Being a student = exams. That’s the basic equation. If you’re studying in school, there’s no escaping dreadful and boring exams. After all, these are the means to measure how you understand the lessons your teachers have taught.
Students react differently to exams. Some may be confident, being inherently intelligent and mentally adaptive, while they make others cringe in fear. And these latter’s apprehensions work around their self-worth.
Blame it on conventional conditioning. When a student gets an “A”, doesn’t it exhibit as well that he or she is smart and loveable and worthy of praise and favour? Otherwise, lower grades tend to mean that somebody is dull or thick and undeserving of better regard.
An approaching exam can cause a host of fears and anxieties to manifest. Especially high stakes high school exams such as the ACT or the SAT. Being unprepared, a student can be besieged by a sense of panic, thinking about the worst such as failing, dropping out, not getting into college and forever living with their parents.
These are the exact thoughts that bring about stress and anxiety to test-takers, causing them difficulty in focusing on their ACT or SAT test prep. It becomes a vicious cycle wherein stress develops into distress, resulting to hampered cognitive performance, judgment, memory and creativity.
How can you contend with this tendencies when you prepare for your exam? Primarily, you have to deal with the crux of the matter. If the problem is in your mind, work on strengthening your mind!
One of the best ways of fortifying your mental defences against test anxiety is through meditation. With the use of an effective meditation practice, you can bid your mental anguish “be gone”! Meditation can help you banish your illusions of a gloomy future and diminish your anxiety.
Meditation can help clear your mind and rein in your troubled thoughts. As it instigates a clear and focused mental functioning, you can then become more receptive to the materials you are studying. Meditation allows you to think “happy thoughts”, making your more enthusiastic and engaged in your test prep. You’ll even love learning new things! Being in a healthy and reasonable state of mind, you’ll realize that one exam isn’t the be-all and end-all of your existence, whether you fail or pass.
Here are 5 tips to help you when you prepare for your exam:
Meditate. Exams such as the ACT or SAT, along with other standardized tests are time-pressured. But with the help of a mind-clearing meditation technique, you can boost your performance despite being crunched for time. Before you start studying, take time to carry out a simple mindfulness meditation technique. This way, you’ll be able to learn faster and retain more information.
Take good care of your health. While test-prepping, you ought to make sure that you’re getting enough sleep. Eat healthy at the same time. Consume lean proteins, healthy fats and whole foods. Exercise by moving around and doing some stretching. Consider that your physical condition is connected to the state of your mental capacity.
Have ample regular break times. The purpose of these is to allow your mind to breathe and rest. At regular intervals, you can stop to do some breathing exercises, listen to relaxing music, go for a mindful stroll, talk to your family or friends or play. Following thus, you can go back to your studying session.
Perform breathing techniques before taking your exam. These should be long and deep breaths as you coax your mind to relax. Observe every moment as you breathe in and out of your nostrils. Feel yourself being overcome with peace as it washes over your mind. As your mind becomes more relaxed, you’ll be able to boost your cognitive abilities, including your memory and capability to recall information.
Breathe sufficiently when actually taking your exam. Take deep breaths so that you’ll have sufficient oxygen intake. Supplying more energy to your brain allows it to function more efficiently.
Following these 5 tips when preparing for your exam can go a long way in improving your health, attitude and readiness in tackling your significant academic feat.