How to reduce stress when taking a test

Alexander Lank, writer

If you’re anything like me at all, you get really stressed taking tests. It’s a common struggle amongst students. But there are a lot of fixes to this issue and most of them are really easy to do..

The first way that helps is just plain ol’ studying. I found this out from first-hand experience. Whenever I just study before my test, I feel like I’m more confident with my answers and not stressed. 

The second thing is pencil tapping, this isn’t just from personal experience. According to Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) Organization, “Only more recently have professionals and parents begun to realize that instead of just being stopped, fidgeting can actually be used in a helpful way to improve focus.”Now pencil tapping can annoy other students, so instead maybe bring a stress ball to squeeze. 

 The third, and final, way to reduce stress on a test is breathing. Yes, breathing. The thing you do 22,000 times a day can help you on a test, and here’s why. If you take deep breaths, oxygen goes to your bloodstream and brain helping you focus, and remember answers better. According to a study by the Journal of Neurophysiology,focusing on the timing and pace of our breath can have positive effects on our body and mind.”

Now obviously there are more ways to help, but these ways have helped me and my friends, and they could probably help, but these ways have helped me and my friends, and they could probably help you too. But always make sure to find what helps you, and your own techniques.

Works Cited
https://chadd.org/attention-article/harness-fidgeting-to-improve-focus/https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_focusing_on_the_breath_does_to_your_brain