Exam season: how to stop exam stress taking over your life

The most important - and often most difficult - step to managing exam stress is acknowledging that it exists. Every student gets very anxious during exams because of the reality that things might not go their way. Admitting there’s a problem makes it far easier to solve - for example, you can’t fix a broken leg if you keep telling yourself it’s fine and try to walk on it. 

Taking breaks is also important when studying during exams. Despite sounding counter-productive, periods of rest give your brain time to absorb information properly and to relax and clear your mind ready for your next study session. Coming off the back of this, proper rest before anything exam-related is a must - you can’t expect to perform at your best if you’re not rested. This includes doing things you enjoy to unwind - going to bed at a reasonable time (even if you struggle to sleep straight away), spending time outdoors, and making sure to eat and drink the right things in the right quantities. 

Good Thinking has a range of resources to support you in getting a good night's sleep if you're having difficulty nodding off.

If you start to study and feel overwhelmed because you think you have a lot to do, you’re most certainly not the only one. This is likely your brain starting to spiral due to stress – don’t listen to this, as it will only cause more problems. Yes, be honest when evaluating your knowledge, but use this as a chance to target your studying, not to enter a spiral of procrastination. You can only do what you can do, and nobody is expecting you to go back in time and be more productive or change what you did. 

Revising early and keeping on top of things can also be helpful in minimising the risk of stress. However, some people find the organisation required for this really difficult, so using tools to help you is important. Using AI to generate study timelines and charts for this is one of my biggest recommendations to help you stay on track - but make sure to carefully read and check what the AI chat tells you before you follow it to check for mistakes. You can also turn to friends, family or teachers for support.

1. At the start of the course: I do lots of extra reading about my topic as I start it and make a conscious effort to keep my notes readable and organised. I like to use labelled folders for this, and I also find it a good time to make revision resources. For example, I ‘ll make flashcards on a topic the day of the lesson.
2. A few months before exams: I start doing spaced revision, rotating through topics and doing quick-fire quizzes to secure my basic knowledge, such as definitions and key individuals. I also start to evaluate where my weaker areas are and focus on these areas by doing sample exam questions and using the mark scheme to learn. The mark scheme highlights what examiners are looking for in an exam question and what constitutes a good response. I pay particular attention to questions that come up every year (or almost every year), as well as the topics that haven’t come up for at least a year or two. 
3. A month before the exam and into the week before: I usually ramp up my revision at this point, but really make a point to engage in mindfulness activities such as meditation, walking, and keeping up with my hobbies. I also find journaling helpful at this point to keep myself grounded and emotionally secure.
4. The night before and the morning of the exam: I’ll do (at most) 2 hours of revision at home the night before the exam, and I really prioritise eating enough and sleeping early. I also make sure to not access revision content on my phone, and I get out for some fresh air and turn off screens an hour before bed for the best chance of a good night’s sleep. I also make sure to set two alarms just in case. On the morning of the exam, I might do some light revision, but I focus on staying hydrated but stopping drinking about half an hour before and eating a good breakfast full of slow-release carbs to keep me fuelled for a long time, such as porridge or wholemeal toast. 
5. During the exam: I skim through the full paper before answering anything, go through and do the questions that I can and then go through again and attempt every question in the paper, regardless of whether I know the answer or not. I use any spare time to plan extended answers before writing and checking what I have written for errors.
6. After the exam: I always stop after an exam, make sure to eat and drink something (because exam fatigue is a very real problem) and allow myself to feel any emotion that I need to! I’m a huge crier after an exam, and often need to remind myself that it didn’t go quite as poorly as I might imagine.

I find that having a good timeline packed full of tips is helpful and gives you more tools to combat exams and the stress that surrounds them. To sum up, make sure to take care of yourself, do what you can, and remember that you are only human!

Read more about managing exam stress.

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