeine energy drinks as well because they’ll typically cause you to crash. What if you crash during the test and pass out, drooling on your test? It’s not a good idea to consume this stuff when you need to be on your game.

5. Avoid Perfectionism

You can actually take things too seriously and cause yourself to draw a big fat blank during the test! Perfectionism is creepy and it causes heart attacks dude. Yes, A’s are awesome. We all know that, but keep things in perspective please. B’s and C’s get degrees as well. Do your best of course, but don’t have a stroke in the process.

6. Call Mom or Dad

In other words, if you’re feeling super-stressed out just call someone that cares about you and have a chat. Let it out! Talk to someone older that’s been through it. Talk to your professor. Talk to someone that understands. Conversation can be a HUGE stress reliever and it gives you a chance to verbalize what you’ve been neck-deep in for a while.

7. Keep Negativity In Check

Depression and anxiety are rampant on modern college campuses today. Exercise and proper nutrition are going to work wonders, along with staying away from artificial stimulants. Furthermore, adequate sleep really helps as well. But, at the end of the day your attitude is going to be a pretty big indicator of how you’ll perform on a test. Keep your attitude confident and upbeat and you’ll do things you never imagined you could!

8. Don’t Study Alone

Think of taking a big test like going into battle. No one wants to head out into the field of war alone. No one wants to face the hordes all by their lonesome. When you know that you’re taking tests with friends or study partners, it feels like a shared load. Studying in groups is genius. Really, it pays off in more ways than one. You meet people. You feel more relaxed during tests. The studying is typically better quality. The list goes on and on and it can really be a stress reliever.

9. Take Breaks

This goes along with obsessive compulsive perfectionism. Don’t take things so seriously that you never disengage and give your psyche a break for a month before the test. If you’ve done your homework regularly, attended class, taken good notes and studied along the way you’ll do fine! Make sure to do other stuff. Go out and see a movie. Play some basketball. Go on a hike. Get your back waxed. Something!

Yes, at the end of the day college can be reduced to a number of critical tests that determine whether you get a degree or not. That’s true. But exam stress doesn’t do you a whole lot of good. If you use it like an iron hot cattle prod behind you, propelling you to do the right thing, then that’s great! But if you let the stress consume you it’s only going to brutalize your scores.

What do you do to handle exam stress and anxiety and come out on top? Don’t be shy, because you could really help someone in a time of dire need here.