All students are anxious before the admission exams. Even if they have high grades and good recommendations, such percentage of stress is always present. Some can easily cope with stress, but there are many young people who cannot handle it at all. As a result, too great nervous tension may bring to ruin even the best of us. You should learn how to manage your stress and we know how to secure that. Read our guide about how to get rid of stress before your admission exams.
Write, Write, Write…
John Duffy, a clinical psychologist, recommends writing to reduce stress. This method is also known as journaling and its efficacy is compared to music therapy. The expert tells to have a personal journal or diary and write a few minutes every day. You aren’t obliged to write on strict topics. Simply write down the flow of your consciousness and you’ll manage stress.
Read More
Another activity is pretty easy if you’re a bookworm. Cognitive neuropsychologist Dr. David Lewis conducted a special study that tried to define the benefits of reading. The study showed that stress gets reduced by 68% and this is an amazing outcome. It is remarkable that reading has beaten other methods.
Q.1 – reading=68%
Q.2 – listening to music=61%
Q.3 – drinking coffee or tea=54%
Q.4 – taking a walk=42%
Q.5 – playing video games=21%
Have a Quick Walk
Dr. Chuck Hillman of the University of Illinois suggests walking to reduce stress. His research proved that brain activity increases for many a time while we walk. However, this shouldn’t be a slow stroll but a quick one. Even 20 minutes of high tempo will be enough. Thus, if you feel anxious to take a quick 20-minute walk right before the exam.
Meditate
A special research carried out by psychologist Robbie Maller Hartman, PhD proved the helpfulness of meditation. It’s known for plenty of various benefits and stress relief is amongst them. It affects and alters neural pathways in our brain. Locate yourself comfortably on the floor with both feet and sit straight up. Practice deep breaths and your mind will relax. This will take away the mental pressure.
Deep breathing is one of the inevitable parts of different meditations. In the meanwhile, it can be reviewed as a separate method as well. Psychologist Judith Tutin, PhD also has proof that deep breathing relieves stress and brings a feeling of peace. It also slows down the heart rate, which is one of the symptoms of anxiety.
Reduce the Use of Your Phone
It is no secret that modern students are fond of smartphones. They take those devices with them whenever and wherever they go. One study has proved that they have a very negative effect on the emotional state of people who use them. Young adults who regularly used their phones for the only year experienced great stress.
Moreover, the study also revealed some other negative consequences. Among the most typical were sleep disturbance, depression, and some other. Accordingly, you should simply use your phone and some other gadgets rarely. Use them only when it is really necessary.
Remember Happy Memories
There is a pretty weird method to reduce stress, which is based on happy memories. Thus, one research proved that if we recall some pleasant and happy memories our mood improves. The research involved two groups of people. The first group had to memorize moments of happiness. The second group recalled self-induced moments of sadness. The results showed that the participants of the first group received additional amounts of serotonin, a specific hormone that enhances mood. Thus, you may reflect on some happy events to remove stress.
Decompress
Another interesting but effective method was revealed by Cathy Benninger, a nurse practitioner, and assistant professor. She suggests using a warm wrap around the neck for 10 minutes, close the eyes and relax all the muscles. Afterward, you should use the foam roller or something like that to massage the neck. It’s necessary to put it on between the neck and the wall. Thus, you’ll roll away the tension.
Manage Your Time Effectively
One of the common stress triggers is the pressure of time. Students have to fulfill a lot of assignments that have strict deadlines. This adds more stress and doesn’t help to concentrate before their exams. Being overwhelmed with assignments, some young people have to address professional admission essay writing services to get their papers written according to their requirements with timely delivery. That’s why a lot of young peopleSome students are afraid to run out of time while they pass their exam tests too. A time-managing study proved that the participants who passed a successful time-training revealed much better stress managing results than participants without such an experience.
Indeed, if you don’t feel that you run out of time, you don’t experience that huge mental pressure. You should practice different time-managing techniques to define the most effective ones.
For example, you may take breaks after every 40-50 minutes you complete any assignment. During your pause, you are welcome to undertake whatever activity you want. This may be another assignment. However, its specification should be completely different. You may switch between writing and reading. Try to complete your assignments earlier than it’s demanded and gradually increase the speed of execution.
As you can see, there are many good methods to reduce stress. Mind that there are many other ways and you should learn more recommended by certificated experts. You’ll be able to choose the ones that suit you best. Thus, you’ll easily combat any sort of stress before your admission exams.