The exam period is a period that most students dread. Students who have not been serious with their studies get serious and the serious ones tighten their seatbelts all in preparation for the exam. Everyone wants to do their best to succeed in the exam and exam preparation comes with a lot of stress. No matter how much you have read, it still feels like you have not read enough. You are under pressure to meet your goals and the expectations from the people around you. You go through so much stress and still deny yourself good sleep. To save you from this exam stress, here are some ways that you can stay positive during stressful exam period;
1. Take Breaks:
People often want to stretch their brains during exam periods. They read for hours and want to grab everything in the book at once. Students spend hours in the library, on their reading tables, or anywhere they deem comfortable, trying to place their focus on their books and this excess concentration is not good for the brain. The brain needs to take pauses at intervals.
Between your study, take breaks to do other things. This can help you to concentrate more and block distractions. In your breaks, you can reply to messages, you can eat a snack, you can take a quick walk, or do other things that have been lingering on your mind while you are reading. You can even engage in other relaxing activities such as sports or yoga. This will allow you to concentrate more because you can shift all other non-learning activities till your break time. It will also allow your brain to take in the things that you have read.
2. Don’t Dwell in the Past:
After a paper, do not put your mind to what you have done. If the paper was tough, try as much as possible to take your mind off it. The paper has been done and you have to channel your energy to what’s coming. Organize all the studying material that you used and leave it somewhere on your shelves to distance yourself from it. If you learned online or on your devices, zip all the files containing your studying material and save them in a folder.
Before taking an exam, you have to do everything to study as much as you can. You must use all the resources accessible to you and see the impact of the internet, we can clearly say there are many options for you. If you are studying medicine, you can read guides by Osmosis to answer all and every question you might have while studying.
However, after you have done all the work you could do there is no point going back to the past and stressing over what has been done. Meet up with your friends and discuss different topics. You can discuss what kind of superpower you would wish for and how you will use the superpower to help the world. When you do this, you get to take your mind off the past exam and you are in the right state of mind to start preparing for the next paper.
3. Relax:
This might seem like the wrong thing to do during exam time, but finding ways to relax allows you to stay calm and keeps you motivated. You can seize the opportunity to listen to a podcast or watch an episode of your favorite TV series, or something else that completely takes your mind off reading. Your brain needs to be relaxed for it to function well especially if you have difficult or important exams that can increase your stress levels and make you scared and anxious which is bad for someone preparing for an exam. Finding ways to relax can also help you avoid stress eating or using drugs and other things to keep you active while reading.
4. Take Power Naps:
After finishing a topic or a book, give yourself a quick sleep. According to research, a power nap can increase your energy levels when you are awake. It also boosts your memory, cognition, and creativity. Rather than swallowing coffee to prevent you from sleeping, help yourself and take a little rest. Set an alarm to wake you up and you will find out that the nap was very helpful.
5. Think Ahead:
Another way to stay positive during stressful exam periods is to make plans for the things that you will do when the exam is over. Think of all the places you will go to, the friends you will meet, the series that you need to catch up on, think of all the fun things that you will do after the exam. This will help you to put in your best during the exam because you have already planned a reward for yourself after the exam.
Final word
You are putting in all the work. You are doing your best. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Read, go for the exam and be the best. Come out in flying colors. You deserve it. However, you must know that while staying positive, you should not be too relaxed hence you become the obstacle to your success.