Exams have always been portrayed as the propagator of stress and anxiety among the students. True that, students have always been observed to be in a highly stressed mental status before and during their exam time. The pressure of studying and performing well in exams leads many students to change their sleep cycle before their exams by reducing their sleeping and relaxing time, which affects their productivity and functioning very adversely, further exaggerating the situation.
While taking a little stress can be a good thing as it acts as a push to get our work done, the stress faced by students during exams is generally extremely high. Coping up and managing this stress is very necessary not only to perform well in exams, but also to take care of your mental health and overall productivity. Here are 5 tips to help you cope with exam stress.
- Time management
During their exams, students spend half the day studying and the other half thinking about how will they complete the syllabus and revise, which causes stress. Managing your time and creating a plan in such a manner that you already know when you will be able to complete your syllabus and goals helps a lot here.
- You must have a realistic goal-based plan to achieve. This will help you in focusing on your performance today, instead of worrying about tomorrow.
- Manage your time in such a way that you have some free time for yourself. Do whatever makes you happy in this time.
- Give time to your hobbies and social media (if that helps your relieve stress). But make sure that you don’t exceed the time limit.
- 2. Talk
The best way to reduce stress is to kick it out. Talk to someone you trust and tell them about how you are feeling. They may be your parents, siblings, friends or your favourite teacher. Just letting it out will make you feel very relieved and positive.
If you are an introvert or don’t feel like sharing your thoughts with anyone, or if you don’t have anyone to share with, try writing your thoughts down. Don’t worry about language, grammar, spelling etc., just let your thoughts and insecurities flow freely on paper. What makes you stressed? How can you cope with it? how strong you feel you are? Write it all down. This is the best way to provide an outlet to your feelings without being judged.
- 3. Listen to Music
Music is one of the best stress relievers out there! Most of the students rely on music to relax and cope up with the stress disturbing their head. Sit down, hold a cup of tea or coffee, close your eyes and listen to your favourite music. You will experience the effect of this exotic therapy in minutes.
You can listen to your favourite kind of music during your short breaks to lift up your mood.
- 4. Sleep well
This is perhaps, the most underrated forms of relieving stress during exams. Sleep has always been considered as an enemy to studies and has always been sacrificed by students. Little do they understand that without proper sleep, they won’t be able to focus effectively.
- Take a full sleep of at least 6 hours every day. Do not sacrifice your sleep.
- You can also consider sleeping in the afternoon for 25-30 mins. This actually recharges your body and you feel energised when you wake up. But make sure that you don’t end up sleeping for too long in the afternoon during your exams as apart from making you lazy, it will also make you feel guilty of not studying well. Set an alarm of 25-30 mins and wake up immediately after it rings.
- 5. Exercise/Meditate
Keeping your physical health well by exercising gives you a sense of achievement and thus keeps you mentally happy as well. Try exercising regularly, even for 15-20 mins in the morning during your exams.
Meditation is one of the best things to increase your focus, stay calm and eliminate stress during exams. It may be hard for the first time, but if you practice regularly, you will be able to observe the immense benefits it provides to your mental health.
Apart from that it is suggested that you keep drinking water and good, healthy food to energise yourself. All the best!
