How to stay calm before and during an exam?
It’s completely normal to feel some nerves before or during an exam, it means you’re invested in doing well! By channelling that energy in a positive way and using the strategies below, you can help yourself stay focused and approach your exam with confidence.
Before your exam:
1. Prioritise sleep
Ensuring you get a good night’s sleep leading up to your exam and the night before is important. Sleep ensures your brain has time to reset and re-charge from everyday activities including the mental workout of revision. Being well-rested can improve concentration, memory, and emotional regulation.
2. Practice mindfulness techniques
Mindfulness is a powerful tool to help ground and keep yourself focused on the present moment. It can help calm your nervous system and support more logical thinking instead of allowing anxious thoughts to spiral.
Mindfulness techniques include:
- Deep, slow breathing
- Short guided meditations
- Writing thoughts or worries down in a journal
3. Positive thinking
Instead of dwelling on the of worst-case scenarios, allow yourself to focus on the positive thoughts. Remind yourself that you have worked hard and prepared as best as you can. Tell yourself the feeling doesn’t mean you will do badly, it simply means you care and are invested in doing well.
During your exam:
1. Relaxing techniques
There are many ways in the exam hall you can help yourself de-stress. You can try taking slow, deep breaths, or use the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique, where you identify:
- 5 things you can see
- 4 things you can feel
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste
Mindfulness and grounding strategies are a useful way to help your body to be present and allow your mind to feel settled and in control.
2. Don't focus on what other people are doing
It’s normal to compare yourself to others, but during an exam this can increase anxiety. Avoid watching how fast other people are working or how many pages they’ve completed. Everyone works at a different pace. The most important thing is to take your time, read each question carefully, and answer to the best of your ability.
3. Manage your time
If you feel stuck on a question, don’t panic. Move on and return to it later if possible. A good strategy is to break the paper into manageable sections and focus on one question at a time instead of the entire exam. This can help prevent you feeling overwhelmed and allows you to use your time more effectively.
For more support and advice on wellbeing during your exams, check out our student blogs ‘How to maximise your sleep to help maintain your routine’ and ‘Wellbeing: Exploring and Eliminating Stress’.