Managing test stress
Midterms are a highly stressful time for people and many students do not know how to deal with these pressures. There are a wide range of coping mechanisms that can be used to help people relax more during testing time. One way to help calm your nerves is to watch a film, TV show, or listen to a podcast or comedian that makes you laugh. Watching and listening to these things can help take your mind off some of the work you have to do and allow you to have a few minutes of peace before going back to studying. Many people also really enjoy drinking herbal tea or hot chocolate. These are good drinks that you can sip on while you work. They are warm and taste great, ultimately helping you de-stress while you focus on school. Senor Faith Bromfield states, “I always make sure to drink my tea when I’m studying for a big test. It helps to calm me and relax me while I do my school work.” What about taking a bath? This is a great way to soothe your muscles and more importantly your mind. If you have been sitting and studying for hours on end take a break and make a bubble bath. You can sit and have a few mins to regroup before hitting the books again. Most importantly, make sure you get sleep. Many students believe they have to stay up all night and study to do well on their midterms or any test general. In reality, this is only hurting you. If you stay up into late hours of the night you are more likely to forget everything you studied, but if you go to sleep early and get a good night's rest the odds of good performance increases. Waking up early in the morning to study is better than staying up all night.
Open Colleges states, “The great risk with studying at night is that you may lose track of time and end up sleeping less. And this is the great enemy of learning. A strong routine complete with deadlines on when you stop studying and start sleeping means you aren’t breaking those Circadian rhythms that govern your body’s patterns.”
Sleep is the main thing that fuels you for your day at school. Maintaining a normal sleep pattern is essential in making sure your brain is working at full capacity and you are doing your best academically. Furthermore, keep things in perspective and avoid other stressful people. If you surround yourself with other people freaking out about testing it will only put you into a bad mind set. Senior Sarah Nemeth states, “I really try and focus on only what I'm doing. I do not like to be around other people you mentally drain me, it only harms me in the end. I try and focus on one class at a time and not stray from the subject I am on to other subjects”. Just remember that one test is not the determining factor in your life. You will take so many more tests in college and one grade does not define you. The world will keep turning and in the end everything will work out.
