We have all been through varying levels of exam stress in our lives. While some stress is desirable for motivating us to do well in our exams, being too stressed out only reverses our productivity and interferes with our performance. But for some, the very word, ‘exam’ evokes images of impending doom, giving rise to unpleasant sensations and feelings of distress. Why is that we fear something that we go through year after year with great predictability right from our primary school?
Expectations from Board exams
Strangely the stress levels peaks to a crescendo, just before the dreaded ‘Board exams’ in class 10 and 12. We know that there is a great premium on academic excellence, as it is gateway to the future of bright career prospects. In our country it is even more so, as it is often the only yardstick to measure a student’s calibre, where .01 aggregate marks can matter, fostering unhealthy levels of competition. To many youngsters eyeing seats in professional courses like medicine, engineering or management, it is perceived to be a ‘do or die’ situation. Often even parents get sucked into this vortex of exam stress, further heightening the tensions of their child with undue expectations from them. Meanwhile, the children feel double the pressure so as not to ‘let their parents down’!
 Why do some people face more exam stress?
Let’s understand the reasons behind why some students sail through exams effortlessly while others fret and flounder their way through. Here are some possible causes for exam stress or what is also referred to as ‘test anxiety’ in psychological parlance. Deficits in Organization
Some students lack organization of study skills and have difficulty in processing and organizing information effectively for recall. They do not structure their study time table in a realistic manner and often cram at the last minute, struggling to cover their syllabus. They often end up acutely stressed out and fearing failure. The way to go for such students is to prioritize and plan their day better, where they can get sufficient time to unwind by sleeping, spending time talking with parents and friends and other activities, without feeling guilty or deprived.
Feel easily distracted
The second category is of those who have adequate study habits and skills in preparation but who are highly distractible both during preparation and in the exam situation. They are often troubled by worrying negative thoughts that anticipate poor performance and failure. Instead of focusing on their studies they worry about their inadequacies or past failures and project them into the outcome of their current exams too. They become chronically anxious and feel helpless and inadequate, which in turn interferes with their study and test performance. Many a time, peers who claim to be studying less, provide a justification for students to take it easy, without realizing that they have only to prepare for themselves.
Lack insight into their deficits
These students do not have adequate study skills, are poor in time management yet mistakenly believe that they are doing everything right, wondering why they do so poorly, repeatedly. They seemingly are hard working and motivated but cannot fathom where they go wrong. It seems that all their sincere attempts are doomed for failure and feel de-motivated to study at times.
High expectations from self
There are some students who have good study habits and organizations skills, who are consistent, hard working and motivated, yet suffer from severe anticipatory anxiety. They often set very high standards for themselves and constantly worrying about reaching them. They cannot tolerate not being on the top, feeling anything less is a sign of ‘failure’! They become constantly stressed out because of their attitude and performance expectations from themselves, often resulting in extreme tension and pressure, especially while writing the exams, sometimes proving detrimental to their performance.
Signs of exam stress
It’s important for both students and their family members to learn to recognize the signs of stress before and during exam time.
Physical Signs and Indications
- Poor disturbed sleep and bad dreams
- Loss of appetite, irregular eating
- Fatigue, listlessness, low energy
- Muscular aches and pains that are unexplained
- Tight, knotty, feeling in the stomach
- Difficulty in breathing
- Pounding heartbeat
- Frequent urge to urinate
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting
Psychological Signs (Behavioral and Emotional Symptoms)
- Nervous, fidgety or restless behavior
- Irritability and impatience
- Easily provoked to anger
- Crying over small things
- Moodiness
- Having low self esteem
- Loss of interest in usual activities or friends
- Behaving differently, rebelliousness
- Depressed, suicidal tendencies
Academic Signs
- Poor marks
- Lack of interest in studies
- Low levels of concentration while studying
- Procrastination, not wanting to begin studying
- Performance related tensions/back outs during tests
The presence of any of the above signs is a warning – more signs should set alarm bells ringing and immediate action is warranted.
Coping with exam stress
The secret to positive coping with stress during or before exams is firstly to acknowledge that you should try not to banish it completely, yet keep it at manageable levels just enough to motivate you and not paralyze you. The key to bringing stress levels down is to tackle it from all three directions – physical, psychological and academic aspects.
