Have you ever felt that your mind stop thinking or freeze during the exam ? Have you came across a situation where you sit down for a exam and realize that all exercise and chapter you have been revising for past few months have been forgotten.
Does your heart race or do you find it hard to breathe during exams ??
This particular form of stress is known as exam anxiety , and some people are more susceptible to it than others.

Stay calm,sleep well and eat nutritious food ,an advice parents,doctors have for students.Less than a month for exams ,counsellor worry that students will neglect their health and can harm themselves in order to achieve higher marks under pressure.

Parents must ensure that home environment should be differed during the exams and should be same as before,good laughter moments bring joy and energy into students and help them to destress during exams.

In a study published by Martyn Denscombe (2000) found teenagers suffer from exam stress due to four reasons :
the future occupupational consequences associated wih the outcome of exam, they related their self esteem with the grades ( students are likely to have higher
self-esteem if they have higher grades ); unrealistic expectations from parents and teacher leading to performance pressure ;and fear of getting judged by peers.

1. Recognize the negative emotions :

To deal with exam related stress , it is essential that children recognize the negative thoughts. Once they examine these thoughts ,they will be able to see how unrealistic they are .Challenge the thoughts that say you are a failure and can't succeed .Replace self-criticism with self-correction.

Instead of getting discouraged by the result of previous exam, children must identify their weak areas and work on them.Indulge in more positive self-talk like 'I can do it ,it is just an exam.

2. Time Management :

All work , no play leads to exam stress. Teacher and parents should help children identify their concentration span and facilities their studies with appropriate breaks during the exam.

Time management plan can be made for all the subjects so that adequate time can be to all the subjects and revision time is adequately sought for the subjects.
Children should build in their time tables with activities which they enjoy like watching their favourite TV programme ,going out with friends , going to play sports in the park or listening to their favourite music for an hour .

3. Active study Startegies :

There are active strategies which can be employed by the students while preparing for their exams .Students can teach or explain the lesson to someone else which can be implemented efficiently in group studies . Think about the questions expected in the exam and write the answers .

Students can prepare graphic designs and semactic maps which offer a visual representation of ideas.

When abstract information is laid in concrete , and visual form such as a chart ,diagram ,word map event ,scene , experiment or character are readliy retrieved later.

4. Role of Parents :

Jane stated that 'At the end of the day , the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents .Parents must acknowledge that children can sometimes fail to do well if they are unable to cope with the stress .
They should provide a conducive environment to their children which is positively reinforced . They should commend their child performance with positive statements like 'well done' you can do better rather than saying 'that was not enough' .Parents should celebrate the efforts of their child instead of solely focusing on the result. They must avoid setting unrealistic expectations on their children as it enhances stress and performance pressure on child.

5. Ensure you are healthy:

There is a famous quote which says the body achieves what the mind believes . There is a close connection between mind and body . The simple rule is that
cildren should listen to their body during exams : eat when you are hungry ,rest when you are tired , relax when you are stressed an step back when you are feel
overwhelmed .It is seen that during exam ,some students start binge eating while some don't feel like eating.

Parents must ensure that their kids are eating a healthy diet which includes green salad and fruits. Children also face problems related to irregular sleep cycles or insomnia during exams. parents should make sure that their kids try to keep a fixed time for sleeping as far as possible. Children should avoid prolonged sleeping ; a short nap may be helpful. They should avaoid taking any food or liquid which contains caffeine and chocolate three hours before the sleep time . Most children complaint that they have no time for play and excercise during exams. Whereas , excercise is all more necessary during exams because
they act as stress buster .

Simple excercises such as strectching ,jogging and running releive the stress and ensure physical fitness during exams.

Wishing good luck to all students for exams.