Exam Stress

Exam Stress
Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
We respond to exams in different ways: Some of us thrive on them. Others take them more or less in their stride but get a bit stressed in the last couple of weeks. We may worry about exams for weeks beforehand and get so stressed we find it hard to switch off. We may become so anxious we cant study at all, find it hard to concentrate on anything and have difficulty in getting to sleep. If there are other problems, worry about exams may make them seem worse.

A moderate amount of stress may not be a bad thing. It can sharpen concentration and performance and help to create the additional energy and momentum we need to keep studying when we would rather be doing something else. Too much stress, however, can be overwhelming and stop us from being able to study and get on with life.

Helping a Friend who is Stressed

Friends can often play a part in supporting someone who is stressed during the exam period. Simple things may help that wont take up a lot of your own time when you may also be working for exams: Just accepting that your friend is worried and listening to their concerns may be useful. Encouragement to take breaks and go out from time to time may be very valuable. Your friend may benefit from some of the strategies outlined in this leaflet. If you think that this is not helping and remain concerned, consider talking to them about seeking additional support. Some resources are outlined at the end of the leaflet.

Sleep Get as much rest as you can; six to eight hours a night are recommended. Try not to worry too much if you have difficulty in sleeping. So long as your body is resting you will still obtain benefit. It is possible to function even if sleep is disturbed for quite long periods, though this may not be at your absolute peak of performance. Dont study right up to the time you go to bed. You need time to switch off. Study patterns Take regular breaks from studying. Few people can concentrate for hours at a stretch and if you spend weeks doing nothing but eating, sleeping and studying you will be likely not only to feel miserable but also to increase your level of stress which may well make it harder to sleep and concentrate. If you are having a problem concentrating, dont make yourself sit at the desk for hours while your mind is wandering elsewhere. Instead, when you notice that you are distracted, get up and take a break. If this happens repeatedly, try studying in very short bursts of time, bringing down the time you set until it is manageable, for example, 15 minutes at a time and then building it up again slowly. Fifteen minutes when you can concentrate is better than 3 hours of staring into space and feeling guilty or anxious.

Coping with Stress

Some popular techniques
There are a number of ways in which people deal with high levels of stress. Some very common ways are to drink and smoke more, use drugs more frequently or eat lots of chocolate. Whilst these may appear to have a calming effect in the short term, they are not ideal solutions since you may well feel worse afterwards and some things, for example, drugs and alcohol, may impair your ability to think clearly the next day.

Other strategies for managing stress

Food and Drink Try to eat at least one proper meal a day. Your body wont respond well to a diet consisting of chocolate, chips and coca cola for several weeks at a time. Exercise Taking some form of exercise each day is beneficial. It can help to relax tense muscles and the increased blood flow round your body can help you to think more clearly. You dont have to do anything strenuous. 10 minutes walking once a day, or preferably more often, will be helpful. It may also help to use up some of the extra adrenaline.

Further Help and Advice

Revision and exam techniques:
Your personal tutor or another member of staff in the school or the Study Support Centre.

Recommended reading:
Passing Exams Without Anxiety by David Acres How To Books, 1998.

Managing stress:
The University Counselling Service can offer individual sessions to discuss concerns and also, workshops on managing stress.

Special exam arrangements:

Under certain circumstances, it may be possible to negotiate to sit examinations in a quiet place. If you think this would be helpful, talk to your personal tutor, or another member of academic staff in your school.

What is stress?
Stress is part of the bodys natural response to a perceived threat. We all experience it from time to time. When we feel under threat, our bodies go into fight or flight response, in other words they prepare us either to stand and do battle or to run away. The main physiological change is the release of a rush of adrenaline, which gives us the energy to act. If the perceived difficulty is not physical but psychological, the adrenaline is not used up and we may experience any of the following reactions: increased muscle tension increased heart rate increased breathing rate increase in alertness to the slightest touch or sound

How will you know if you are stressed?

You may experience changes in your physical wellbeing, mood or behaviour: Physical: headaches, neck ache, stomach problems Mood: irritability, tearfulness, feeling low or anxious Behaviour: sleeping problems, increase or decrease in appetite, difficulty in concentrating

Why do exams lead to stress?

The purpose of the exams is to assess how well you have understood and assimilated the module. At most stages of the course, the marks will also influence final degree results. There may be practical implications of not doing as well as you hope or think you should but mostly what worries people are the additional meanings which get attributed to exam results.

On the day of the exam

Dont try to learn any new topics since this may impair your ability to remember those you have learnt previously. You may find it helpful to look at some brief notes or revision cards. Try not to study for the last hour before the exam. Time your arrival at the exam room so you dont need to wait about outside with others who may increase your anxiety level. Give yourself time to settle before reading the questions and starting to write. It may help to use a breathing exercise that you have practised to regulate your breathing and calm yourself down. Have a plan for how you will use your time in the exam room.

Study skills Effective study skills can reduce stress by making you feel more in control of your work. It is not always necessary to cover every aspect of the module in detail. Study advice and support is available either from your course tutor or from the Learning Support Unit, which can also offer help with specific problems such as dyslexia. Breathing exercises If you notice that you are starting to feel very stressed, there are some simple breathing exercises that can help to calm you down. Most work on the principle of focussing your attention on counting breaths. For example: Breathe in to the count of 5, hold for 4 and then breathe out again to a count of 6. Do this a number of times. Breathing exercises are particularly useful because you can do them in public and no-one will notice, for example, when you are waiting to go into the exam, or in the exam room itself.

Make time for relaxation

Even in the 4 weeks leading up to the exams it is important to give yourself time off to do something you will enjoy. The occasional evening out or a few hours at the weekend will remind you that the world does not consist only of exams and academic achievement and should also help you to feel more mentally refreshed. Some people also like to give themselves a little treat each day.

For example some people might think: If I dont get a 1st, 2:1, 2:2.... other people will think badly of me. I wont get a good job my future is over I will be a complete failure people will think I am stupid / worthless / lazy I will be letting down my parents ... and so on. Undoubtedly it would be disappointing if you do not do as well as you hoped. The chances are, however, that it will not be as catastrophic as any of the above thoughts suggest. It is helpful to challenge these thoughts with a more realistic assessment of the situation. Since this may be difficult to do on your own you may need to enlist the help of a friend or someone else in the University to help you to do this. It is very common to think that we will be judged solely on our achievements rather than as individuals with contributions to make in all sorts of ways. If this is the case then the fear of failure will be very powerful. If someone believes that her or his self-worth depends on academic achievement, then it is likely that there will be considerable anxiety surrounding any academic assessment. Too much anxiety can be paralysing. If the pressures to succeed from family or others back home are extremely high, or if you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself to succeed, it may help to talk this over with, for example, your personal tutor, or someone at the University Counselling Service.

Contact Details
Study Support Centre A 85 Ground Floor, Trent Building Telephone (0115) 951 3710 Internal 13710 Open 10.00 - 5.00 Monday to Friday Telephone or call in to make an appointment

University Counselling Service Block D, Cherry Tree Buildings Telephone (0115) 951 3695 Internal 13695 Open 9.00 - 1.00 and 2.00 - 4.45 Monday to Friday Telephone or call in to make an appointment

University Counselling Service University of Nottingham Block D Cherry Tree Buildings University Park Nottingham NG7 2RD

Produced with financial support from the Higher Education Funding Council for England

Acknowledgements: The Educational Development and Support Centre at Leicester University has generously given permission for adapted extracts from their Student Study Guide on Exam Stress to be included in this leaflet.
Cartoons Cartoons by by Maggie Maggie Guillon Guillon University University of of Nottingham Nottingham

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