Exam season feels like all the time in college, and having a means to handle exams like a pro is definitely good. One of the biggest things is motivation of course, but also…you need to look at your mental health during this too. For a lot of people, having the proper response to stress is good for your mental health, especially when exams are underway.
Here we’ll give you a few ways to keep your mental health grounded during exam season, and to make it easy for you to face and master, no matter what.
1. Take Breaks When Studying
One great way to make studying less overwhelming is to take breaks. You can set aside thirty minute spurts, where when you’re done, you take a break. This may seem a bit time-consuming, but it helps so you’re not only focusing on studying. It helps with retaining information, and also builds confidence. You’ll be less stressed too because you’re taking it in small spurts, so you can do other things too.
2. Don’t Cram it All the Night Before
Don’t expect to magically learn a subject the night before. Cramming doesn’t work, and it just stresses you out.
With cramming, there is the misconception that you’re going to memorize everything and retain it. But the brain doesn’t work that way. It’s not properly filed and instead it’s all being thrown into your short-term memory and may not retained. You’ll forget what you cram the night before. That, and it’ll affect how you sleep, and how you’ll feel the next day during the exam.
Cramming doesn’t work, and for the sake of your mental health, it’s better to just study in spurts, and not just cram it the night or hours before the exam.
3. Eat a healthy Meal Before the Exam
Food is really good for you especially before the test. This can help you stay alert and focused. Doing tasks on an empty stomach doesn’t really do the body much good. That, and if you walk into an exam hungry, you’re going to be focused on that, rather than on the content at hand. You don’t need to eat a huge meal before an exam, but a little snack or even some breakfast beforehand is encouraged, especially if the exam will be a longer one.
4. Try Not to procrastinate
This is a big part of exam taking, and it does tie into the cramming. But procrastinating on studying will stress you out. It’ll make you anxious because this will be something that you have to do. Procrastinating is something that a lot of college students fall into the trap of, but you end up feeling worse, getting stressed out, and may not perform as well on the exams if you do this.
The best way to handle exams is to put a block of time in your schedule to study, and then, when you’re done with that, you can of course move onto the next one. Having a hold on your schedule and setting up a plan does prevent you from procrastinating, and will help with exam performance markedly.
5. Consider a Therapist for the Big Problems
Finally, if you feel like your mental health is affected by exams, such as you get anxious or depressed to the point where you can’t study, a therapist may help. Therapy is also good for building habits that you need to succeed. You also should consider therapy as well for goal setting, which can help you with studying and making the grade.
You can learn more about therapy by going here https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/therapy/cbt-therapy-a-breakdown/ to learn about what it is, and a breakdown of it.
Don’t let college exams get you down, and instead, work on making sure your mental health is in check during exam season. You have to take them, but that doesn’t mean your mental health has to suffer. And, if you take care of your mental health now, it will help you ace those exams, and do even better!
