Almost every pupil and student feels exam stress. In small doses, it helps you focus and get down to work. When it becomes too strong or lasts too long, it affects your sleep, your appetite and your memory, and ends up getting in the way of studying itself. Here are practical ways to manage your stress before and during an exam.
Stress is an ally, as long as it stays in check
Stress is a normal reaction to something that matters. Your body gets ready for effort: your heart beats faster, your attention sharpens. That is what pushes you to open your notes and stay focused on exam day.
It becomes a problem when it sets in. Signs to watch for:
- you sleep badly or wake up thinking about the material;
- you eat less, or on the contrary you snack all the time;
- you reread the same page without taking anything in;
- you keep putting off getting started, then feel guilty.
The good news: most of these signs fade when your studying is better organised and your body gets to recover. The tips below work on those two levers.
Managing stress before the exam: plan ahead
Prevention is better than cure. Start by asking yourself what really worries you about the exam period. It often comes down to three fears:
- the feeling that you have not studied enough;
- not knowing what to expect;
- the fear of forgetting everything once you are in front of the paper.
Each one has an answer. For the first, make a precise schedule, subject by subject, up to the last exam, and leave some margin for the unexpected. The earlier you start, the less the amount of material will overwhelm you.
Then break your work into small tasks. A goal such as “redo the chapter 4 exercises this morning” is reassuring: you know when it is done. Ticking off what you have finished proves that you are making progress, which is very calming.
To know what to expect, find out what form the exam takes (written, oral, multiple choice, open questions) and practise on past exams or on the exercises from your course. You then work in exam day conditions, and the unknown shrinks.
Finally, do not just reread. Learning by heart without understanding leaves you on shaky ground. Explain the material out loud, redo the exercises without looking at the answers, quiz yourself. What you have understood and practised holds up better under stress. To learn more about organising your work, read our 5 tips to study and pass your exams.
Build a routine during your study period
A routine does not mean planning your day down to the minute. It is about a few landmarks that come back every day: getting up at the same time, making your bed, tidying your desk, getting some fresh air before you start.
These small habits take little effort, but they give you a sense of regularity and control. That is exactly what stress makes you lose.
A few habits that help:
- studying at set times, in blocks of 45 minutes to 1 hour, with a real break in between;
- marking the switch between work and rest: changing rooms, going for a walk, putting your notes away;
- keeping your phone out of reach during study blocks;
- ending the day by writing tomorrow’s to-do list, so you do not think about it in bed.
Look after your health
During exams, it is tempting to sacrifice sleep and meals to save time. That is a bad trade: a tired brain remembers less and makes more mistakes.
Sleep
Sleep specialists recommend 8 to 10 hours a night between the ages of 13 and 18, and at least 7 hours for adults. It is during sleep that your memory consolidates what you studied during the day. An all-nighter before an exam therefore costs you more than it gains you.
Food and hydration
Even without time to cook, try to have at least one proper balanced meal a day, and breakfast on the morning of the exam. Drink water regularly. Cut down on coffee and energy drinks: they give you a short boost, but make you more nervous and disturb your sleep.
Exercise
A walk, a jog or a few minutes of sport help release the tension built up over hours of sitting. It is also a break that clears your head before the next study block.
Keep time for your hobbies
During the exam period, studying takes up a lot of room. That is no reason to drop everything that does you good. If you study eight hours and sleep eight hours, you still have time to catch your breath, and that time matters.
Choose activities that help you rest: sport, something creative, a chat with a friend, a board game, a family meal. Since you already spend a lot of time in front of a screen to revise, your breaks are better spent away from screens. Long evenings of video games or late nights out, on the other hand, tire you out and add to your stress.
How to manage stress during an exam
On exam day, a few simple habits help you keep a cool head:
- Get everything ready the night before: materials, exam notice, how to get there. Arrive early, without rushing.
- Avoid last-minute revision with others outside the exam room: it mostly raises anxiety.
- Breathe slowly before you start: breathe in through your nose while counting to four, then breathe out gently for a little longer. A few rounds are enough to slow your heart rate.
- Read all the questions before you write, then start with the ones you know best. Getting the first ones right gives you confidence for the rest.
- Manage your time: work out how many minutes you can spend on each part, and move on to the next if you get stuck.
If your mind still freezes on a question, put your pen down, breathe and move on: the answer often comes back a little later.
When to ask for help
Stress that keeps you from sleeping for weeks, that makes you give up on sitting an exam, or that comes with deep distress is worth talking about. Your parents, a teacher, your school’s PMS centre (psycho-medical-social centre), your university’s student support service or your doctor can listen and guide you.
Stress often also comes from a subject that is not clicking or a study method that does not work. Targeted support then makes all the difference. At My Sherpa, an educational advisor chooses a coach for you who helps you organise your studying, go back over the material that is blocking you and prepare for your exams, at home anywhere in Belgium or online. Discover our lessons in study skills, as well as our private tutoring for secondary school and higher education.
In short, to manage your stress: start early, break your studying into small steps, keep a routine, sleep, eat and move, and give yourself real breaks.
