How to reduce test anxiety and get rid of it- 9 Essential Tips

Are you suffering from test anxiety?

If yes then you’re not alone. Test anxiety affects an estimated 10 million students in North America.

The American Test Anxiety Association reported about 16 percent of college and high school students have high test anxiety and 18 percent have moderately high test anxiety, Even test anxiety, pressure on college students more common now than in past.

But after reading this article you will be able to reduce and overcome your test anxiety because in this article I have 9 essential tips and guides that must be helpful for you. So read this article till the end.

But wait, if you have a high level of test anxiety and you get a panic attack or else have headache or stomach pain then you need psychotherapy treatment.

Before we dive into our tips for reducing test anxiety let me first tell you…

9 tips to reduce test anxiety and stay calm:

1: Clear all your concepts and prepare well

As I said, one of the biggest causes of test anxiety is a lack of understanding of the material or didn’t prepare well.

So if you have time for your test and you are poor in studies then take help from your friends or clear all your concepts and theories that seem important for your exam. Once you have prepared enough then you must have confidence and won’t have any anxieties.

Remember you should study to grab knowledge not to get high grades. Once you’ll have the knowledge, you don’t need to worry about the grades.

But if you are average at study and have clear your concepts but couldn’t prepare then start your exam preparation now if have time. But if you are now deprived of time then remember, “exams are not made to fail you, it is just a way to check your knowledge and skills”.

Read also: How to study effectively for exams?

2: Time Management and Routine:

If you’re suffering from test anxiety then I don’t think you have a proper routine and time management. But you too know to make our life balance and stay far away from anxiety we need to manage our time for the test.

Check out here, how time management helps in anxiety.

So make a pre-test routine and time management that can reduce your test anxiety. But making a routine is not as easy as I’m saying but I have an alternative for you.

Here is the deal:

Alternative for Routine: Instead of making a routine and follow the same as all day, plan your single day or day by day. Just before sleep or after waking up, write a plan about how you will spend your whole day (include study time) and what are the tasks you have to take and complete today.

3: Don’t take any kind of pressure

Most of the time it happens, when we or our parents expect the first rank from us and we couldn’t prepare then we get pressurize and that brings our test anxiety. Even a little bit of doubt about your coming test result makes you anxious.

So don’t think I have to be first or I will get only first rank, just give your best. If your parents have a lot of expectations from you then just say them- I don’t know what rank I’ll get but I will give my best in the test. Don’t take any pressure and stress.

If you have completely prepared for your test then you must get the first rank or good grades. Once you’ll have this kind of mindset and will free from pressure and expectations then chances are you will be able to get rid of your test anxiety.

4: Share your feeling with your teachers and parents

Test anxiety can be reached at a higher level if you hide it with your parents and teachers.

I know it might not be easy for you to share your anxiety or what you feel about the test, but trust me if you have caring and cool parents or teachers, they must take you out from it with their experiences and motivation.

So must share your feelings with your parents but if your parents are strict and you can’t share with them then must talk to your best teacher who supports you.

5: Avoid friends who demotivate you

The test is near, so not all friends or classmates would help you even chances are some of them can demotivate you. Everyone wants to ahead of you and score more than you.

There is a quote– If a friend fails we get upset but if he or she scores more than me, we feel more upset.

So if you have friends who demotivate you and confuse you by showing their preparation and all, avoid them till the test. And if you want to deal with them then have a positive mental attitude and show them your confidence.

So, Fake it till to make it.

6: Take a good amount of sleep

Proper sleep is compulsory for our health and mind especially when we have anxiety. Because a good amount of sleep restores your brain and makes you more energetic and refresh.

I know it’s very difficult to fall asleep when you have test anxiety but if you can then nothing could be more beneficial than it. Here is a guide on how deep sleep may treat anxiety.

And for taking a deep sleep, I would suggest you go to the bed early and leave your phone half one hour before bed.

Don’t too think, If I’d sleep more I can’t give enough time to my preparation.

Once your mental health would be good you can be more productive in less time, don’t you think?

7: Stay motivated and positive

When test anxiety fills in our mind then many types of negative thought also arises and we get demotivated. So you have to stay motivated and positive.

Always says to yourself I can do this, I worked hard and I will give my best. Take a deep breath, be positive when you lose your confidence, and keep on.

If your test in near days then I must tell you to watch inspirational college-based movies like Goodwill hunting, 3-idiots and all. They will spread positivity in your surroundings. They can reduce your test anxiety and teach you many life lessons like- Marks doesn’t matter, how you studied that’s matters.

8: Eat properly and stay healthy:

As enough sleep is important similarly what you eat is also important to reduce your test anxiety. And with your test anxiety, you completely ignore it. Neither you eat properly nor you care what should you eat in anxiety.

So don’t ignore it. Eating a diet high in vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, and lean protein can be very helpful. Here are some foods that you should add to your menu…

• Brazil Nuts
• Fatty Fish
• Eggs
• Dark chocolate
• Green Tea

For more guide about foods you can check out here.

9: Don’t cram in last day before the test

If you have prepared well for your test then I don’t think you need to cram. And If you couldn’t prepare then I also recommend you don’t cram on the last day before the test.

Studying a little bit and revising some topics is fair enough but cram before the test is not good at all. You can’t complete your whole syllabus in one day. And when you cram it can affect your health, test anxiety, and many more you could face.

That’s why most people will suggest you don’t cram. Instead of cramming and worrying on the day before the exam, go to some cool places that you like most or spare your time with your hobbies. It must be effective to get rid of test anxiety.

Conclusion:

So in this article, I have explained to you how you can reduce test anxiety and get rid of it. And I hope you enjoyed this article.

Remember, you will only get the result and able to overcome test anxiety when you’ll follow the all tips.

Now I want to hear from you:

Which tips from this article you liked most and found most helpful?

Let me know in the comment, I’m waiting for your reply.