What is Exam Stress & How to Deal with it?

Exams being a crucial part of our education system often becomes the source of stress for many students. Zero stress and extreme stress both are not good for your performance, there should be appropriate concern about your exams. Your thoughts can fluctuate on both sides like to no stress at all and extreme stress, you need to learn to bring them back to appropriate concern.

Exams stress is a natural feeling. We need to learn to deal with it. Every student feels stressed during exams but we must learn how to keep it under control. As Board Exams are near, we have taken this opportunity to present some useful tips on coping up with exam stress. To begin with, you need to understand the reasons behind the stress. Only then will you be able to establish ways to reduce the pressure you feel. Mentioned below are some of the common explanations:

• Lack of Motivation or Low Motivation
• Lacking in Preparation
• Huge Expectations
• Competition from others

Taking an example here, Anil a class 10 student is experiencing tremendous pressure due to the fact that his cousin Praveen scored 93% in the 10th standard last year, therefore Amit’s parents expect him to perform better than Praveen. This is a common situation faced by most of the students. They feel more stressed out due to their parent’s expectations than with their own issues. For a parent, they need to be responsible and conscious especially during the examination so as not to force any type of expectations or comparisons on our kids.

Plan your study routine

Start by planning your study routine. This way you can effectively monitor your progress while allocating sufficient time to fun and relaxation activities. Practice revision by writing. Not only will it put you into the frequency with the actual exam but will also boost your confidence. Keep changing subjects and their difficulty level while revision to avoid feeling bored or disheartened.

Spend equal time on reading and recalling. Undergo mock tests under conditions similar to that of examinations, preferably in tune with the exam time. This helps in adjusting your body clock to examination time and conditions.

Take a Quick Break

Research has proven that exercising such as taking a walk can boost memory and brain power. Take short breaks whenever you feel like losing concentration. It is important to stick to activities that do not break the study momentum. Listening to some soft music can quickly elevate your mood and encourage you to study more effectively and for longer periods. For every hour spent studying, take 10-15 min break. This helps in giving rest to your brain thereby making you more focused when you start studying again.

The power of positive thinking

Spending time with positive people creates a positive and productive environment. Do not negative thoughts seep in. Overcome negative thoughts with positive thoughts.

Get Enough Sleep

The benefits of a proper night’s sleep can never be underestimated. Also maintaining a regular sleeping pattern is essential. Avoid altering your sleeping cycle. Avoid working an hour before bedtime, instead engage in muscular relaxation exercises, which is very effective in relieving stress.

Eating Right

Include more of food rich in vitamins and proteins in your diet such as leafy green vegetables and fresh fruits. Nutrients will boost your brain power. Avoid foods with high-fat content and don’t drink too much coffee, tea or fizzy drinks. The caffeine content in these drinks will keep your brain up thereby reducing the clarity of your thinking.

Break free from Distractions

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, when added together, consume a significant amount of our end which we don’t even realize. It can be really hard to detach from all the fun activities but keeping the end goal clear in the head will smoothen the process. Stick to activities that do not break your study momentum.

Give your mind space

Meditation could be the most effective thing to be done during breaks. Not only it relieves the stress of our mind and body but also helps you see things from a different perspective. Deep breathing and yoga can also be practiced as forms of relaxation.

Let it all out

Sometimes all you need to do to relieve exam stress and anxiety is to talk to a friend or a family member. It will empower you in getting over exam stress and build confidence.

Hope you find these tips really helpful in shredding that load of stress from your head and cheer up your exam days. All the best for your forthcoming examinations.