If you feel a sense of crippling anxiety in advance of a test, rest assured: it's not your imagination, and you're not alone. Test anxiety is a real thing. Studies have shown that it may affect as many as 40 percent of all students—and for some, the anxiety gets so severe that it can be debilitating, often resulting in physical symptoms like severe headaches, stomachaches, and nausea, and even causing students to underperform on tests they would otherwise ace.

While test anxiety may make you feel helpless, there are a few surprisingly practical things you can do to manage the anxiety and keep it at bay. Let's talk about a few useful tips you might not have thought of.

Get Moving 

Exercise can help reduce stress and release endorphins into the body that make us feel better. Before taking a test, try going for a short walk, jogging outside, or doing some simple stretches. Yoga can also be a great way to exercise mindfully while expending much-needed energy. The key is to allow yourself to move around and focus on something other than the upcoming test before returning to the task at hand. 

Listen to Music 

Music has been found to be helpful in calming nerves before an exam. However, it's important to choose music carefully; heavy metal or rap may not be the best option! Classical music and nature sounds are great choices because they are calming and not overly stimulating. Listening to music with headphones is also beneficial because it blocks out any distracting noises in the environment, which could add further stress. (Important note: this is not the same as listening to music while studying for an exam, which is helpful for some but distracting for others. We're talking about using music as a calming mechanism before taking a test.)

Get Plenty of Rest

Sleep is the reset button for your body and mind. Lack of sleep can enhance anxiety, so be sure to get a good night's rest before your exam. If you have difficulty sleeping, try drinking herbal tea that is known to be calming or using natural supplements like melatonin.

Eat Something Healthy 

Eating something healthy before an exam can boost your performance—assuming you don't choose something too heavy or sugary! Eating foods with nutritional value (especially those rich in protein) will give your brain what it needs to focus better on the tasks ahead of you. Common foods that boost brain activity include leafy green vegetables, fatty fish, nuts, and berries.

Tips for Managing Anxiety During the Exam Itself

While the previous tips can help you reduce anxiety leading up to the exam, once you're in the testing room itself, here are a few other helpful things you can do to keep your anxiety under control:

• Find a seat away from the exit door. This can help you avoid anxiety and distraction triggered by students leaving the testing room as they finish.
• Sip some water while awaiting the test. The water itself is helpful enough, but the act of sipping can diffuse nervous energy.
• Use a “fidget prop” to offload stress. The folks that invented those “fidget spinners” that were so popular a couple of years ago were onto something—those gadgets can definitely help release nervous energy. Other props that can help are a spinner ring, stress ball, or even a wristband that you can snap. Fidgeting isn't a bad thing—it can help you focus better in times of stress.

Get More Help If Needed

Anxiety is a normal part of the human experience, and when we experience it, there's no magic formula that lets us turn it on and off like a switch. Fortunately, we can find creative ways to live with it, manage it, and put it in perspective, so it doesn't shut us down when we need to focus. The above tips will help, but if you find your test anxiety particularly debilitating, don't be afraid to seek professional help to manage it.

Finally...it may sound trite to say it, but for most students, one of the best defenses against test anxiety is being prepared for the exam. If you're struggling in your studies and are not ready for the test, any test anxiety you feel will be multiplied considerably. Getting a tutor can help you get ahead of any anxiety by helping you master the material so you can confidently approach your exams. Contact Vincent-Pope Tutoring today to find out how we can help.