In an increasingly competitive world, young people writing exams will be under pressure, knowing that their results need to give them an advantage when applying for higher education or employment.
Dr Gillian Mooney, teaching and learning manager at The Independent Institute of Education, believes this pressure exposes young people to high levels of stress and stress can, if not managed properly, become debilitating and even affect their performance.
She stressed, “It is vital for parents and other caregivers to monitor the mental wellbeing of pupils and students, as there are a number of ways that stress can be manipulated to improve performance rather than allowing it to be an unnecessary hurdle.”
Mooney added that adults should understand that stress was subjective and that what was stressful for one person, may not be stressful for another. “Stress is your body’s physical reaction to certain situations… while some stress is healthy in the short term and can help one be more productive and motivated, negative stress will cause distress, leading to feelings of anger, irritability and fear,” she explained.
She also mentioned that negative stress may also cause physical symptoms such as a headache or stomach cramps. Exam anxiety is a kind of stress that involves excessive worry, the fear of being evaluated, and of the consequences of failing exams.
Mooney offers tips on how to manage exam stress:
- Believe in yourself. If you have worked consistently since the start of the year, you will be fine, don’t worry.
- Don’t try to be perfect. It’s good to have goals, but these need to be realistic. If you believe that anything less than 100 percent means you have failed, then you are creating unnecessary stress for yourself.
- Don’t keep things bottled up inside. Confide in someone.
- Keep things in perspective. Exams may seem like the most important thing right now, but in the context of your whole life, they are only really a small part.
- Be proactive in tackling your problems. If you do not understand some of the material don’t stress, make an appointment to see your teacher or lecturer, talk to your classmates, or review a past exam paper.
- Get accurate information. Check all the course information and ask your teacher. You need to know what will be in the exam, how it will be marked and when the exam will start and end.
- Structure your study time. You need to study in regular sessions of about 50 minutes each, separated by 10-minute breaks.
- Plan for the exam. Try to arrive at the exam venue early. Wear a watch or make sure you know where the clock is in the exam venue. Wear layers of clothes so that you can adjust when you feel hot or cold. Make a list of all the material you will need in the exam room.
- Try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Your anxiety levels will increase if you feel tired and run down, so eat well and exercise and get adequate sleep.
- Avoid the things that won’t help. Avoid coffee the night before and the morning of the exam, and students who are anxious and talkative and those talking about the course material just before the exams.
Mooney added, “If you manage your emotional approach to stress, the physical response will also become manageable.”
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