How you can beat exam nerves

You know right from the start of your course that you will have to take exams at some point. It's not that the exams come as a shock - the speed at which that date approaches can cause those stress hormones to circulate, and you can't seem to focus for fear of forgetting absolutely everything on the crucial day.

Although stress is something we're told to avoid at all costs, a little bit of stress is actually good for you. If you've got an interview, exam or driving test for example, it's your body's way of warning you that you need your wits about you. And you never need them more about you than when you're faced with one of those three situations. Nerves themselves aren't bad - it's how you deal with them, or not, that can make you feel bad.

Of course you're going to feel nervous as you get closer to exams - you've been working hard (well, most of the time) and you want that to be recognised by a really good grade or two. If you go into the exam season with a quiet confidence that you're fully prepared and you've done all you can.

Revise, revise and revise

It's pretty obvious that one of the best ways to plan to pass an exam is to plan to revise for it. Looking at what you have coming up should help you plan a realistic revision schedule - and knowing you have a plan in place can actually help you manage your nerves.

If you're worrying about a particular exam, or part of it, get yourself prepared by thinking about which topics are realistically likely to come up, and how they could be approached. Pore over the prospectus and syllabus to see if there are any glaringly obvious areas that you've missed out on. If you think you need a crash revision course in some subjects, have a chat with your tutor.

What are you really stressing about?

If you find yourself getting really stressed about an impending exam, stop and think about what's actually worrying you so much. When the nerves start to kick in, you'll probably start imagining every single worst-case scenario possible. So what's really the worst that could happen?

OK - you could get to the exam and forget everything you've learned. You could get there and your mind could go completely blank. You might even run out of time in the exam and have to leave it half finished. All of these worries are pretty common - but each scenario is unlikely if you're properly prepared and you're not eating yourself up with needless stress.

This type of exam anxiety is linked to a fear of losing control of a situation - so the more calm and in control you feel, the less likely the stress is to paralyse you before or during the exam itself.

Now think of all the other exams, or tests that you've taken in the past, and how you got through them. Did you forget everything you'd learned? The chances are that you didn't. So what's making you think that you will freeze on the big day this time around? Even just recalling previous exam successes and remembering that you did manage to get through them can give you the confidence to deal with any anxieties about the next ones!

Practical coping strategies

Try to deal with any stress before it gets overwhelming
Take regular breaks, ideally every 45 mins to an hour
Plan some little treats, they can really give you a boost
Take a couple of Pro Plus. it can relieve tiredness and help you maintain your mental alertness to help you carry on with your work
Don't let yourself get too hungry
Try to get an early night the night before and don't be tempted to cram. If you don't sleep and wake up feeling hideously tired again a Pro Plus might help to wake you up just enough to get you through the exam

PRO PLUS^®
can give you
a fast acting
boost that
relieves
tiredness and
exhaustion
helping you feel
more awake which can help you get cracking on that revision!

It is important to note, that PRO PLUS^® cannot replace sleep, and should be used only occasionally for the relief of temporary tiredness.
Contains caffeine. Always read the label.