Effective Study Habits
Here are some tips for improving your study skills and reduce the stress burden.
Plan
- Have a dedicated place of study that is well lit and relatively free from distractions.
- Make a timetable for studying, dividing the subjects and time allotted for each subject judiciously. Chart out a plan of both daily targets and weekly targets in terms of number of concepts in the syllabus and number of chapters to be completed.
- Take up two subjects each day for studying so that boredom does not set in. Preferably, combine one difficult subject with an easy one, each day.
Study Smart
- While studying, make brief points or notes in a separate copy. Active information processing by reading and then writing down is superior to mere passive reading.
- Re-learn difficult chapters/portions and explain them to your friends and family, as it strengthens the memory processes.
- Use charts, tables, diagrams, maps, etc to organize information for easy recall.
- Take short breaks of 5-10 minutes after 40-45 minute of continuous study, to optimize concentration levels.
- Take up difficult chapters first, when you’re mentally fresh.
Monitor Progress
- At the end of each day, note down in your timetable how much you have actually studied. This will allow you to monitor your progress.
- At the end of the week, ask your parents or tutor to give you a short test on the portions covered by you during that week. This will give you a realistic feedback of your comprehension and expressive skills.
- Taking mock exams or answering model question papers seriously will help in developing self-confidence and assess preparedness. They also help you to revise what you already know or feel that you have forgotten.
- Reward yourself for satisfactory progress by treating yourself to a favorite snack/ice cream/an extra hour of relaxation/chatting on the phone or surfing the net. If not satisfied with your progress, try to motivate yourself by foregoing watching your favorite TV program/chatting/not going out, etc.
Time Management
Conduct a Personal Time Survey on yourself to discover how you are allocating your time to various activities and the need to prioritize.
You will discover to your own surprise how little time you actually spend in study related tasks and how much you are spending on other activities such as chatting on the telephone, surfing the Internet, playing videogames, being out with friends or simply whiling away the time on nothing in particular! A time survey will also let you discover which activities are time- wasters.
You will also be able to find out if the time spent on studying is bringing in effective results; what aspects of time management should you change and what is that you can’t change. In short what you need is a ‘time audit’ to manage your time fruitfully for studies.
The time survey below is illustrative of a day in the life of a student preparing for exams. Preparedness for exams is not only a result of the number of hours put in, as the level of concentration may vary. However, many activities take up our time without knowing it.
| Time |
Activity |
Time |
Activity |
| 8-10am |
Get ready+ eat breakfast |
4-5pm |
Play in the park |
| 10-11am |
Study |
5-6pm |
Listen to music |
| 11-12am |
Check email/orkut/facebook |
6-7pm |
Sit with family during tea-time |
| 12-1pm |
Talking on the phone |
7-9pm |
Watch television |
| 1-3pm |
Lunch |
9-10pm |
Dinner |
| 3-4pm |
Sleep |
10-11pm |
Study and sleep |
Relaxation Techniques
Exam stress or test anxiety is often experienced as physical and emotional symptoms of distress and learning specific techniques of relaxation can relieve stress and anxiety. The following are some simple methods to relax.
Deep Breathing
For 15-20 minutes each day sit or lie down in a comfortable posture and practice taking slow deep breaths, holding the breath for a few seconds and then exhaling the air slowly and completely in a systematic manner, going through cycles of deep, abdominal breathing. This will allow you to release the stored up tensions in your body and bring a feeling of lightness and relaxation.
Muscle Relaxation
Much of the discomfort you feel when you’re stressed is due to muscle tension. Learning to relax the different muscle groups of your body in a systematic and progressive manner lets you release these accumulated tensions and relaxes your body completely. Work through you body muscle by muscle, tensing the muscle for 1o seconds and then relaxing it for 10-15 seconds starting from your head and going down to your feet.
Visualization
After deep breathing, you can continue to relax further with visual images of pleasant experiences that you can recreate by memory or imagination. You can specifically focus on positive imagery visualizing success and achievement in your exams that boosts your confidence levels and minimize the stress of facing exams.
