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6 Tips to Control Your Nerves During the Exam

The big day has arrived, you have everything ready to take your exam, but your nerves start to increase and may affect your performance during the test. If this happens to you, we recommend you not to worry, because there are techniques to relax and maintain your concentration.

Going completely blank, blocked, or frozen can be a consequence of nerves during exams. However, through these tips, you can learn to control them and use them to your advantage.

1. Plan your study time

To avoid panic and last-minute rush, we should organize ourselves and draw up a calendar beforehand with the days on which we have each exam of each subject and which are going to be the hours and days that we are going to dedicate to each subject or agenda, as well as to revisions, outlines, reviews, etc. During exams, you may also have deadlines on various academic papers, so you can turn to an online essay writing service to focus on preparation.

All this, besides being useful as an organizational strategy, also helps us to generate security. We have to set realistic goals since on countless occasions our overflowing student optimism makes us think that we can finish some subjects in less than the duration of a chapter of a series and then the reality … is another. And we are devoured by anxiety. Since no one knows you better than you know yourselves, we advise you to leave more time to study, so that you can have time to achieve your goal.

2. Use relaxation techniques

Yes, despite having heard this advice over and over again, it is more than advisable, since addressing anxiety through relaxation techniques can be very beneficial, not only while we are studying, but also moments before taking an exam.

If we experience anxiety, we have to be able to realize when it is happening, so we can focus our attention on our breathing and gradually make it deeper and slower. In this way, we will achieve a state of calm and will be able to study in the right conditions.

Although it may be hard to believe, relaxation and breathing exercises are as effective as drugs, although they require extra effort. But think about it! You will appreciate their benefits, don’t be lazy! Relaxation techniques will not only be useful for coping with exams but will also help us to overcome the problems that the future holds.

3. Be careful with coffee and other stimulants

The battle against exams is tough and the road to the last exam is long and arduous. The marathon study days are exhausting and it is common to turn to our stimulant friends for a little extra help. But before doing so, we should know the effects they have on us to keep us active and alert.

  • Coffee: Excess caffeine produces anxiety, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop drinking coffee completely to prevent it. If drinking coffee is part of your daily routine or eating habits, try to reduce your consumption and drink one or two cups of regular coffee and switch to decaffeinated coffee for the rest.
  • Energy drinks: These drinks raise blood pressure and although the sugar they contain provides energy, they do not eliminate exhaustion or muscle fatigue. The habitual consumption of these drinks, besides generating dependence, causes insomnia, tachycardia, stress, and of course, leads to the dark side of anxiety.

4. Beware of negative thoughts

Sometimes, when we are presented with difficulties or complex challenges, we can live immersed in bitterness like Mr. Scrooge and drag a huge and heavy bag of negativity. “I will never finish this race”, “this subject is impossible”, “they hate me”, “I am the worst”, a whole monster of negative thoughts that probably do not correspond to reality and that contribute to block us and generate a lot of anxiety.

We have to learn to realize when these thoughts appear (frequent in almost all people) and to try to dismantle them with an alternative response.

5. Take a rest before the exam

The day before the exam, it’s best to relax, rest, and reset your brain. Tune in to the best, tell yourself that you are well prepared, that you have covered all the topics, and that you will be able to answer the questions. If the tension does not subside, reread the tickets. That way you will make sure you are really ready.

6. No regrets

When you leave the exam, it is important to remember that what’s done is done and that the best thing to do is to rest and give yourself some reward for the great effort you have just made. Don’t be needlessly anxious. Don’t despair, learn to overcome anxiety in every test you face, and achieve effective results in every test.

Think of any exam as a game with its own requirements, rules, and subtleties. And don’t forget to familiarize yourself with them before you start “playing”. When we know what is expected and what is required of us, it becomes easier to build a strategy of preparation, we can easily separate the secondary from the main.

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