The 5 Best Ways to Relax During Board Exams
Exams are that dreaded time in every student’s life; that time of caffeine-induced sleepless nights, nervous superstitions and mindless cramming. Despite our best efforts, exams are fraught with tension. But your best shot at attending your board exam, comes from being relaxed. The answers tend to flow easier in a calmer mind. We hunted down experts to ask them the five best ways to relax during board exams.
Focus on your health
The stress of exams can have repercussions on your well-being. Everyone around you will tell you ‘to just relax yaar’, but that’s easier said than done! You can reduce overall stress levels with these simple steps:
Cut the caffeine – Caffeine provides focus and helps you concentrate, but too much of it can make you jittery. Reduce your coffee or tea intake in the week before your board exam.
Sleep regular hours – Late night cramming might be your preferred style of studying but ensure that you get at least seven to eight hours of regular sleep. This will ensure that you are not jaded or disoriented during the board exams.
Eat healthy – Do your best to eat well-balanced meals at regular intervals.
Relax mind and body
Practice gentle breathing – No, you don’t have to become a yogi. But practice deep breathing for a few minutes a day to increase focus and reduce stress. Here are some links to relaxation and meditative techniques that can help you to calm down.
Workout – Ashish Vaidya also says that physical exercise always helps him during exam time. “I usually take a break and do something completely different from the subject I’m studying. In my case, I love running, so just going for a run helps. And, once I feel better, I get back to studying,” he said.
Do what you enjoy – It is important to take time out to do something that you enjoy, be it watching your favorite TV show or just listening to music. Break the monotony of study with hobbies that take your mind off for a while.
Strategize and plan
This might seem odd, but plan your approach to the exams.
“You can’t know everything, and you can’t know nothing,” says Ashish. “So, I try and work on smaller targets. I list all of the things that I need to know. This could be all the topic areas for that subject, what was covered each week in class/tuitions, and the different sections of the exam. Then, I create a schedule of study around this.”
Once you cover, the listed topics that you intended to complete, start working on the topics/subjects that you think you are weak in and focus on those before your exams. Answer
sample question papers so that you gain confidence.
Avoid negative talk
This might seem harsh, but other students can unwittingly create more pressure on you.
Curb negative talk before and during the exams and focus on what you can achieve. If you must study in a group, then ensure that the group supports each other. Positive reinforcement comes when you consider the exam as an opportunity rather than as a ‘test’.
Revise and rehearse
Make sure that you leave plenty of time for revision so that you don’t do that famous last-minute cramming. Experiment with different revision techniques. If you have planned well, then you would also have a revision timetable as well.
Exams can be tough, but if you use any of these methods, you would be able to relax and clear the exams in a better frame of mind. If you have your own unique methods for coping with stress, which we haven’t listed, feel free to let us know in the comments below.