How do you calm your nerves during an exam?
Asked by: Gaylord Schmidt | Last update: October 10, 2025Score: 5/5 (43 votes)
To help you stay calm and confident right before and during the test, do relaxation techniques. These include deep breathing, tensing then relaxing your muscles one at a time, or closing your eyes and imagining a positive outcome. Practice these methods daily so they feel like a habit when test day comes.
How do you relieve exam anxiety?
- Start studying the day the teacher first says there will be an exam. ...
- Schedule study time. ...
- Focus on smaller chunks of material during study sessions so they're easier to handle.
- Ask someone in the class if you can study together to keep you on track.
- Try breathing exercises to relax.
What medication is used for exam anxiety?
If they are more than a week away, however, you might find that it is better to start propranolol to reduce your symptoms of anxiety, such as shaking or sweating. Most people take exams as normal while taking propranolol, but if you have any concerns, discuss this with your doctor.
How to ground yourself in an exam?
Try to ground yourself with a breathing exercise.
If you feel overwhelmed in the exam, try to breathe in through your nose for 4 counts, hold it for 2 counts, and breathe out through your mouth for 7 counts. If you repeat this, it can slow your breath and help keep you calm.
How to not blank out during exams?
- Take a 5-minute breather: ...
- Rehydrate yourself: ...
- Start with the question you are most confident about: ...
- Familiarity is the key: ...
- Have a plan in place:
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How do I stop brain fog during exams?
This includes reviewing notes and textbooks, completing practice questions, eating healthy and getting enough rest in the days leading up to the exam. One can also use relaxation techniques like breathing exercises and meditation to calm the mind and body.
Why does my mind go blank when I take a test?
When under severe levels of stress, students may experience paralysing anxiety. This is when the higher executive areas of the brain don't function, which leads to mind blanks.
How can I calm my mind for exams?
Relax yourself during the exam.
If you're feeling anxious or are not thinking clearly, just stop, close your eyes, and take several slow, deep breaths. Concentrate only on your breathing for a minute or so and then return to the exam paper. Taking a minute to calm yourself and refocus is time well spent.
How to stop anxious thoughts in 30 seconds?
- Deep breathing.
- Naming.
- Grounding.
- Organizing.
- Moving.
- Laughing.
- Distracting.
- Cooling off.
How do you relax for exam anxiety?
- Inhale through your nose gently for two seconds.
- Hold your breath in for one second.
- Breathe out through your mouth slowly for four seconds.
- Repeat for one minute (or longer if you like) and you should feel a difference in your mood!
What do most doctors prescribe for anxiety?
SSRIS (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), like Zoloft (sertraline), Prozac (fluoxetine), and Lexapro (escitalopram), and SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), such as Effexor (venlafaxine) and Cymbalta (duloxetine), are widely prescribed for both anxiety and depression.
How to stop anxiety procrastination?
- Whatever It Is, Just Start. The surest way to beat procrastination is to start doing what you have been dreading. ...
- Break the Task Down Into Small, Manageable Chunks. ...
- Become More Organized. ...
- Increase Your Motivation. ...
- Understand That You Are Not Lazy.
How not to panic during exams?
- Learn how to study efficiently. ...
- Study early and in similar places. ...
- Set up a consistent pretest routine. ...
- Talk with your teacher. ...
- Learn relaxation techniques. ...
- Get some exercise. ...
- Get plenty of sleep. ...
- Don't ignore other problems.
When taking a test, you should answer?
Answer the questions that you know first and save the difficult questions for later. You can boost your self-efficacy by starting with material that you know. You also want to get credit for everything you know and not run out of time. Are multiple-choice tests easier that essay tests?
How do I calm myself down for a test?
- Be prepared. ...
- Get a good night's sleep. ...
- Fuel up. ...
- Get to class—or the testing site—early . ...
- Have a positive mental attitude . ...
- Read carefully. ...
- Just start. ...
- Don't pay attention to what other people are doing.
How to sleep before an exam?
- Make time for sleep. ...
- Watch what you eat and when. ...
- Limit caffeinated drinks. ...
- Make your bedroom a place of rest. ...
- Don't use your smartphone in bed. ...
- Have a bedtime routine. ...
- Clear your head before bed. ...
- Remember - one night of bad sleep won't hurt.
How to keep yourself calm?
- Count to 10. In the time it takes you to do so, you may be able to look at your situation with a fresh pair of eyes.
- Take a Walk. ...
- Try a 3-Minute Meditation. ...
- Practice gratitude. ...
- Eat Well. ...
- Get moving. ...
- Let it go. ...
- Get help.
What is the 7 3-2-1 method?
What is the 7-3-2-1 memory technique? To remember something you can practice the 7-3-2-1 technique which has you read the information you want to memorize today (1), tomorrow (2), the day after tomorrow (3), and one week after the first reading (7).
What is the 5 4 3-2-1 method to calm down?
- 5: Acknowledge FIVE things you see around you. ...
- 4: Acknowledge FOUR things you can touch around you. ...
- 3: Acknowledge THREE things you hear. ...
- 2: Acknowledge TWO things you can smell. ...
- 1: Acknowledge ONE thing you can taste.
How do I clear my mind before a test?
Write out your anxieties .
All you need is a piece of paper, a writing utensil, and a few minutes before the exam. Write how you're feeling, why the test matters to you, and what your performance means. Then, throw it away. This simple act can help you clear your mind and enter the test with a fresh perspective.
Why do I black out during exams?
In short, when an exam is interpreted as a threat and a stress response is triggered, working memory is wiped clean, recall mechanisms are disrupted, and emotionally laden hot cognition driven by the hypothalamus (and other subcortical regions) overrides the normally rational cold cognition driven by the PFC.
Why do I forget things when I take a test?
When we experience short-term stress as a result of test anxiety, our brain activates a fight or flight response. This affects memory by inhibiting the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of our brain responsible for retrieval. As a result, we can not remember, during that moment, what we learned previously.