The moment you’ve been dreading the entire past week is finally here. It’s exam day, and you only have one hour left before your paper starts. Students are encouraged to use this time to prepare themselves mentally for the upcoming test.
Things to do before the exam
This article guides you through strategies to calm and relax so you can perform at a heightened level.
- Relax
- Eat fiber-rich foods
- Exercise
- Confirm you have everything
- Be on time
Relax
It is essential to keep yourself stress-free and calm before an exam, as stress only serves to impair memory and paralyze you during the exam. You can relax by trying yoga, meditation, or listening to calming music. This will help ease you into a healthier state of mind for the exam and make sure your brain performs at peak capacity.
Eat Fibre Rich Foods
Watching what you eat is extremely important, especially right before an examination. Avoid foods high in fat content, as these can focus energy away from the brain to the stomach, causing you to feel sleepy and lose focus, which is essentially akin to sounding a death knell over your exam performance prospects.
Foods that are rich in fiber content, and are slow-digesting are advisable as they reduce the stress on your digestive system and allow the body to allocate more energy to your brain, improving cognitive function
Exercise
Exercising has numerous benefits, a key one being improved mental and physical health. It also helps your brain stay active and focused during the day, improving your overall productivity and focus. While strenuous exercise will tire you out for the exam, light exercises such as walking, jogging, and even yoga, can help recharge your brain and keep you focused during the paper.
Confirm you have everything
It is considered good practice to check your bag to see if you have everything you need – pencils, erasers, pens, a geometry box, and a calculator are exam essentials that you must carry at all times. It can help to make a checklist of all these items to use as a guide while packing for the test and check off what you have is an exercise for making sure you aren’t under-equipped for the test
Be on time
Punctuality is necessary when going for an exam. You should aim to reach the examination center at least 15 minutes before your exam is scheduled to start. This gives you enough time to relax and get used to your surroundings. Under no circumstances should you be late, as this will only reduce the amount of time you have for solving the paper. Being late will also cause an increase in stress levels, further impacting your test scores
Also published on Medium.