Exam Stress :: Wessex Scene Online

Exam Stress

26th January 2002

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May 03 - Controlling the Stress.
May 09 - Top Tips for Exams
Jan 02 - That time of year again! Feeling Stressed?
May 04 - Feeling Stressed?
May 07 - Don’t stress

When exam time looms stress, worry and anxiety may not be far behind. For those about to enter the starting blocks SAIC researchers have come up with a holistic guide to coping with exam stress. Sensible preparation, without feeling like you are gearing up for the Olympic games, should help to offset those pre-race nerves, and reduce some of the aches and pains associated with the first bouts of winter training.

A personal best is not normally recorded if your training regime consists entirely of a diet of daytime Television, evenings down the Union followed by a crawl home in the early hours. Alternatively, you may not be fighting fit if your revision period is spent locked in a small gloomy room bereft of human contact or natural light. Potatoes may thrive in such conditions, but humans rarely do. If either of the above is your usual pattern of behaviour then no problem, but if you are a party animal or couch potato for a short period let 'balance' be your motto.

Even if you are not an early bird try to get at least 7-8 hours sleep each night during your revision programme. Any less may impair your little grey cells, and combat fatigue may kick in.

Morning exercise will aid a regular sleep pattern, set you up for a day of study and will increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain. Physical stimulation, will help reduce stress, but need not be all cross country runs and Canadian Air force exercises. Get the heart pumping with something you enjoy like a brisk walk, warm up with some gentle stretching or choreograph your very own dance routine. In the case of the latter, best to ensure that all curtains have been drawn. It maybe useful to turn this into a structured schedule, to help ensure the day ahead does not present itself as an unending grey horizon of cerebral note taking. It has been estimated that the average attention span is no more than 45-50 minutes, if you give yourself breaks of 10-15 minutes. However, for the purposes of revision breaks it is best to view the daytime Television as the Devil's Tool, while Kilroy and Trisha are to be regarded as agents of Beelzebub waiting to rob you of both time and energy.

As successfully enrolled students at Southampton you will already have many study and revision skills. Cast your mind back to previous exams, and reuse those techniques that have been best for you. Even though you have done well in the heats it is a good idea to take advice from runners and riders around you, whether they are housemates, personal tutors or the advice contained in the course handbook provided by your department. It is well worth finding out about and attending any revision sessions organised by your course tutors, and many departments will be able to tell you where to get old exam scripts and may have past papers available from the office. There are as many styles of learning for revision purposes as there are students, and you may decide on a multimedia approach, on group learning or trying mock exams. The best general tip is that lots of disciplined and concentrated revision is the most effective, but not hesitate to seek help if more specific advice is required.

Any good athlete will tell you that a bit of adrenaline helps before a big race, and pre exam nerves are natural and may even aid your motivation. Nevertheless, looming exams should be kept in perspective, so ensure that your physical and mental health will not be adversely affected. Taking some of the above steps are helpful ways of coping with stress, while avoid the temptation to escape through drink, drugs or over work as these will increase anxiety and impair academic performance. For anybody who does feel unable to cope, come in to the SAIC office where extra help is available. There are numerous relaxation techniques: recognising your stress levels, talking them through with friends and tutors, or even writing down some of the feelings that exam time gives rise to - these are all ways of getting through what is a difficult period. For some it may even be possible to enjoy the thrill of the race, and the satisfaction that the training has paid off.