How to Reduce Exam Stress
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Transcript of How to Reduce Exam Stress
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Dear Members,
For some students Exam time is the most stressful part of their life. But to be honest
this is not a correct thinking or approach. There are certain or simple things which
can really help you to avoid last time examination stress. So through this brief write-up an attempt has been made to share some points regarding how to avoid
examination stress.
The theme of this write-up isavoid exam stress through a sound exam preparation
because I personally feel that stress at the time of examination is the result of weak
preparation and shows lack of self confidence towards the preparation. So some of
the points mentioned in this write-up are connected or dealt with good exam
preparation. Please find below some of my very simple observations regarding howto avoid the examination stress:
1. Focus on conceptual study
This is one of my all time and permanent suggestion. To avoid examination stress and
secure long time professional success it is very essential to focus on conceptual study
from the very beginning of your professional journey. Conceptual study is the only
way out to deal with any sort of examination.
2. Keep discussing the topics with your friends
Another way out to deal with exam stress is to have a cool chat or exam oriented
discussion with your friends and fellow students. This is helpful for you in many ways.
Through these kinds of discussions you may clear your doubts and mentally prepare
yourself for the battle ahead. Also keep in touch with your teachers for desired
advice.
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3. Give a complete reading to the course
It is also important to give a complete reading to the course content. Confidently
strike off the topic which according to you is irrelevant and never asked in the exams.This point is totally connected with your self confidence and consequently reduces
your exam stress. Remember in the exam hall a small hint or 10-20% knowledge is
enough to attempt a question. A simple reading or knowledge can be very handy for
exam.
4. Spend quality times with your family and friends
One of the best way to handle exam stress is to spend some quality time with your
family and friends. I urge you all to consider this point very important to regain the
entire consumed energy and enthusiasm. According to me during exam time family
and friends are like protein and energy boosters. They provide you the desired
strength to fight with exam stress. So after a long study session have a relaxed chat
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or interaction with your family and friends. I personally feel that this is a solid method
to avoid exam stress. Try this
5. Follow a fixed study plan honestly
As per my personal understanding if you follow a regular study plan from the very
beginning, you can easily avoid the exam stress. Exam stress is somewhere
connected with your preparation method. If you are satisfied with your preparation
then it would be easy for you to say bye-bye to exam stress. So try and understand
the importance of this point and prepare and follow a detailed and flexible study plan
from the very beginning.
6. Stay away from all negative thoughts
Negative thought or thinking is one of the biggest reasons of exam stress and
consequent failure in exam. Without any proper reason avoid thinking that your
preparation is bad or you are weak in theory or practical paper. Just go ahead and
give your best shot. Do not allow negative thinking and consequent exam stress to
distract you and your positive energy.
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7. Always focus on good and flexible revision
schedule
A good revision during exam time surely relaxed your mind and helps you to avoid
unnecessary exam stress. So prepare a special strategy for course revision and
prepare special short revision type notes. Plan your revision schedule as early as
possible and follow the same honestly and keep reviewing it and make necessary
changes as and when necessary. This point helps you to deal with lengthy course and
improve your revision strategy. Select easy chapters as per your strength and gain
tremendous confidence by practicing more & more questions. After gaining enough
confidence remove that chapter from your final revision list. Now there is no need to
revise that chapter during final revision and be confident about that chapter. Just
follow your revision schedule strictly.
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8. Use your previous exam experience
Obviously you are not going to give first exam of your life. So use your experience of
previous exams regarding how to handle the exam pressure. Also recall your
previous exam success to generate much desired self confidence.
9. Few general observations to avoid exam stress
Some of the general observations to avoid exam stress are as follows:
i.) Stay away from unnecessary examination pressure. Remember exams are justto test your knowledge and should not be treated as a pressure cooker.
ii.) To avoid exam stress always believe in action. Thinking without action willincrease your stress and adversely affect your positivity.
iii.) Always make provision for a small break during long study sessions torejuvenate your energy and strength.
iv.) Slight nervousness is perfectly fine and inevitable during exam time. Butexcessive stress can be very harmful and block your thinking process. So just
be careful.
10. Have faith in your abilities and blessings of your parents
Last but certainly not the least to avoid exam stress or any kind of stress in life it is
very important to have faith in your abilities and efforts. Remember nobody is
perfect so always ready to improve yourself. Always try your best with utmost
sincerity and dedication. I am sure success will follow you. Also give due regards to
the expectations of your parents and also remember with their blessings you can
deal with any sort of pressure situation.
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Getting a good nights sleep before an exam isexcellent preparation for the day ahead, so wehave compiled some tried and trusted Dos and
Donts. The relaxation exercise works for adultstoo!
GOOD THINGS TO DO
y Have a warm milky drink or herbal tea beforebed.
y Have a warm, fragrant bath before bed (not a
hot one, see below)
y Browse through a magazine or read a chapterof a (non school) book before putting out thelight.
y Listen to some relaxing musicy Practise a simple relaxation exercise (see
below)
THINGS TO AVOID
y AVOID the temptation to stay up late studyingso that you are over-tired, as your memorycannot retain things when your brain isexhausted.
y AVOID stimulants such as tea, coffee or coladrinks for at least four hours before going tobed.
y AVOID having a hot bath before you go to bed,as it is very stimulating.
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y AVOID watching anything too exciting on TVbefore you go to bed, as it is difficult to thenunwind.
HOW TO RELAX
a) When you are anxious or stressed you tendto worry a lot and things go round and roundin your head, which is a waste of energy.Worrying about a problem solves nothing!
b) The opposite of being stressed and anxious is
to be relaxed and calm.
c) Practising a simple relaxation exercisebefore you go to sleep can help you to winddown and to get things into perspective.
Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. ~Natalie Goldberg, Wild
Mind
Releasing the pressure, it's good for the teapot and the water. Try it sometime. ~Jeb Dickerson,
Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.
There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. Exams have a beginning and an end, and the stress that
goes along with them should end with the exam. Once the paper's in, there's nothing more you can do
to (legally) influence the outcome
Some students have discovered various mechanisms to deal with the pressure, like running
away from home or simply refusing to appear for exams.
If you are a student, there is no need to explain what exam stress is. Sleepless nights, troubled
thoughts, loss of appetite, rapid pulse, trembling hands - these are typical manifestations ofexam fear. Recent research has shown that it affects all the systems of the human body:
nervous, immune, cardiovascular, etc. Unfortunately, the negative influence of this
phenomenon on the students body and their psychology is underestimated nowadays. Social
polls demonstrate that students perceive the exams as a duel of questions and answers, as a
severe torture as intellectual and emotional overload.
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Do we need exams in the first place ? - Yes, exams are important for you as their results
influence future professional career, your social status and your selfesteem. Every person has
own optimal level of worry and anxiety, which helps him/ her to achieve the best results. You
must learn how to control your stress and extra anxiety for preparing for the Test. If exams
cause great worry, if you have some symptoms of exam stress (insomnia, rapid pulse, handstrembling and so on) you ought to do something about it.
Here are a few tips that may help you reduce the exam stress:
Believe in yourself.
You are capable of passing the exam. You wouldn't have been given a place in the class or on
the course if you didn't have the ability to do it.
Dont just worry take action!
If you don't understand some of your course material, getting stressed out won't help. Instead,take action by seeing your course tutor or asking your class mates to help you understand the
problem.
Dont put yourself under too much pressure
Aim to do your best but recognize that if you think that "anything less than A+ means I've
failed" then you are creating unnecessary stress for yourself.
Take a break.
As soon as you notice you are losing concentration, take a short break go for a walk, talk to a
friend or just listen to some music. Then you will feel refreshed and able to concentrate on your
revision again.
On the Exam Day:
Try to avoid panic.
It's natural to feel some exam nerves prior to starting the exam and that can be a positive andmotivating feeling. However, getting excessively nervous is counterproductive as it hinders your
ability to think clearly.
Breathe deep.
The quickest and most effective way of eliminating feelings of stress and panic is to close your
eyes and take several long, slow deep breaths. Breathing in this way calms your whole nervous
system.
Too much stress around exam time can cause any of the
following
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a) an inability to focus on the exam question
b) Forgetting material you've learned, through to
headaches, cramps, nausea and shaking.
c) None of which will help you manage a good mark in theexam! So how can you manage your stress levels to
make sure they don't get in your way?
1 - SCHEDULE YOUR STUDY IN ADVANCE
a) Most students know that cramming the night before
never works and they never setting up a study schedule
in advance (and then following it) - but somehow, we
end up doing it anyway!
b)Start thinking about what you're going to need to study
at least a few weeks (if not longer) before the exam, and
set up a timetable for yourself. This is for revision part.
Before that , you have to cover at least one round of
studies.
c) Use checklists, and cross off each topic once you've
covered it. Try different study techniques, and test
yourself frequently to identify which ones work best for
you.
2 - DON'T SKIMP ON YOUR SLEEP
a) With so much study to do (or perhaps to avoid doing?),
sleep is a common casualty of exam time.
b) It's also one of your best allies for a clear mind, so if you
care about your exam results, make sure you don't let it
slide.
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c) Aim to get 7 hours a night minimum in the weeks
leading up to exams (more if you're feeling tired -
different bodies have different requirements), and
ensure you get an early night before each exam - even if
your exam isn't until the afternoon
3 - WATCH YOUR DIET
a) Perhaps more than at any other time of year,
nutrition levels are critical during exam time.
b)Our brains simply can't function optimally if we'renot supplying them with enough of the nutrients they
need.
c) If you're on any kind of calorie-controlled diet,
consider relaxing it a little around exam time, and
make sure you're eating plenty of fresh fruit,
vegetables and whole grains.
d) Consider a multi-vitamin supplement if you're not
already taking one.
4 - KEEP MOVING
a) As the exams draw closer, it can be easy to lock
yourself in the library (or your room) and not
come out for hours at a time.b)The trouble with this is that when we stop moving,
our brains get sluggish.
c) If you want to make sure you're taking in what you
study, it's important to get some form of exercise -
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even just a walk around the block - at least once a
day.
d)And if you're starting to feel stress symptoms
building as you study, try taking time out forsomething even more energetic.
5 - EXPERIMENT WITH RELAXATION
There are a number of different relaxation methods
available - how many have you tried?
1)Meditation,
2)listening to soothing music,3) hypnosis audios,
4) burning relaxing essential oils,
5)yoga,
6)hot (or cool) baths,
7) Journaling and walking through somewhere green
are all possibilities.
6 - DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE!
a) Both before and during exams, oxygen is your friend!
b)Focused deep breathing is a relaxation technique you
can use regularly during the time leading up to the
exam, and it's also a great tool to have during the exam
itself.
c) When you're under pressure, it's natural for your
breathing to start speeding up and getting shallower.
d)Don't let it! Consciously take slower, deeper breaths
and watch yourself start to relax, and your thoughts
begin to clear as you do.The most painful thing to experience is not defeat but regret ~ Leo Bascaglia
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