Exam Stress and Anxiety

By: Ninthujah Suthaharan

Have you ever felt confused? Lost touch with your friends? Lacked motivation to do anything? Have trouble sleeping or getting out of bed? Felt moody or low? Well, if you have, don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Everyone at some point in their lives have been through this and has probably found it difficult to deal with. Stress. It comes from various things such as from jobs, friends, and even your own family but the type of stress and anxiety that you get before an exam is a whole new story.

Entering highschool was one of the best experiences ever. Except for one thing. Exams. Like imagine going from only what you do in class matters to 30% of your grade is determined by this one evaluation. Yeah, it’s crazy! But it’s reality and there’s nothing we can do to change that except for one thing; change our own mindsets.

When I was in Grade 9, I stressed out so much over exams. I would spend my Christmas break studying over exams that were near the end of January. My eating schedule changed and I found myself binge eating alot. I would also stay up late for countless nights to study because I was never satisfied and always felt underprepared. Even the day before the exam. This, consequently, didn’t allow me to perform my very best during the exams and that was when I felt the need to change my study habits in order to feel better and write my exams to the best of my capabilities. I began researching study methods and habits to have before an exam and from my research, I found the following very helpful.

1. Eat properly: The food you eat affects how you feel both emotionally and physically. Usually eating foods with sugars and fats makes you feel sluggish and heavy so it’s better to avoid these. Foods high in nutrients such as fish, dark fruits and vegetables, complex carbs as well as water help to improve brain health and will help you function properly.
2. Get Enough Sleep: A good sleep helps you remember what you learned. It is important to avoid late night studies and to get enough sleep especially in the days before your exams.
3. Exercise: Physical activity such as jogging and walking will help you feel calm, fresh, and energized for hours. Studying and taking a 15 minute break to do a workout really helped me to destress and calm down.
4. Pomodoro Method: A study method where you study for 25 minutes with a 5 minute break. This method is efficient because it’s not hard to study for 25 minutes and you feel more encouraged to study because you know you have a 5 minute break coming up.
5. Review Notes before and After Bed: Instead of cramming studying to the last minute, spending 15 minutes reviewing what you learned for the day or a week will help you remember what you learned and will make you feel more confident for an exam that’s coming up. By reviewing daily, you will encounter topics you might not understand which will allow you to do extra practice sheets or watch videos to help you understand the topic.
6. Scheduling: Writing down everything you feel like you need to do and try and tick one thing off. Just the act of feeling like you are in control of your revision can help. When you schedule and write down all the topics you need to cover, you will know exactly what to do for the days before exams and it will make you feel satisfied when you check mark the things on your “to- do list”. If you don’t understand a topic, you can circle it to remind yourself to review that topic. This method will help you feel organized, ensures you don’t miss out any topics and reduces your anxiety.
7. Talk to someone: Talking to someone who experiences the same feelings as you will help you cope with it because it makes you feel like you’re in this together. You will feel encouraged and sometimes just talking about things can make you feel better and the person you talk to may help you put things into perspective.
8. Stick to a Routine: Eating, sleeping, studying, and taking breaks at around the same time each day will help you stay on track and reduce your anxiety because you know exactly what you’re going to do. Sometimes the stress and anxiety doesn’t necessarily come from the exam itself but from outside factors such as not doing things effectively. This will make you feel overwhelmed so sticking to a routine will help you reduce the stress and anxiety that comes from irregular routines.

The methods used above were very effective and helped me perform way better on my exams. It also made me feel better and helped me take care of myself during these tough times. There are many more methods but these are the methods that have helped me and am sure has helped other people as well. It’s important to consider these methods so you reduce the anxiety and stress feelings you get when exam time is nearby.