All the above methods require daily practice at least twice a day for one month at least to give you the best results.
Positive Thinking
Our biggest challenge in reducing the impact of stress is our own mind and our thinking patterns. The way we think about ourselves determines how we will respond in a stressful situation. In fact how we think and what we say to ourselves control how we feel.
To feel good and relaxed we must learn to fill our mind with positive thoughts about ourselves, about our ability to cope with stress and about the outcome of our efforts. In other words – “Think good to feel good”.
Challenge your negative thoughts such as “I know I’m going to fail again” or “I can’t cope with studies, it’s too difficult for me”, with a logical, rational attitude and positive self statements such as “just because I failed earlier doesn’t mean I’ll do so again” and “if I work hard in a relaxed manner, I can cope with studies and do well”. Tackle anxious ‘what if’, negative thoughts such as “what if I blank out and forget all that I learnt?” by substituting positive ‘what if’ questions- for example, “what if I can remember more than I think I can?”, or “ what if I feel more relaxed than I think I can?”
Write positive coping statements about yourself which you can affirm (repeat) several times in a day to yourself to increase self esteem and confidence. This changes the entire perspective for you, doesn’t it? Also make sure you have realistic performance expectations from yourself especially in subjects that are too stressful for you. Lastly, never compare your progress and performance with other classmates. Set your own goals and your pace based on your abilities and past performance.
Healthy Lifestyle
Adequate Nutrition
Students often pay scant attention to their diet in the run up to their exams which is extremely detrimental to their overall well being. Eating regularly and healthily can stress-proof our body and mind, making necessary nutrients available to function efficiently. Junk foods, high in calories and low in nutrition may serve as ‘comfort foods’ but harm in the long run. Plenty of fruits, salads, juices, nuts are all rich sources of vitamins. Diet rich in proteins are essential to repair the body and simple carbohydrates like baked potato, cereals, brown bread are helpful to provide energy for the body. Milk, bananas and chocolate have been found to having a calming effect.
Exercise
While you may think exercise while studying for exams may be a sheer waste of precious time, it is actually to the contrary. Physical activity, whether it is walking, cycling, aerobics, swimming, tennis, football, etc. are helpful in releasing tensions and calm you down at the same time. It rejuvenates your body and mind by making more oxygen available in the blood by better blood flow. This actually helps your brain think better and learn faster. At least half an hour of daily exercise is mandatory for those undergoing exam preparations.
Good Sleep
The third most vital aspect of adopting a healthy lifestyle is to ensure a sound night’s rest, daily. Sleep should not be sacrificed for accommodating more study time. It is during sleep that our body repairs the wear and tear due to stress. It is also during sleep that our mind further consolidates the coding of the information learnt during the day. So if sleep is lost, virtually everything can be lost, making you lethargic, groggy and confused.
Avoid taking chemical substances for stress reduction
Often students are misguided by wrong advice to take minor tranquilizers or sedatives to ‘calm down their nerves’ and cope better. Others may be persuaded by well meaning friends to try smoking or taking strong caffeinated ‘energy’ drinks to stimulate, keep awake or to boost energy levels. All these are extremely harmful and potentially addictive chemical substances that may give temporary results but are very damaging in the long run. They can actually cause harm and even interfere with performance on the exam days. So stay firmly away from all such chemical substances..
Talk it over
Talking to a caring, empathetic person like your parents, siblings, friends, and teachers can take the load of stress of your shoulders. Share difficulties, apprehensions and discuss ways of solving your problems with them. Their suggestions and feedback can help you cope better and make you feel comforted and supported.
Spiritual aids
Pray, meditate, talk to God or any ‘higher power’ you believe in. Your spiritual beliefs and practices can help sustain you during tough times and give you a great sense of hope for positive outcomes that actually energize you and help you perform better. Remember you can only do your best.
Lastly a word to all parents of exam taking students:
You need to relax as well and not add to the already existing tension. Don’t put undue pressures on your child and don’t constantly nag them about wasting time. Help them to achieve their goals that are realistic. Be a calm, comforting presence, rather than an tense and anxious person. Remember, every child can’t be a topper. Your child will do well if you are understanding, empathetic, calm and supportive at all times.
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